Suit Color for Interviews

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Sammich117

Sammich117

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Hey,

This is a somewhat silly question, but I thought I read somewhere that ADCOM's may favor it if someone doesn't show up in the same black suit they see everyone else in. Now, I love my black suit, but I'm thinking about going shopping for a brown one this weekend...

Any thoughts?

(This is not the main thing I'm worried about, just something that crossed my mind and I thought I'd get all of your wonderful knowledge on the matter 😛)
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Sammich117 said:
Hey,

This is a somewhat silly question, but I thought I read somewhere that ADCOM's may favor it if someone doesn't show up in the same black suit they see everyone else in. Now, I love my black suit, but I'm thinking about going shopping for a brown one this weekend...

Any thoughts?

(This is not the main thing I'm worried about, just something that crossed my mind and I thought I'd get all of your wonderful knowledge on the matter 😛)
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Go with whatever you are comfortable in! I bought a blue suit to be different and wore it to two interviews but I just don't 'feel' right in it. I've worn my black suit (just like everyone else) and felt much more comfortable. Nobody cares what color your suit is as long as you look professional.
 
Navy blue, black, brown, or grey are the norm. You might want to check out the Men's Interview Clothing thread.
 
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hi_fashion_suit.jpg
 
Sammich117 said:
Hey,

This is a somewhat silly question, but I thought I read somewhere that ADCOM's may favor it if someone doesn't show up in the same black suit they see everyone else in. Now, I love my black suit, but I'm thinking about going shopping for a brown one this weekend...

Any thoughts?

(This is not the main thing I'm worried about, just something that crossed my mind and I thought I'd get all of your wonderful knowledge on the matter 😛)
Click to expand...
I never understood where premeds got the idea that a black suit was appropriate for an interview (do the pre-med advisory offices say that or something?)

Generally, a Navy Blue (with or without pinstripes) or a Gray (with or without pinstripes) suit is most appropriate for an interview. If you can pull it off (forget it -- if you think that a black suit is appropriate for an interview, you probably can't,) an Olive suit looks good too. Those are the top 5 colored business suits. Wear cordovan shoes with a Navy Suit, black shoes with a gray. Match your socks to your pants and wear calf-high socks so you have no visible hairy legs if you cross your legs. You can't go wrong with a white shirt, but you can experiment as you develop your fashion sense. Pick a unique, but not too flamboyant, tie.

Black suits are really only appropriate for funerals.

....and to sort-of answer your question, the Medical School interview coordinator at my school starts off each interview season (where we medical students sign up for the pre-interview dinners, etc) with an email titled "The Return of the Somberly Clad." Infer whatever you'd like from that.....
 
Sol Rosenberg said:
I never understood where premeds got the idea that a black suit was appropriate for an interview (do the pre-med advisory offices say that or something?)

Generally, a Navy Blue (with or without pinstripes) or a Gray (with or without pinstripes) suit is most appropriate for an interview. If you can pull it off (forget it -- if you think that a black suit is appropriate for an interview, you probably can't,) an Olive suit looks good too. Those are the top 5 colored business suits. Wear cordovan shoes with a Navy Suit, black shoes with a gray. Match your socks to your pants and wear calf-high socks so you have no visible hairy legs if you cross your legs. You can't go wrong with a white shirt, but you can experiment as you develop your fashion sense. Pick a unique, but not too flamboyant, tie.

Black suits are really only appropriate for funerals.

....and to sort-of answer your question, the Medical School interview coordinator at my school starts off each interview season (where we medical students sign up for the pre-interview dinners, etc) with an email titled "The Return of the Somberly Clad." Infer whatever you'd like from that.....
Click to expand...

Black is pretty much the most formal suit color, so a lot of people already own one from a wedding, funeral, formal dinner event, etc. Buying a new one just for an interview doesn't make any sense; I think that's why there are so many out there at interviews.
 
IMHO, people shouldn't be wearing black suits to weddings (tuxedos, yes, if it is after 6 pm, but not a black suit).

That said, I can say that since at least the 2000-2001 interview cycle, people have been wearing black suits on interview day. In Spring 2001, I went out and bought a black linen suit. I said to the Dean of Admissions, "I don't know what possessed me to do this; I guess I thought it was fashionable." and she laughed because she knew I'd been subliminally brainwashed all season long.

