Except to me a sport coat looks obviously much less formal than a suit. It makes sense. I realize though the applicant will have to bow to people's perceptions of what is formal whether logical or not. Or just break the buttons off his collars.
But I think that's where you and @kirbymiester was failing to understand our point: if your budget only allows JCP or MW, then by all means those are fine and that the minutiae doesn't matter to 99% of applicants (or faculty). I would argue that the average J Crew/BB/BR employee is more fashion savvy than those at JAB or MW.
I have a black skirt suit and I'm on a tight budget so that's the one I'll be wearing. But I feel like black suit, black purse, black shoes is too much black. Would a colored bag be alright? Nothing too bright of course.Much of the advice for men goes for women as well, although the latter have more leeway in terms of color.
SUITS
- wear one
- trousers are fine; skirt suits are more traditional and may be seen more in conservative fields (e.g., surgery); a dress with matching jacket is fine
- the suit must MATCH: fabric, style and color. This is not the occasion for those Tahari and Kasper suits you see at Macys with hot pink jackets and black shirts.
- skirt length at the knee or slightly below *when sitting*; shorter is interpreted as slutty, longer as dowdy
- when you bend over I should not see your thong, your blouse stays tucked in
- tropical weight wool, wool gabardine; no cotton sateen, linen, lycra, knits
- no "fashion" styles: short sleeves, peplums, cuffs, "cigarette" legs, ankle length, pleats
- navy, charcoal are best; brown is considered casual. Black? Despite internet pundit "wisdom", its not considered appropriate for interviews. If that's what you've got and you're on a budget and can't afford another, then so be it - you will be one of the dozens of others who are wearing a black suit.
BLOUSES
- the soft pink and cream sound fine, but boring. If those are your best colors, then definitely wear them but many people look better with a little more bold color. This is where you can deviate from the boys.
- I tend to avoid the button front blouse as I think they are not flattering on most and are too milquetoast; they are fine for working at The Gap or Mortons
- I wish it went without saying but no cleavage on view, no visible bra straps, no tank tops, no sheer; keep your jacket on if sleeveless
SHOES
- flats and certainly Danskos are not professional despite what a thousand med students and residents think they're doing during clinic
- unfortunately, heels are considered appropriate for women for interview
- the shoes in the link you provided are…<ahem> unfortunate
- clearly, if you are physically unable to wear heels you do not want to appear disabled by wearing them; you'll need to find some lower heeled comfortable shoes. Cole Haan makes some Nike Air Soles that are comfortable; you've some time to work on that element.
- color: cordovan if wearing navy, otherwise black. Should be darker than your suit.
JEWELRY
- one piercing per ear, lobes only
- its ok to stray from the "pearl stud" stereotype
- dangly earrings are to be avoided except the smallest ones
- same stuff about watches for men applies here
MISC
- pantyhose are expected; nude are best, very sheer black during the winter are acceptable
- don't bring a portfolio and a purse; one or the other
- if you bring a purse it should not look like a beach tote: it must be leather or a good facsimile of, and not so large that I wonder WTF you've got in there and why you need to cart so much stuff with you
- it should match your shoes
Except the material of the shirt in that link makes it obvious that it is a sports shirt.
Lol nah. Probably going for fuchsia or blue. But black bag on black suit just feels too black
Its not.
Why not go to a Macy's or Dillard's?
Can't tell if you're serious or not. But no, no sock bun. This isn't an ER shift.
As @southernIM notes, you go with brands and fits that you're familiar with.
Are you male or female?
Any male with a ponytail should be an automatic no rank.
Tailoring shoulders is tricky but can be done; have you considered having the suit tailored to your liking?
Is this like a Southern thing or something? Whatever it is, it's annoying.
Was he going for EM? They're usually the type to have tattoos as well.
Yes, I loved the longer hair on my ex-fiance, and encouraged him to grow it, but we/he cut it for his fellowship interviews (despite the fact that the PD at his fellowship rocks a ponytail LOL).
General Surgery followed by Trauma/CC fellowship. No tats.
Its probably also program dependent.
Ah yes!!! Neurologists! Those were the ones also with bowties. I didn't know if they were just trying to be cute and purposefully standout by wearing them or what.
Surgeons do not wear "pajamas" in the office when seeing patients. If anything, they tend to dress better than other specialties.
Ok, I'll cut him some major slack on appearance and dress code since he was going for Trauma/CC.
Exactly. I think every med student that starts their surgery clerkship is shocked to learn that they are required to dress up for Surgery clinics and that wearing scrubs while seeing clinic patients is a major no-no (at least in an academic medical center). Only place you can get away with scrubs all the time is EM.
That's a tough one. I haven't any personal advice (and honestly cannot recall seeing a surgical candidate pregnant during interview season) but you might consider a dress which could be worn afterwards if a wrap or empire waist with jacket rather than a trouser suit.
The third one definitely looks like a neurologist. I guess the Pediatricians w/bowties you met were from the South? The ones I know wore long ties with cartoon characters to appeal to children.Peds man, peds.
Bowtie + the gross peds beard.
They think they look like this:
They actually look like this:
[URL='http://www.aliexpress.com/popular/synthetic-hair-bun.html']
