What to wear to 341 meeting

[2fargone]

Here is the "Dress code for court " document we received with our package. Eastern district Flint Mi.
1. No shorts, tank tops, sweatshirts or T-shirts with writing.
2. Shoes and socks required.
3 Men are to wear a shirt with sleeves and a collar.
4 No denim
5 No hats except for religious reasons

[nodough]

I'm surprised so many people say business casual. My husband and I don't own anything business casual. I used to have some nice dresses but I lost weight about 2 years ago and never replaced them. I don't want to go spend money now for something I'm going to wear once. We own a small welding business and my husbands clothes consist of jeans, workshirts and coveralls. Business for him is dirty work, not office work. I think our best jeans will have to do.

[veryclose]

Here is the "Dress code for court " document we received with our package. Eastern district Flint Mi.
1. No shorts, tank tops, sweatshirts or T-shirts with writing.
2. Shoes and socks required.
3 Men are to wear a shirt with sleeves and a collar.
4 No denim
5 No hats except for religious reasons

I went in Eastern - Detroit and I never received a dress code, but I knew basically to wear a pair of black slacks and a blouse, nondescript bag.

What I saw when I went was remarkable. I saw a lot of jeans, TONS of designer bags (and I know bags, these were not fakes), designer coats, shoes, etc.

I did have a Coach bag, but it was a 15-year-old one that was all black, no logo or anything.

Editing: For future readers of this thread - if you have just very casual/jeans type clothing, you can also go to a thrift shop or resale shop and pick up a pair of cheap slacks/trousers and some top/shirt.

[blankslate]

I'm surprised so many people say business casual. My husband and I don't own anything business casual. I used to have some nice dresses but I lost weight about 2 years ago and never replaced them. I don't want to go spend money now for something I'm going to wear once. We own a small welding business and my husbands clothes consist of jeans, workshirts and coveralls. Business for him is dirty work, not office work. I think our best jeans will have to do.

You'll be fine with your best jeans if that is all you've got. You're bankrupt, it is what it is. Just make sure you look as clean and respectable as possible. I went through two 341 meetings and the lobby just looked like a lobby full of people you'd see anywhere dressed in average clothes. The only ones in suits were the lawyers and Trustee. I don't think I saw any women in dresses.

[BkinTX]

Would a cotton dress be acceptable? I keep reading slacks for women. I got some cotton dresses at Target for $6 and that's about all I have for dressy stuff. I wear jeans and tanks/ts. I'm a SAHM.

[Bell30656]

I wore slacks, shirt and tie to my 341. I don't think anyone expects someone to suddenly dump all their nice clothes and show up wearing a tie and a barrel. However, I wouldn't recommend showing up in anything new enough to still have the price tag on it.

[nodough]

You'll be fine with your best jeans if that is all you've got. You're bankrupt, it is what it is. Just make sure you look as clean and respectable as possible. I went through two 341 meetings and the lobby just looked like a lobby full of people you'd see anywhere dressed in average clothes. The only ones in suits were the lawyers and Trustee. I don't think I saw any women in dresses.

That's good to hear. We'll look clean and respectable. Our clothes aren't old and ripped or anything. They're just not "office" clothes. It might depend on what part of the country you're in too. I think California is pretty casual.

[blankslate]

A cotton dress would be fine. Just skip any jewelry and perfume.

I think the main thing is to avoid wearing shorts, flip flops, a wife beater or beer logo shirt and baseball cap. In Southern California that seems to be the usual attire for everything else.

Oh yes, please wear deodorant. LOL.

[BkinTX]

I don't have much in the way of jewelry but I do have a 1 ct. Journey necklace that DH bought for me. Leave it at home? It's really low-key.

[blankslate]

Yup, leave it at home. You can wear it later when you go out to dinner to celebrate

[BkinTX]

Lol.

[frustrated7]

We just had our 341 on 5/8. My husband wore khaki's and a dress shirt. I wore black dress slacks and a shirt. We watched 45 minutes of cases before ours, and only one other person dressed at all like we did. Every other case wore jeans and tshirts/sweatshirts. We live in a smaller community, so that may also have something to do with it, but our trustee didn't appear to care at all what anyone wore. Remember, we are filing for BK, we aren't expected to have lots of nice clothese to wear. I have no doubt that some of the fellow filers were wearing the nicest clothes they owned. It's just a fluke that my husband happened to own khaki's and a dress shirt, since he works in a factory and has no need for that kind of clothes. We wouldn't have had any money to buy anything new if he hadn't had it in his closet. I have had more professional jobs in recent years and so I had some business casual clothing to choose from.

As for your jewelry, I would recommend keeping it very low-key. As long as your exemptions covered it, it really shouldn't make a difference if you wear it or not. For example, I was not concerned about wearing my wedding ring because it was listed as an exempt asset and isn't flashy or large at all. I probably wouldn't wear a 1ct diamond necklace though.

Try not to stress out about it. The whole thing will likely take between 5-10 minutes and unless you dress very inappropriately, you are unlikely to get any comments about what you wore. Ask your attorney if you are still unsure and he or she can give you tips for your area. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[indigoblue]

I'm glad we got so many new replies. My capris are dressy and even my flip-flops are not plain. I wear them since I had my back surgery and cant bend down to tie shoes. Hopefully I'll be ok. That's what I've worn to see our attorney.

[Iamtoobroke]

I wore a slim wool skirt and black tunic top, tights, and low heels to my 341. I did wear my small stud cubic zirconia (sp?) ear rings and a small daimond ring (1/10 of a carat) -both listed on my schedules. I wore very light perfume--essential oil actually. I carried a handbag-- not a designer one, just regular. Outfit was middle-of the road I'd say. Not too casual, not too dressy. Not to expensive looking, but business-like.

There were a few others in attendance the day of my meeting. There were two other women. One wore a navy long sleeve knit dress with mid-heel sandals and a salmon colored jacket over her dress. She has some unobtrusive ear rings on also and a diamond engagement ring. The other woman wore a pant suit black jakcet and pants and a multi black, gray and off-white blouse. She wore some light jewelry.

The only man wore a business suit, jacket, and tie.

I'd say in the day of our meeting it was business to business casual. I live in a city--small town areas are probably very different. Also probably varies a lot by day too, so these are just observations on one day.

[Iamtoobroke]

Oh, and one other woman was coming in for her meeting as I left. She was wearing busness casual gray tweed pants and a short sleeve camp-shirt style off-white blouse with loafers or low heeled shoes