I remember that suit because I just happened to be wearing it on 9/11/01.
 
If I had to do it again, I probably would have gone with a gray suit. Everyone will be wearing black... If you can find a color that works for you, go for it. This is something that most people really don't read too much into, but there is a lot of flexibility that few take advantage of.
 
dont go with black, go with a darker blue or some charcoal or grey if u want to be more conservative/not screw up. Mines navy blue personally. The dress shirt and tie are really where you can throw in some flare if you want to while still being somewhat conservative for an interview. Thats what i did but if you have no fashion sense at all...find someone who does to help u pick it out (once again something i did lol).

personally unless ure parents or someone else is fronting the bill, i wouldnt get a new suit. Its just too expensive for something you will only use a few times...
 
LizzyM said:
IMHO, people shouldn't be wearing black suits to weddings (tuxedos, yes, if it is after 6 pm, but not a black suit).

That said, I can say that since at least the 2000-2001 interview cycle, people have been wearing black suits on interview day. In Spring 2001, I went out and bought a black linen suit. I said to the Dean of Admissions, "I don't know what possessed me to do this; I guess I thought it was fashionable." and she laughed because she knew I'd been subliminally brainwashed all season long.

I remember that suit because I just happened to be wearing it on 9/11/01.
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I've always heard light suit for day weddings, dark (including black) for night weddings, and tux if it says black tie. I'll readily admit that I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to this, though.
 
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Sammich117 said:
I'm a girl.. I don't think the men's thread will help me :-D
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I mean, in terms of color, they should more or less the same. It's not like girls can wear bright blue suit while us guys have to wear black or grey suits, you know.
 
Black, light blue shirt, black tie with some silver striping. I got my acceptance later in the afternoon.
 
BlueElmo said:
I mean, in terms of color, they should more or less the same. It's not like girls can wear bright blue suit while us guys have to wear black or grey suits, you know.
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Who says a woman can't wear bright blue, or red, or deep green or even pink! It depends on the woman, maybe on her geographic roots, but I'd love to see some diversity in the way applicants dress. I'm tired of the funeral home feel I get when I walk into a room of applicants!

You can wear wool and yet not be sheep.
 
Sol Rosenberg said:
I never understood where premeds got the idea that a black suit was appropriate for an interview (do the pre-med advisory offices say that or something?)

Generally, a Navy Blue (with or without pinstripes) or a Gray (with or without pinstripes) suit is most appropriate for an interview. If you can pull it off (forget it -- if you think that a black suit is appropriate for an interview, you probably can't,) an Olive suit looks good too. Those are the top 5 colored business suits. Wear cordovan shoes with a Navy Suit, black shoes with a gray. Match your socks to your pants and wear calf-high socks so you have no visible hairy legs if you cross your legs. You can't go wrong with a white shirt, but you can experiment as you develop your fashion sense. Pick a unique, but not too flamboyant, tie.

Black suits are really only appropriate for funerals.

....and to sort-of answer your question, the Medical School interview coordinator at my school starts off each interview season (where we medical students sign up for the pre-interview dinners, etc) with an email titled "The Return of the Somberly Clad." Infer whatever you'd like from that.....
Click to expand...

What fashion stricken planet do you live on buddy? A black suit can be extremely sharp, if you know how to dress in one and its properly tailored. Sadly, most people's (esp pre-meds) black suits don't fit them properly or they go to interviews with the black suit, white shirt, black tie/red tie and they either look like a funeral attendee or an out of place political aspirant. In fact, traditionally speaking a black suit is not considered a "conservative" option for interviews, that would be navy, as black was considered sharper or more fashion forward (to understand the times this existed, think of the Beatles wearing black suits in the early-mid 60s). It has only been recently with the black suit brigade has it gotten its current stigma. I guess all those classy folks going to fancy dinners or ceremonies in black suits are committing a fashion faux paux in your book.

With that said, I'll most likely be purchasing a grey suit for interviews, since my black suit is from senior year of high school and I don't like it how it fits me these days and too many peolpe have given black a bad rap, though I'm confident I could pull it off if I wanted to. If you do go black, make sure its a two button and tailored trim. Anything more and it does look funeral-esque and buttoned up or look like you think your an NFL linebacker.

