Women's Interview Clothing (thread #2)

Started by lol.psych
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Azure806 said:
I'm interviewing on Wednesday, and I'm trying to find a pair of comfortable pumps to wear with my skirt suit (black). I already have one pair of pointy-toed pumps, but they KILL my feet.

What do you think of these? They were super comfortable in the store, but I'm worried about whether the chunky heel will look out of place with my knee-length skirt--any tips?

View attachment 11081
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I think those are fine. The heel isn't really chunky, and it's important to be comfortable.

P31woman said:
What do y'all think about suits with 3/4 length sleeves?
http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/ou...goryId=194&categoryId=232&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_232
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Honestly, I like it. We want to look professional, but that doesn't mean we have to look stuffy. I think part of looking mature is dressing age-appropriately, and I also believe that being able to embrace one's femininity and stand out from the crowd shows confidence and panache. But maybe that's just me.
 
diosa428 said:
I don't think that there's anything wrong with it, but if you're spending a lot of money on a suit, it might be worth getting one that's "classic" rather than trendy, so that it won't go out of style and you can wear it again.
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Good point. 👍
 
My impressions from my interview on Thursday:

There weren't many females, although that may have been unique to our day. Two of us carried bags that were relatively large, and another girl just carried a padfolio. Honestly, I barely would have noticed if it wasn't for this thread and I doubt if anyone else did. Carry a semi-professional bag and it won't really matter.

No one changed shoes for the tour.

They gave us name-tag stickers. I imagine this is pretty standard, although they did mention that in previous years they were in holders that pinned on.

All of my interviewers were guys, and I doubt they mulled over what I was wearing beyond noting it was a suit (which was my goal). Wear a suit, and wear hose if you wear a skirt. Your day will go by so fast, you won't have time to think about how "uncomfortable" you might be. It's best not to take chances because you think suits and hose are constricting. Trust me, you'll be so absorbed in what is going on you won't dwell on it.

I wore a black suit with a teal sweater shell and black heels. It was a single breasted jacket that hit below my hips (it's my standard professional suit). One girl wore a gray suit and she looked great. No one was wearing a white shirt. All the females were in pant suits.
 
Hey for you girls who have not gotten your suits yet, when i was at the mall today, i saw that the limited has a 100 dollar off any suit offer.
 
i also had very few females at my two interviews... well see what happens at einstein
 
my first interview:
-6 females and 6 males
-no more than 2 girls wore skirts
-4 or 5 of us had "large" purses, 1 had a padfolio
 
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lala2626 said:
do you guys think the bodyshaper from new york & co. is ok to wear under our suit jacket? the material's not like a regular wifebeater or anything so i was planning to wear it unless it still looks too casual?.. http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/br...rod570156&parentId=cat60036&subcatId=cat60122
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You will NOT want to wear a body-shaper as a shirt. It'll look too tight and extremely unprofessional (maybe even a little skanky). That one's also really low cut. I suggest getting a beige one and wearing it under whatever other top you want to wear.
 
hmm thanks everyone for the responses. for some reason, when i went with my friends to shop for somethign to wear under the suit, they thought that was fine for an interview... so i hadn't thought much of it until another friend said it looked too unprofessional in which case i figured i'd ask u guys. thanks once again!
 
i had an interview this week where a girl wore a bright red suit- eek! designing women anyone?

and another girl wore tan pants, a peach-ish/salmon color blouse, and cream shoes. umm, we're past labor day!

maybe i'm too critical 😳
 
Azure806 said:
I'm interviewing on Wednesday, and I'm trying to find a pair of comfortable pumps to wear with my skirt suit (black). I already have one pair of pointy-toed pumps, but they KILL my feet.

What do you think of these? They were super comfortable in the store, but I'm worried about whether the chunky heel will look out of place with my knee-length skirt--any tips?

View attachment 11081
Click to expand...


go for it, sofft shoes are so comfortable!
 
At my most recent interview, there were five women interviewing, but I was the only one who put her hair up. It didn't look unprofessional, but I was surprised because I thought that you were supposed to put your hair in a ponytail or something for interviews. Thoughts?
 
Kerowyn said:
At my most recent interview, there were five women interviewing, but I was the only one who put her hair up. It didn't look unprofessional, but I was surprised because I thought that you were supposed to put your hair in a ponytail or something for interviews. Thoughts?
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I love these "supposed to" things. There isn't any rule about putting your hair up for interviews. For clinical rotations, maybe, but not for interviews.

Do keep it out of your eyes. Do not play with it during the interview and do not wear a style that requires you to brush it off your face with your hand every 5 minutes.
 
