Wrinkles and Suits

[MaximusD]

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I gotta admit I spend 1.5K on my suit :/
130 on the shirt
110 on the tie
170 on shoes

WAY WAY outa my normal spending range, but to me it's 100% worth it. I could care less what I look like at weddings, dates, events etc etc, but a med school interview is the one time I actually want to look sharp.

What the ****. Seriously I want to kick you in the balls.

 

[notdeadyet]

What the ****. Seriously I want to kick you in the balls.

Oh, c'mon, everyone needs their extravagant spending. Personally, I like to spend my money on travel. Others like drugs, vintage wines and fine suits. To each their own.

 

[Funky]

on a similar topic, what about glasses? I usually wear contacts but should I wear my glasses to attempt to look a little bit older and a little bit smarter?

 

[somemaybedoc]

Oh, c'mon, everyone needs their extravagant spending. Personally, I like to spend my money on travel. Others like drugs, vintage wines and fine suits. To each their own.

I agree, everyone should be able to spend as they can afford and they see fit. Personally I will not stay at a motel, so I spend money on getting nicer hotels for my interviews.

 

[LizzyM]

on a similar topic, what about glasses? I usually wear contacts but should I wear my glasses to attempt to look a little bit older and a little bit smarter?

😕 No.

But if you want to avoid an awkward moment when you get something stuck in your eye, or have your contact fall out or otherwise cause a problem....

On the other hand, glasses can fog up when you come in from outside on a cold day, get wet in the rain, ....

Do as you please.

 

[kevster2001]

Are silver ties too flashy? I have one but not really sure if I should use it since its not the usual conservative look but its not a santa tie or anything

 

[Darkshooter326]

What the ****. Seriously I want to kick you in the balls.

That's unnecessary, a person can spend whatever they want to on a suit. It is not frivolous, really, since a good suit can last a very long time. Also, a 'cheap' suit can last a very long time also, so whatever floats your boat. 😳

 

[LizzyM]

Are silver ties too flashy? I have one but not really sure if I should use it since its not the usual conservative look but its not a santa tie or anything

Silver is really a shade of light gray, usually with a shiny surface (silk ties are by definition shiny, but some more than others). Not knowing too much of men's fashion, I'd say that it might look okay. Dress up and ask your mother or a non-pre-med whose judgment you trust.

 

[acrobat]

I don't like silver ties because I think they look to metro. Nothing against metros but that's jsut not me.

I can guarantee you there will be people spending 5K on suits, but when I show up at Dartmouth with 100 other rich east coasters at least I'll fit in with my $1.5K suit that fits me perfectly.

sorry for listing exactly what I spent. I'm imagining dozens of people reconsidering how much they wish to spend on dress because of me :/

 

[notdeadyet]

when I show up at Dartmouth with 100 other rich east coasters at least I'll fit in with my $1.5K suit that fits me perfectly.

Just out of idle curiosity, are you going to drop how expensive your car is and how much money you make at the drop of a hat as well? Some folks find it a little bit pretentious, just so you know.

 

[R.P. McMurphy]

I don't like silver ties because I think they look to metro. Nothing against metros but that's jsut not me.

I can guarantee you there will be people spending 5K on suits, but when I show up at Dartmouth with 100 other rich east coasters at least I'll fit in with my $1.5K suit that fits me perfectly.

sorry for listing exactly what I spent. I'm imagining dozens of people reconsidering how much they wish to spend on dress because of me :/

I spent $250 on my suit, but I still plan on looking better than most people at my interview 😉

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

sorry for listing exactly what I spent. I'm imagining dozens of people reconsidering how much they wish to spend on dress because of me :/

no, i have no one to blame but myself. i'm just gonna go cry into my men's wearhouse suit for a bit. i'll try to get over it. somehow.

 

[notdeadyet]

no, i have no one to blame but myself. i'm just gonna go cry into my men's wearhouse suit for a bit. i'll try to get over it. somehow.

I like it. Very good...

