Do the quality of your clothes matter during the interview?

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LoveBeingHuman:)

I'm talking inherent quality from when it was bought. Imagine a thick, smooth jacket vs. a thin, dull one. If both are professional, clean, properly fitted and intact, does it matter? I'm asking for financial reasons.
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I really doubt it matters, I've never heard of it. I mean if you have a high class suit and your interviewer is all about that, that might make a good impression, but that's as far as it goes. A lot of interviewees get suits on sale. As long as you dress respectfully it should be good.
 
Just make sure you don't pull a Michael Scott and wear a wrong cut suit.

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As long as it's neat, clean, good condition and fits well no one is gonna care
 
LoveBeingHuman:) said:
I'm talking inherent quality from when it was bought. Imagine a thick, smooth jacket vs. a thin, dull one. If both are professional, clean, properly fitted and intact, does it matter? I'm asking for financial reasons.
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100% yes it matters. You should never cheap out on a suit, especially for one of the most important interviews of your life.
 
LoveBeingHuman:) said:
I'm talking inherent quality from when it was bought. Imagine a thick, smooth jacket vs. a thin, dull one. If both are professional, clean, properly fitted and intact, does it matter? I'm asking for financial reasons.
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Don't care. A clean, well-fitted suit in a non-offensive color does the trick every time. Wearing super-expensive clothes at this stage usually just indicates that your parents have money, which isn't very meaningful.
 
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laxbrah20 said:
100% yes it matters. You should never cheap out on a suit, especially for one of the most important interviews of your life.
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I feel fairly confident that the phrase "well we would have accepted him, but he didn't wear a name-brand suit" has not come up in an adcom meeting any time in the last 30 years or so.
 
blackroses said:
I feel fairly confident that the phrase "well we would have accepted him, but he didn't wear a name-brand suit" has not come up in an adcom meeting any time in the last 30 years or so.
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You seem to be misinterpretting my message here. It's pretty simple, buy the best quality suit that you can afford. Buying a suit from a "buy 1 get 6 free" place will not suffice.
 
lemony said:
This is true... at my interviews, it always seemed everyone stuck with black suits. Those who picked navy really stuck out.
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And grey! As long as it's not too light of a grey. I was the only one with a grey suit at both of my interviews and I like to think that maybe it made me more memorable?
 
I spent less than $50 on a used suit, and tailored it myself on a crummy $25 sewing machine. In the end, it fit me decently and looked conservative. I made sure it was clean and wrinkle free on interview days, and I certainly don't think the cheap fabric was ever held against me. If you're not well off, don't feel pressure to spend more than you can afford, but do make sure you find (or make) something that fits.
 
lemony said:
This is true... at my interviews, it always seemed everyone stuck with black suits. Those who picked navy really stuck out.
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Huh interesting. I think there was a good amount of variety in my interviews. If anything, there were very few black suits, and a bunch of blues and greys. Maybe a lot of people in my interviews peruse SDN for interview fashion advice :laugh:

OP find a suit you can afford, get it tailored so it fits right, wear appropriately colored shoes and socks and you're good to go. You want is to wear something that gives you a lot of confidence and won't make you feel self-conscious, and these can be achieved with budget suits.
 
i wore a suit jacket I bought for five dollars at a thrift shop, black skinny jeans , I forgot a tie, messed up shoes, and I was accepted . Don't worry they don't expect u to look like a model . They care about who you are , not what you look like .
 
Oh gosh the fricken outfits I saw on some people for a professional interview was insane. I'm not even a judgemental person nor do I usually recognize those things but my lawd. Some people didn't even wear suits.

mistafab said:
My suit prolly cost me around a hundred dollars. After tailoring, maybe 130.

It doesn't take much money to look sharp.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^so much this. most people interviewing you won't most likely know that you have a 2000 dollar suit on.

The suit I wore combined with everything I wore with it was probably 1500$ but it was a gift and no way would I spend that on a suit for an interview.
 
lemony said:
This is true... at my interviews, it always seemed everyone stuck with black suits. Those who picked navy really stuck out.
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I went with a medium gray, because it's the suit I have. I think it worked out really well actually, made me more memorable in group interactions, where I'm most comfortable. I went 5/5 on interviews -> acceptances so I think it worked out.
 
JB50 said:
Oh gosh the fricken outfits I saw on some people for a professional interview was insane. I'm not even a judgemental person nor do I usually recognize those things but my lawd. Some people didn't even wear suits.




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^so much this. most people interviewing you won't most likely know that you have a 2000 dollar suit on.

The suit I wore combined with everything I wore with it was probably 1500$ but it was a gift and no way would I spend that on a suit for an interview.
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I agree $2000 is ridiculous and only for the big ballers out there.

Disclosure: I am not a big baller, just a small baller
 
laxbrah20 said:
I agree $2000 is ridiculous and only for the big ballers out there.

Disclosure: I am not a big baller, just a small baller
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or maybe not a baller after all?

