business school attire...

Can't speak for every single school in every single year, but for the most part, there isn't a "dress code" -- i.e. one that is dictated by one's peers or the school.

It's dictated more by what is going on that day for you as an individual - if there's a company presentation you want to go to (say, P&G, McKinsey, etc.) that day after classes, you may want to dress business casual or even in a suit. If there's nothing going on that day, jeans and t-shirt/sweater. And closer to the end of the semester or year, it can get to the point where it's "shaving optional" for the guys (with some folks looking like the cast of "The Hangover"). That's a big reason why on any given day you'll see a mix of casual, business casual, and suits. And also by personal taste.

I'm an engineer, and I go to work in jeans and T-shirt. I own one suit that I wear once or twice a year, some dress shirts (maybe more if I looked in the trunk of my car), 2.5-3.5 ties, and 1.5 pairs of dress shoes. As you can see, I need some help before school starts and recruiters start showing up. What kind of wardrobe should I have? What brand should I get? Looking to splurge a little, but not too much. Trying to keep the wardrobe upgrade under 2-3 grand, if possible. Thank you in advance.

Step 1: get rid of the 0.5 ties. Recruiters really dislike the half-a-tie look.

At a minimum, you can get through recruiting with 1 suit (navy blue or charcoal gray). It's better to have 2 so you don't have to wear the same suit every day when you have those hellish 4 interview weeks, or for a 2 day offsite interview, but I know people here who only used one suit for recruiting and did fine (btw: the more ties you have the less obvious it'll be you're wearing the same suit). Outside of that, a few extra pairs of wool dress slacks and a few dress shirts for business casual company presentations, and a decent pair of black dress shoes that you can polish and you're all set. In terms of colors, how much leeway you have is going to depend on what industry you're targeting, but you really can't go wrong with being conservative: grays/navy/black for slacks, white/blue/other subdued colors/patterns for shirts.

As for brands, many menswear shops have semi-annual sales in the May-June-July timeframe as they get ready for next season, so it's a great opportunity to upgrade your wardrobe without killing your wallet. Brands don't really matter, go for clothes that look best on you. Especially with suits, different brands are cut slightly differently so a brand that looks great on one person may not look so great on you. And besides, you're not going to get a job just because you have a little polo player on your shirt, and no recruiter is ever going to check the label of your suit.

Thank you. That was very helpful.

I would strongly recommend the Non-Iron shirts available at brooks brothers. I work in a business casual office and wear a different BB shirt each day. If you find that dress shirts are often too baggy, i recommend going with the slim fit non-iron. Some may consider the shirts a bit pricey at 3/$200, but with the money you save in dry cleaning (or time you save not ironing), they're more than worth the price.

So gym shorts are categorically off-limits at most schools? I'm planning to live off-campus, so I was hoping to take care of classes and the gym in one trip.

your school should have commuter lockers where you can stuff your gym clothes and sneakers during classes.

True. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to change either, but that's definitely a good option. I'll probably see you on Aug 11.

I will second the recs for the slim-fit non-irons at both BB and Tyrwhitt. Thomas Pink is another Wall St. staple, though it's a tad more expensive than BB. You're also fine just going to a high-end department store and getting the store brand.

Additionally, it may help to check giltman.com for daily sales. You can often find decent to high-end work (and casual) apparel at a substantial discount.