I’m Wall Street’s best dressed man — here’s how I use fashion to help me navigate a stressful high-stakes job

On Wall Street, where pressed collars, Patagonia vests and brown loafers reign supreme, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives stands out.

While some may still imagine FiDi’s best dressed as a Gucci-clad Gordon Gekko clone, it’s a new Wall Street — and this globally-known tech analyst is the rising style stock to bet on.

Ives, 49, shuns “cookie cutter” suits that have become synonymous with the Stock Exchange and instead chooses neon sport coats, vests and trousers. Every day, the perma-bull — that’s a strictly bullish analyst, Ives is consistently rallying for Tesla and Apple — opts for colorful outfits and sneakers over bland corporate garb.

“When I go in my closet, it’s just there’s no rhyme or reason,” he told The Post. “My style makes me feel good in a stressful job, talking stocks and dealing with clients and billions of dollars.”

You could say he’s bullish for brights.

“I love color. I don’t really have a plain piece of clothing,” he said. “I was in Sydney a month ago. The cab driver recognized me and asked me about my sports jacket.”

The same happened in Paris when a stranger approached him in a coffee shop, confessing that “they now wear colorful sports jackets because they watch me” — and plenty of others ask where he gets his duds, now that they’re feeling brave enough to wear color. 

“Many said it’s helped change their style,” he said. “It’s helped some people come out of their shell. It makes me feel so good.”

Ives — who rose to prominence for being bullish on Big Tech coming out of the financial crisis — has become a fashion legend online, where fintech fanatics and stock pros often share his outfit of the day pics and excitedly comment on his vibrant attire.

On X, he’s been dubbed “best-dressed analyst,” “dapper Dan,” “director of vibes,” “the GOAT of fashion,” and, in adoring hyperbole, “the most stylish man in the US.” He’s been dressing in vivid hues since the ‘90s but became something of an icon during the pandemic when “so many people were watching financial media” on TV.

“What you’ve seen with Dan, investments, advice and guidance have changed in large part because of social media,” said Brian Sozzi, Yahoo finance executive editor. “Not only do people want authoritative voices on certain sectors and stocks, they want people with character that they can relate to.

“But he’s not just this personality in financial news,” he added. “He’s someone who really understands investments.”

Still, his online following is undeniable. Many often suggest the New Jersey dad, who lives in Westfield, start his own clothing line or analyze whether Ives, who does not use a stylist, has repeated an outfit.

In his closet, you won’t find any powder blue Winchester shirts with contrast collar cuffs, but rather a technicolor doughnut shirt — one of his favorites — that he often pairs with wild printed sailboat pants. One of the days we spoke, he wore a fluorescent green sports jacket and bright blue pants.

“Clashing is what I do most of the time, unintentionally,” he said. “My wife would be, like, ‘No person should ever walk outside the house looking like that,’ and I almost find that as a compliment.”

Ives, who has traveled over 3 million miles, estimates that 50% of his wardrobe was purchased internationally. He does own pricey watches but doesn’t do custom suits or logos, and his favorite brand is Aviator Nation, which is “generally marketed toward tween girls.” As a confessed sneakerhead, his custom collection, particularly his Sandy Bodecker Nikes, is his prized possession.

“It would almost be odd if I wore a Brooks Brothers suit,” the Long Island native said.

When commuting, Ives said he does “get stares all the time” but sticks to his guns by dressing for his personality.

“When I’m meeting with clients,” he said, “a lot of times before I come to a meeting, they’ll ask, ‘What are you wearing?’ ”

Power dressing on Wall Street has undergone a radical makeover in recent years — especially in sectors adjacent to Silicon Valley, where athleisure and streetwear sub in for double-breasted pinstripe suits.

“Goldman famously gave up on having an official formal dress code several years ago,” said Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant who splits his time between NYC and Silicon Valley.

Also, the finance world has become more casual since the dot-com boom, 2008 crisis and beyond.

“There’s almost no more finance without tech,” Rosenfeld added. “The marriage between the two types of fields or industries has become so blurred over time.”

“Wall Street used to just be a small club,” Ives said. “It’s a new era of Wall Street where it’s not just institutional investors. There is such a massive amount of retail around the group.”

And speaking to everyday investors, Ives said both his fashion sensibility and the way he discusses stocks make the market less “intimidating.”

After all, he isn’t out to be a wolf on Wall Street.

“My goal is for our clients and the broader public to break down very complex tech themes into digestible topics,” he explained. “The fashion is what they see, but the content is ultimately what’s important.”

“I still look to Dan for insight into tech stocks,” said Sozzi, who has known Ives for nearly a decade. “The outfits are still secondary. It’s just Dan.”

Plus, his fun style is a way to stay calm in the high-octane world of trading.

“When I dress funky, it makes me feel more relaxed, and I do think it helps me do my job better. I’m comfortable in my own skin,” he said. “If I dress conventional, it would be constricting in terms of how I think.”

In fact, that did happen to Ives last year during a TV appearance.

“I wore a traditional sports jacket with just a little color and people took that very bearishly,” he joked.

Rosenfeld agrees. “If we feel comfortable in what we’re wearing, and it’s energizing, we’re gonna show up more fully. We’re gonna be more present. And we’re gonna produce results.”

For Ives, though, he loves to connect through fashion, and he’s glad to show his “authentic” self doing what he loves.

“Dressing like everyone else, that’s never been my style nor has it ever been my style covering tech,” Ives said. “My style is going against the grain.”