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Obviously nobody is going to say "He wore a cheap suit so we're not going to accept him even though he's a Rhodes scholar." That's ridiculous. But the OP's concern is not - impressions matter and people do form subconscious opinions of you based on how you look. It's about as controllable as not thinking about pink elephants after someone tells you not to think about pink elephants. But the quality and brand of the suit don't matter as much as how it fits and how you present yourself in it. You want to look well put together and not like a slob. Your suit should fit you - most suits off the rack will need to be tailored in order for it to fit your body (unless you're one of the rare people with the exact average body type for your size).
 
aldol16 said:
Obviously nobody is going to say "He wore a cheap suit so we're not going to accept him even though he's a Rhodes scholar." That's ridiculous. But the OP's concern is not - impressions matter and people do form subconscious opinions of you based on how you look. It's about as controllable as not thinking about pink elephants after someone tells you not to think about pink elephants. But the quality and brand of the suit don't matter as much as how it fits and how you present yourself in it. You want to look well put together and not like a slob. Your suit should fit you - most suits off the rack will need to be tailored in order for it to fit your body (unless you're one of the rare people with the exact average body type for your size).
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^^^this.

As far suit cost, if you have the money to spare, you can get a high quality / high value suit for 400-500 dollars + tailoring. That said, for med school interviews, I had a 100 dollar reasonably fitting suit and it was fine
 
PersianDreamer said:
i wore a suit jacket I bought for five dollars at a thrift shop, black skinny jeans , I forgot a tie, messed up shoes, and I was accepted . Don't worry they don't expect u to look like a model . They care about who you are , not what you look like.
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There's a 'dress code' and you need to look like you 'get it'. The example above is the exception, not the rule, and if that applicant were an immigrant from a disadvantaged background, his fashion faux pas might have been excused. Or, if he were such an amazing candidate the interviewers may have been willing to overlook it. Or if he is gender non-conforming, it may have been interpreted as an identity statement of some kind.

To maximize your chances though, buy a good suit (used is fine -- really) and have it tailored to fit you. Navy or grey is fine for either gender; black is also OK for women but sub-optimal for men -- sorry guys. A really nice fabric can make up for some deficiencies as can a really nice fit. Both are possible without breaking the bank, which is what you should aim for.
 
I bought a 100 dollar navy suit off Amazon and 20 dollar brown dress shoes from ebay. You'll be fine.

The quality of the material won't be noticed, but just be sure to color-coordinate and not wear an outfit that is too casual (sweater + khakis) or too formal (all black suit or patent leather shoes).
 
In case anybody is in the market for suits, J Crew factory usually has decent sales on suits - or they will be having them probably around Memorial Day. Their suits are lower quality than J Crew itself but it's still decent for the price and fits well for slimmer/athletic guys. Otherwise, Macy's is a good option as well - they usually carry various brands and depending on the site, may have a tailor on site to do alterations/tell you whether it fits well, etc. The shoulders are the most important area in a suit - you can always get a suit taken in or let out but the shoulder is too hard to change in most cases.
 
I'm more than likely to get one mid-quaility suit at JC penny. Then have it tailored at a good place. That's it. You don't need more than one now... you will more than likely only be have one interview... that's it. I may buy two shirts, ties... but I don't see any need for more than that. Max total I would ever want to spend: 225.
 
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Goro said:
Or find them at thrift stores.
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Around here where I am they are mostly the clothes that were donated when someone's great grand father died. And he bought his suit in the 70's and smoked cigars and had a weird cologne he put on. Oh and was a XXL suit size. :hungover:
 
miniman said:
Around here where I am they are mostly the clothes that were donated when someone's great grand father died. And he bought his suit in the 70's and smoked cigars and had a weird cologne he put on. Oh and was a XXL suit size. :hungover:
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I'm lucky; we have some very good thrift stores where I am. Turned me into a label snob.
 
In general, academic physicians (who will be the majority of your interviewers) are not known to be the snappiest and most fashionable dressers around. Everybody knows you're a student and don't have a lot of dough. You're not applying for a Wall Street job where everyone's going to have the latest Brooks Brothers threads. Assuming you're wearing an appropriately professional attire ("made of some sort of cloth" a la My Cousin Vinny), you'll be fine. Good luck!
 
Goro said:
I'm lucky; we have some very good thrift stores where I am. Turned me into a label snob.
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Goro : Picky like always. Lol
 
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I wonder what would happen if I went to an interview in a zoot suit?
 
Macys.com

They have awesome suits on sale that you can typically combine with coupon codes for an even cheaper rate. Bought two suits ultimately: a light grey for Summer interviews and a dark grey for Fall/Winter interviews.

Be warned the suits will be "off the rack" so you better know your dimensions before buying and be prepared to have the suit tailored.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Goro said:
Would my learned colleague care to share some of the more interesting interview outfits seen at your school?
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Too numerous to count.
The traje de charro was a real favorite. He apparently played accordion quite well...
 
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