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I currently have a pantsuit, but I was thinking of getting a backup skirt suit, just to have options (and maybe a little fun). Yesterday, however, my boss told my coworker and me (we're both applying this year) that we should wear pants, not skirts. He implied that skirts draw too much attention to how we look. My coworker said her advisor told her to get a skirt suit, and I mentioned how some people (as mentioned on SDN) think skirts are more professional for women. He seemed incredulous.

I hate how there is even conflicting information about something as trivial as what to wear!

What do y'all think? Should I stick with pants at this point? Or is it just not worth fretting over?
 
Druzie said:
I currently have a pantsuit, but I was thinking of getting a backup skirt suit, just to have options (and maybe a little fun). Yesterday, however, my boss told my coworker and me (we're both applying this year) that we should wear pants, not skirts. He implied that skirts draw too much attention to how we look. My coworker said her advisor told her to get a skirt suit, and I mentioned how some people (as mentioned on SDN) think skirts are more professional for women. He seemed incredulous.

I hate how there is even conflicting information about something as trivial as what to wear!

What do y'all think? Should I stick with pants at this point? Or is it just not worth fretting over?
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i'm not on an adcom (obviously) but i think that the most important thing is that you feel comfortable in what you wear. Also, the skirts that go with (most) suits are conservative as it is. I have 2 suits, both with skirts, but the one of them had matching pants so I got those as well. What i'll wear depends on my mood/weather.
 
kac714 said:
i'm not on an adcom (obviously) but i think that the most important thing is that you feel comfortable in what you wear. Also, the skirts that go with (most) suits are conservative as it is.
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yea, i agree with this.

most skirt suits don't come with minis. the length is usually at the knee and it's hard to be scandalous with wool and pinstripes.
 
I understand what y'all are saying, and length of skirt wasn't really a concern. I guess I interpreted my boss's comments as something more like, "You don't want to look like you care too much about what you look like, because maybe they won't take you as seriously." But maybe that's just me projecting guilt over my blossoming vanity. 😛

Anyway, I think it's a moot point. I'm just going to do what I want, within reason. 😉

Today I got an invite for an interview this coming Monday! So I seriously need to take out the suit, make sure it's cleaned and *fits*, and I want to find a nice, new blouse. Never enough time!
 
A girl at one of my interviews earlier this week told me that some schools (she didn't say which ones) wrote in their emails that they prefer that girls wear skirts. I thought that that was kinda weird 😕
 
Ladies, I'm kind of freaking out! :scared:
I didn't originally want to wear a button-down, collared, long-sleeve shirt. I wanted to do something different, younger, more modern. But today I started having serious doubts!
Is a v-neck blouse with an empire seam, or a wrap-jersey blouse with a colourful pattern, or a bright mock-turtleneck (I bought these today before I started freaking out) a bad idea?

(Azuldelcielo~ I'd never heard of schools *telling* you what to wear. If you find out which ones, will you let us know?)
 
Druzie said:
Ladies, I'm kind of freaking out! :scared:
I didn't originally want to wear a button-down, collared, long-sleeve shirt. I wanted to do something different, younger, more modern. But today I started having serious doubts!
Is a v-neck blouse with an empire seam, or a wrap-jersey blouse with a colourful pattern, or a bright mock-turtleneck (I bought these today before I started freaking out) a bad idea?
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They don't sound like bad ideas in principle! As long as they're not too low cut, you're probably fine. I tend to shy away from patterns but that is my personal taste. Try them on with the jacket and see how you feel and maybe what your friends say. My tip for "low cut" is to sit down and then glance down your shirt. If you can see any skin topography, the shirt is probably too low cut. Another trick is to bend over in front of a mirror, like you're going to pick something up. If you can see your bra or your breasts, that is probably bad. But maybe I'm just conservative, I don't know. I did not wear a button down shirt and got my EDP acceptance yesterday. 🙂
 
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coffeebeanjenn said:
They don't sound like bad ideas in principle! As long as they're not too low cut, you're probably fine. I tend to shy away from patterns but that is my personal taste. Try them on with the jacket and see how you feel and maybe what your friends say. My tip for "low cut" is to sit down and then glance down your shirt. If you can see any skin topography, the shirt is probably too low cut. Another trick is to bend over in front of a mirror, like you're going to pick something up. If you can see your bra or your breasts, that is probably bad. But maybe I'm just conservative, I don't know. I did not wear a button down shirt and got my EDP acceptance yesterday. 🙂
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Ooh! Congratulations!

Your words are very comforting... and wise, not conservative. 😉 I got a crew-neck to go under the wrap, and the other v-neck isn't too low... I don't think. I'll try them on and get my boyfriend's advice. Thanks!
 
a rather odd question - i've never worn a suit before period. i bought a really cute skirt suit from express (plain black and got a button up white shirt for underneath)... but what color hose do you guys recommend??
 
qtMD said:
a rather odd question - i've never worn a suit before period. i bought a really cute skirt suit from express (plain black and got a button up white shirt for underneath)... but what color hose do you guys recommend??
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I believe the consensus was black, right? Or nude.