 

[Wackie]

Men's Warehouse actually suggests a blue tie with a gray suit.

I've seen it too much I guess.


My husband has a black suit, grey shirt, really dark maroon tie combo that's good.
I'll say again, have someone you can actually smack around should they suggest something stupid. SDN is not the place to go suit shopping 😀

 

[acrobat]

"Just out of idle curiosity, are you going to drop how expensive your car is and how much money you make at the drop of a hat as well? Some folks find it a little bit pretentious, just so you know."

Spending $1500 for a suit for the most important interviews of my life is not pretentious. Since I care a lot about the interview, I'm willing to spend the extra amount.

I do have two part-time jobs in addition to school, and I paid for a portion of the suit, shoes, tie, etc. I think I spent appropriately.

Some people may say don't dress tooooo nice or they'll down-grade you, but I refuse to believe that.

 

[notdeadyet]

Spending $1500 for a suit for the most important interviews of my life is not pretentious. Since I care a lot about the interview, I'm willing to spend the extra amount.

It's not the spending of a lot of money for the suit that might ring pretentious to some, it's the mentioning of the $1.5K that you spent for it. Twice.

Again, I'm a big proponent of folks spending their money however they want. But you might keep in mind that lots of folks on SDN are not in the position where their parents are chipping in for their clothes while in college. For a lot of folks, that suit costs more than the car that they'll be driving for the next 10 years.

The suit obviously makes you very happy, and that really is great. Confidence is key going in to an interview. But not everyone is in the position that you're in. Some folks might feel get a bit irritated that some have that income to spend on clothes while other have to limit which schools they can even apply to due to their means.

Regardless, I really do wish you the best of luck on the interview trail...

 

[yobynaes]

I have them, but am going to the interviews right after a business trip and do not have extras with me because i didnt think about it. Also I have to find shirts that are tapered a lot or have the waist taken in by a tailor, otherwise I have a lot of excess fabric at the waist. Makes buying shirts a pain.
Edit: I thought about it some more and I'll just shell out. That's what money's for anyway

share your pain, buddy. why is our country so fat!!!
Geoffrey Beene small size "fitted" shirt usually work well with me though, and it's not too pricy. 👍

 

[Gabby]

Well I'm obsessed with medical school interview fashion. I don't like red because it's considered aggresive and a strong red is a "power tie."

I'm not applying this cycle, but as someone who has done hundreds of interviews in her previous career, I'm pretty sure you're overanalyzing this to the point of sabatoging yourself. No one's going to reject your application because you wore a red tie.

Just pick something that matches and looks professional. Personally, I probably own about a dozen or so red suits. Can you guess what color I'm likely to wear to any interview I'm fortunate enough to schedule? It's a vibrant color and I like it. Plus, judging by this board alone, I'll probably be the only one there in red.

Hypothetical situation: You are enjoying your lunch at first interview and accidently spill something on your suit, shirt, tie etc. What do you do without time to get things dry cleaned?

In my old profession, when they offered lunch on interview days, it wasn't really there for you to pig out. I'm guessing this is the same. As Lizzy M said, limit what you eat. Try something like pasta salad without a lot of dressing. If you have a sandwich, make sure it isn't loose meat that's likely to spill out onto your lap. Choose something like ham or turkey without shredded lettuce. Try not to get mustard, ketchup, or mayo. Or if you do, just get a little bit and make sure that you put a napkin on your lap. Don't put a tomato on it or pickles on it. If you have to have them, put them in your plate and eat them with your fork, unless you're eating with a group of people other than other interviewees because they may think that's a little weird. Drink water, Sprite, or 7-Up instead of Coke. If you do spill something, try to get it out immediately before it stains. Also, on white shirts if you have no choice and it's a SMALL stain, white-out works wonders.

 

[Ari Gold]

"Just out of idle curiosity, are you going to drop how expensive your car is and how much money you make at the drop of a hat as well? Some folks find it a little bit pretentious, just so you know."

