The Official Guide to Shad Fashion

As HBS students, we know how to dress for interviews and parties. But in the halls of Shad, our fashion instincts are tested. How do you project effortless cool and Fortune 500 CEO potential with workout clothes?

For context, I was diagnosed as fashionably challenged at age 10 (please clap) after wearing Velcro sneakers with flashing lights to the rec-center dance. Since then, I’ve sought to better understand my disability by observing the fashionably gifted. After years of research, including 1.5 episodes of Queer Eye, I feel qualified to present the Official Guide to Shad Fashion.

The 6 A.M. Squad

If you’re working out at 6 a.m., thank you for your service. Literally. Chances are, you’re a military veteran. Shad at dawn is a sacred place filled with rippling muscles, bearded faces, and stoic nods.

If you’re not military but still want to blend in, wear a gray or black shirt with a faded American flag on the sleeve. Add a touch of grey to your hair for a truly authentic “vet look.”

The 8 A.M. Runway

After 8 a.m., Shad transforms from boot camp to fashion week. The goal? Look like you don’t care but spend $400 proving it.

Guys wear their nicest Vuori shorts, KKR branded Lululemon shirts, and backward hats. We see you, Cornell! 

Gals wear matching Alo Yoga sets. Tight. Midriff exposed. Never before has more thought gone into workout attire. Shad ladies just LOVE to look good for their friends!

If your gym top could function as a beach top, congratulations! You’re ready for the 8 a.m. runway!

Shad Romance (Do Not Attempt)

That reminds me. We all know Shad isn’t the place to find love, but some RCs insist on learning this the hard way (RIP).

Gentlemen, if you see a woman at Shad in phenomenal shape, walk away. She’s taken… for obvious reasons.

Ladies, if you see a guy at Shad in phenomenal shape, green light! He’s almost certainly single and lifting weights to fill a sad void in his heart. Unless he’s a married consultant, in which case, he’s also lifting weights to fill a sad void in his heart.

If you’re romantically ambitious and feel tempted to approach someone at Shad, remember that Nike is no longer cool (i.e., Just Don’t Do It).

The 3 P.M. Scholars

By mid-afternoon, Shad fills with a new cohort: the Case Reader, walking on the treadmill with a case in one hand and highlighter in the other.

They are not there to read. They are not there to work out. They are there to be seen reading and working out.

Case Readers, we see you. We applaud you! Now please give us back the treadmills. You’re welcome to use the StairMaster.

If you’re keen to be seen as productive while being wildly unproductive, I recommend you skip Shad entirely. There’s no better place to pretend to read cases than Spangler coffee bar.

The StairMaster Climber

Speaking of StairMasters, there’s always a contingent in Shad endlessly climbing the StairMaster with no opportunity to advance. I suspect half of these climbers are BEMS students training for a career in media.

The other half are close cousins of the Case Readers and the Alo crowd. Like their cousins, these climbers also care about being seen. But they don’t care how they look in the gym. If they did, they wouldn’t be on a StairMaster. Instead, they care how they look outside the gym.

If you’re grinding on the StairMaster, any outfit will do. Just make sure you bring the right music: “Baby Got Back,” “All About That Bass,” and “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” should be included.

The Kirkland Athletes

Standing in opposition to scantily clad glute enthusiasts, we have our unsponsored heroes in cotton tees.

Some people mock your choice of workout wear, but remember: RFK Jr. works out in jeans. And according to Men’s Health, that’s “a low-key flex that shows you fit your workout in no matter what.”

Kirkland Athletes, you’re the real ones. Now please relocate to the basement’s functional fitness room so the Alo crowd has more space to stretch.

If you don’t care about what people think and just want a great workout, Kirkland’s True Classic Men’s Active Crew Neck Tee, 3-pack is available at Costco for $39.99.

The Sauna Summit

Finally, we must address Shad’s hottest power center: the sauna. Often called the most important boardroom in Boston.

Most assume fashion here is intuitive: zero times anything is still zero. But remember: the sauna isn’t for students alone. It only takes one sweaty meeting with your 70-year-old LCA professor to rethink sauna attire. So…

If you want to sweat away the stress of your self-imposed busy week, grab a towel before you strut into the Sauna. Please.

In Sum

There was once a time when gyms were for exercise. For cardio. For picking things up and putting them down (as God and Arnold intended). But that isn’t what John S.R. Shad envisioned when he donated his glorious temple to HBS in 1987.

So go forth. Climb your StairMaster. Curl your five-pound dumbbells. Read your cases on the treadmill. Dawn your absurdly expensive shorts. Wear your Walmart T-shirts. Wear Crocs for all I care!

(Okay, please don’t actually wear Crocs. I’m just trying to make a point here.)

As someone whose gym outfits are notoriously bad, trust me when I say, you’ll always be welcome in Shad! 

Stud Berman (MBA ‘26) traces his passion for fitness to a 2017 viewing of Thor: Ragnarok. Stud is known for his hot takes in and out of the sauna. As a recovering finance professional and aspiring Ironman, Stud’s current approach to fitness is 80/20. He can be found in Shad doing one of four exercises (the sauna counts as one).