'Nother question: My bf says men are supposed to button up the jacket when standing, unbutton when seated. What about women?
 
Druzie said:
I believe the consensus was black, right? Or nude.

'Nother question: My bf says men are supposed to button up the jacket when standing, unbutton when seated. What about women?
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Nude, not black.

I generally kept my suit coat buttoned when I sat, b/c I didn't want anyone to get full view of the tank top I was wearing underneath 😳 I don't think it really matters; it's just one day.
 
diosa428 said:
Nude, not black.

I generally kept my suit coat buttoned when I sat, b/c I didn't want anyone to get full view of the tank top I was wearing underneath 😳 I don't think it really matters; it's just one day.
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i keep seeing a mention of a tank top, so -- another question, do you guys button up your shirt all the way or like 2/3 and wear a tank top underneath?
 
ronicajay said:
👍 cute!
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ar2388 said:
oo cute
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Thanks guys! I think I'll get them tmw in time for my first inteview FRIDAY! (nothing like leaving things to the last minute!)

diosa428 said:
I generally kept my suit coat buttoned when I sat, b/c I didn't want anyone to get full view of the tank top I was wearing underneath 😳 I don't think it really matters; it's just one day.
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I agree, I plan on leaving mine buttoned, its just easier
 
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I kept mine buttoned, except for after one of the tours (I was burning up!) and maybe during lunch - but during the interviews it was definitely buttoned.
 
qtMD said:
i keep seeing a mention of a tank top, so -- another question, do you guys button up your shirt all the way or like 2/3 and wear a tank top underneath?
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I don't think she was wearing a button-down, just the tank top.

If I were wearing a button-down, I wouldn't button up all the way! I would leave the top one or two undone (1/3 undone sounds like a lot, even if you're wearing something underneath), because being all buttoned up looks unnatural/uncomfortable... IMO. (And I personally wear a tank or camisole underneath, whether it's visible or not.)
 
juxhoo said:
Thanks guys! I think I'll get them tmw in time for my first inteview FRIDAY! (nothing like leaving things to the last minute!)
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Ooh...make sure you wear them around a couple of hours before then. You don't want to get major blisters on the tour or anything!
 
Hello ladies,
I'm loving this thread btw. I have my first interview coming up in a few days and I wanted to get your opinions. What do you think of this suit from Calvin Klein? I have tan skin (I'm hispanic) and I'm a little larger up top. I'm getting it tailored and I'm not sure if I should add a button on the bottom. I'm not sure what shirt to wear underneath either? Any advice is appreciated!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=329764&CategoryID=39098&LinkType=EverGreen
 
QTLyss said:
Hello ladies,
I'm loving this thread btw. I have my first interview coming up in a few days and I wanted to get your opinions. What do you think of this suit from Calvin Klein? I have tan skin (I'm hispanic) and I'm a little larger up top. I'm getting it tailored and I'm not sure if I should add a button on the bottom. I'm not sure what shirt to wear underneath either? Any advice is appreciated!

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=329764&CategoryID=39098&LinkType=EverGreen
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oo very nice suit!
also, i have been wearing my blouse buttoned up all the way on my interviews. it looks weird otherwise for the specific shirt and suit im wearing
 
I like the suit. I'm usually not a fan of one-button jackets but I think that one is just fine. I wouldn't add another button.

As for a shirt, I think a cami would look nice with the neckline. You'd probably have to stick to white/ivory with that suit color.
 
linguini said:
I like the suit. I'm usually not a fan of one-button jackets but I think that one is just fine. I wouldn't add another button.

As for a shirt, I think a cami would look nice with the neckline. You'd probably have to stick to white/ivory with that suit color.
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ditto, i'm hispanic as well but i didnt like the way black or gray looked on me. i'm going with blue! 🙂
 
ami1983 said:
ditto, i'm hispanic as well but i didnt like the way black or gray looked on me. i'm going with blue! 🙂
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I loOoVed the blue. I think it goes great with our skin tone ;-) I might pick up a second one in navy. I'm not bold enough to wear a red suit but reds really look nice on me so I might try to pick up a suit I can wear a reddish undershirt with.
 
QTLyss said:
I loOoVed the blue. I think it goes great with our skin tone ;-) I might pick up a second one in navy. I'm not bold enough to wear a red suit but reds really look nice on me so I might try to pick up a suit I can wear a reddish undershirt with.
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you could try blue with red, but be careful. i'm erring on the side of conservative for these interviews, but if you're little more daring i think a blue suit with a white shirt and red pumps would look killer!

don't do a red suit, its too designing women 🙂
 
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