As an aside, someone earlier mentioned pinstripes. Be very careful with that. Depending on the width, color, and number, pinstripes can be conveyed as a "power" suit or demonstrative of someone higher up in the chain of command so to speak, in the traditional sense of what different suit astethics signified and still do. If you get a suit with stripes, they should be subtle. You're the interviewee, not the chief of medicine.
 
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armorshell said:
Not a black suit. It's charcoal grey.
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BlueElmo said:
That looks like a black suit to me.


This would be charcoal grey.

charcoal-wool-suit_062308.jpg
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Elmo is correct here. The above picture is charcoal, Obama's is black. I know for a fact it is since I worked for him in New Hampshire and on the campaign trail with him it was most definitely a black suit.
 
Counldn't you spice it up with pinstripes? Maybe it's me, but I've always thought they make people look sharp.
 
shiftingmirage said:
Counldn't you spice it up with pinstripes? Maybe it's me, but I've always thought they make people look sharp.
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There's some great looking pinstripes. I wasn't trying to be anti-pinstripe, I was just saying be sensible about it. Some look sharp and classic, others make you look like a wise guy, and some are better suited for CEOs and not the intern walking through the door.

redsquareblack said:
How about a tan suit? I have one, and absolutely love it, and think it looks great paired with light blue shirt.
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Its a great look, and if you look great in it that's what matters most. What material is it made out of though, and will you be warm during the interview season? Most tans are made with lighter material for spring/summer.
 
Elijah05 said:
dont go with black, go with a darker blue or some charcoal or grey if u want to be more conservative/not screw up. Mines navy blue personally. The dress shirt and tie are really where you can throw in some flare if you want to while still being somewhat conservative for an interview. Thats what i did but if you have no fashion sense at all...find someone who does to help u pick it out (once again something i did lol).

personally unless ure parents or someone else is fronting the bill, i wouldnt get a new suit. Its just too expensive for something you will only use a few times...
Click to expand...

I disagree with this. If you're a college senior or older chances are your general suit size isn't going to change too much (you may get fatter, but not necessarily taller...which can usually be fixed via alterations)...so any suit you buy is something you can add to your "suit repertoire" for the rest of your life. You'll need it throughout med school anyway for special events, dinners, residency interviews, etc. A suit is a great investment. I'm using the one I bought for job interviews when I was graduating college, but if you don't have a nice one it's not a terrible idea to get a new one.
 
Longshanks said:
What fashion stricken planet do you live on buddy? A black suit can be extremely sharp, if you know how to dress in one and its properly tailored. Sadly, most people's (esp pre-meds) black suits don't fit them properly or they go to interviews with the black suit, white shirt, black tie/red tie and they either look like a funeral attendee or an out of place political aspirant. In fact, traditionally speaking a black suit is not considered a "conservative" option for interviews, that would be navy, as black was considered sharper or more fashion forward (to understand the times this existed, think of the Beatles wearing black suits in the early-mid 60s). It has only been recently with the black suit brigade has it gotten its current stigma. I guess all those classy folks going to fancy dinners or ceremonies in black suits are committing a fashion faux paux in your book.

With that said, I'll most likely be purchasing a grey suit for interviews, since my black suit is from senior year of high school and I don't like it how it fits me these days and too many peolpe have given black a bad rap, though I'm confident I could pull it off if I wanted to. If you do go black, make sure its a two button and tailored trim. Anything more and it does look funeral-esque and buttoned up or look like you think your an NFL linebacker.

As an aside, someone earlier mentioned pinstripes. Be very careful with that. Depending on the width, color, and number, pinstripes can be conveyed as a "power" suit or demonstrative of someone higher up in the chain of command so to speak, in the traditional sense of what different suit astethics signified and still do. If you get a suit with stripes, they should be subtle. You're the interviewee, not the chief of medicine.
Click to expand...

Worrying about 2 or 3 buttons, wide pinstripes, etc. is reading way too much into it.
 
I'm going with Navy I feel it looks better than black on me.