Spending $1500 for a suit for the most important interviews of my life is not pretentious. Since I care a lot about the interview, I'm willing to spend the extra amount.

I do have two part-time jobs in addition to school, and I paid for a portion of the suit, shoes, tie, etc. I think I spent appropriately.

Some people may say don't dress tooooo nice or they'll down-grade you, but I refuse to believe that.

Nope it doesn't. But this makes you pretentious:

• Repeating exactly how much you spent on a suit multiple times while everyone else is nowhere near the ballpark
• Making it seem as though anything less than a 1,500 dollar suit simply wouldn't do, and would would put you (and I assume us) at a disadvantage
• Even to go as far as saying that you type your envelope addresses and anyone who doesn't do that is at a disadvantage

Listen if you're paranoid, neurotic, or whatever that's fine buy an expensive suit, type out your envelopes, wash your hands 1,000 times a day, or whatever else you do to make yourself feel better about your chances. But don't go on a public forum and make it seem like anyone who isn't doing that (about 99.999% of us) is somehow jeopardizing their chance of getting in-because that's just not true.

I am personally under the belief that a person is basically a slob/non-slob under review by an adcom. We don't ask a fashion consultant to diagnose a murmur, just like we don't ask a doctor for high-end fashion advice. This isn't "Queer Eye" and as much as people would love to believe there is no sliding scale with GPA and Thread Count on your suit. That being said I did buy a marked-down nice suit, I will take care of myself and I will look good (on paper and in person) no matter what your theory.

 

[RDood]

I'm not applying this cycle, but as someone who has done hundreds of interviews in her previous career, I'm pretty sure you're overanalyzing this to the point of sabatoging yourself. No one's going to reject your application because you wore a red tie.

Just pick something that matches and looks professional. Personally, I probably own about a dozen or so red suits. Can you guess what color I'm likely to wear to any interview I'm fortunate enough to schedule? It's a vibrant color and I like it. Plus, judging by this board alone, I'll probably be the only one there in red.



In my old profession, when they offered lunch on interview days, it wasn't really there for you to pig out. I'm guessing this is the same. As Lizzy M said, limit what you eat. Try something like pasta salad without a lot of dressing. If you have a sandwich, make sure it isn't loose meat that's likely to spill out onto your lap. Choose something like ham or turkey without shredded lettuce. Try not to get mustard, ketchup, or mayo. Or if you do, just get a little bit and make sure that you put a napkin on your lap. Don't put a tomato on it or pickles on it. If you have to have them, put them in your plate and eat them with your fork, unless you're eating with a group of people other than other interviewees because they may think that's a little weird. Drink water, Sprite, or 7-Up instead of Coke. If you do spill something, try to get it out immediately before it stains. Also, on white shirts if you have no choice and it's a SMALL stain, white-out works wonders.

Tide to go is a miracle and a life-saver...

 

[acrobat]

We're debating whether spending 1.5K on suit was worth it. (That's why I and other have repeated it a dozen times)

I don't feel one shred of pretentiousness for you all because I'm not rich nor can I afford a 1500 dollar suit, but I decided to buy one anyway. In my opinion, people should go out of their way to look nice.

I go to school, and work two jobs also so I feel entitled to buy what I want to buy.

to those I've offended- well I'm sorry

But there will be people who show up in 5000 dollar suits and 10,000 custom made ones almost guaranteed, but they just won't be talking about it. I would never talk about the cost of my suit in RL, and will be keeping that very secret of course as well as where I bought it, but this is an internet forum where its appropriate to bring this hot topics up.

 

[Tiagao]

I think more important than the brand or whatever of the suit is how it fits the interviewer. I also have the problem with finding shirts and suit coats that fit around the waist. It seems that most clothes are cut to be larger around the middle than at the shoulders. That's where a good tailor can make a cheap suit look like a $million.

 

[ClockworkDoc]

hot shower, steamy bathroom does wonders for wrinkles

That's the right idea. Maybe a little fabreeze and you'll be set.