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Studies on cosmopolites often focus on expatriates or entrepreneurs. Although intentional cosmopolites do exist, and surely represent an important part of those individuals who define themselves as citizens of the world, the author suggests that a les-explored and darker variant also exists: reluctant cosmopolites.

The author reviews Olivier Geai’s book “La parole est aux migrants”, which presents first-person narratives of migrants from their childhoods to the point of their intentions of migrating, their journeys and their arrivals in France. Following the established logic of reviews in the society and business review, the author will place this book in tension with the academic literature on cosmopolitanism, mostly through the excellent “The Cosmopolitan Ideal” edited by Sybille de la Rosa and Darren O’Byrne.

Exploring cosmopolitanism through the perspective of reluctant cosmopolites leads to understanding the phenomenon as a process (cosmopolitanization) rather than a state, and to engage with the idea of cities of refuge.

Developing the notion of cities of refuge, which are not utopias or ideals – but revolutionary – radical inspirations to rethink a world that cannot be constructed tomorrow based on the yesterday’s blueprints.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the phenomenon of dress codes in professions. Since they can be considered as carriers of both organizational communication and individual identity, they will be central in professions as communities and through the professionalization process. Therefore, we will ask the following question: what is the role of understanding and complying with dress codes in becoming a professional?

The empirical study consists in a series of ethnographic interviews and observations aiming at understanding dress codes' roles and dynamics in financial professions.

Exploring dress codes in three typical professions in finance, we have discovered that they also are mediums of communication within the group, strengthening a certain aesthetic sense of belonging and of presenting the self.

In this, becoming a professional can be understood as an aesthetic experience through which all senses are involved. Considering professions as being also aesthetic communities shifts the focus – or rather enlarges it – toward symbolic, corporeal and sensorial elements.