I think when someone says black just looks better on me that they haven't really tried other suit colors out to see how they look since other colors usually look better than black on most people...At least in my opinion...
 
redsquareblack said:
How about a tan suit? I have one, and absolutely love it, and think it looks great paired with light blue shirt.
Click to expand...


I for one would love to wear a tan suit, I have blond hair and an olive skin tone so I feel tan would look the best on me but for formal interviews this time of year my idea of wearing a tan suit has been shot down...Oh well...
 
PsxDcSquall said:
I'm going with Navy I feel it looks better than black on me.

I think when someone says black just looks better on me that they haven't really tried other suit colors out to see how they look since other colors usually look better than black on most people...At least in my opinion...
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I am going to go with navy blue as well.


On another note, I just saw a group of interview candidates at my local school and all of the guys had on black suits. The girls had charcoal gray skirts and white shirts, with the exception of one who had a pink shirt on with black pants... But in my opinion she looked under dressed compared to the other applicants.
 
Ok2Panic said:
This made my day. :laugh:
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Mine too. That's on fantastic looking suit.

Substance P said:
I am going to go with navy blue as well.


On another note, I just saw a group of interview candidates at my local school and all of the guys had on black suits. The girls had charcoal gray skirts and white shirts, with the exception of one who had a pink shirt on with black pants... But in my opinion she looked under dressed compared to the other applicants.
Click to expand...

I'm not big on the skirt suits, so I will hopefully find a nice pants one this weekend. I have a black one that I love, but I want to stand out in as many ways as I can 🙂
 
JFK90787 said:
I know someone who got 5 interviews last year, and he wore a suit to each interview with a color scheme that matched the school's colors. Cost almost $1000

That said, he was 5 for 5 on acceptances
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Crazy. I doubt that was the reason for his acceptances.
 
Sammich117 said:
I'm not big on the skirt suits, so I will hopefully find a nice pants one this weekend. I have a black one that I love, but I want to stand out in as many ways as I can 🙂
Click to expand...


Based on the girls I saw today, a black skirt suit is going to stand out a bit. The other girls all had on gray ones, minus the girl who was wearing black pants, but she had some other stuff going on that made me even wonder if she was interviewing or just lost...
 
BlueElmo said:
Crazy. I doubt that was the reason for his acceptances.
Click to expand...


I agree. But if you've got the money...


I'm going with my 7 year old suit from my business days. ha ha. I don't want to shell out any more money for this process than I need to.
 
LizzyM said:
A couple years ago, in the middle of black suit season the dean said he would admit on the spot any applicant who showed up in a red plaid sports jacket. So far no one has been admitted on that basis.



I think that we'd offer the same deal to anyone in a green pimp suit, in the name of diversity, of course.
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Do they get a scholarship if they're also sporting their aquarium pimp of the year shoes?

FishTankPlatsCheetahLg.jpg
 
And just in case you can't picture them in action...


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQKKgNC5EpM&feature=related[/youtube]
 
mdeast said:
I disagree with this. If you're a college senior or older chances are your general suit size isn't going to change too much (you may get fatter, but not necessarily taller...which can usually be fixed via alterations)...so any suit you buy is something you can add to your "suit repertoire" for the rest of your life. You'll need it throughout med school anyway for special events, dinners, residency interviews, etc. A suit is a great investment. I'm using the one I bought for job interviews when I was graduating college, but if you don't have a nice one it's not a terrible idea to get a new one.
Click to expand...

I still have a suit in my closet that I bought when I was 17. It is a 40R. I now wear a 46L (but I do need them taken in a bit).
 
Substance P said:
Based on the girls I saw today, a black skirt suit is going to stand out a bit. The other girls all had on gray ones, minus the girl who was wearing black pants, but she had some other stuff going on that made me even wonder if she was interviewing or just lost...
Click to expand...

That's strange, the two I've gone to all the girls were in black, and probably over half of them were skirt suits. Maybe a regional thing?

I'm tired of people putting down black suits. For one, it's pretty much impossible to mess up matching a blouse or button-down to a black suit, and second, when I was shopping black was the ONLY thing I could find. And believe me, I looked. I wanted a brown or dark gray one, but ended up with a black suit. I get that it could look like a funeral procession, but people wear black suits to a lot more than funerals...

Substance P, those shoes are hilarious!
 
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