Fashion
What Can I Wear to a Job Interview Besides a Boring Suit?
A reader seeking to make a good impression with a potential employer asks for advice on interview attire. Our fashion critic offers her thoughts on how to dress for success while still standing out.
I’m heading into a job interview. I need something polished yet comfortable, with just the right amount of statement — something that says, “I get it” without screaming, “I’m overthinking this.” Is there any alternative to a corporate suit? — Tali, Boston
Don’t write off the corporate suit quite yet. I understand that you want to use every possible lever to convey who you are to a potential employer in the short time that is available, and clothes are a significant unspoken part of that, but there is a fine line between wearing something that suggests confidence and independence of thought and something that becomes a distraction.
Remember that when it comes to organizations, they often make judgments between different in a good way and too different. Generally they are looking for someone — be it a senior leader or a junior staffer — who seems to mesh with the company culture. Or who will establish a new, positive company culture. And some of those judgments have to do with whether someone looks the part.
If you can scout the landscape first and get a sense of the office “uniform,” great. That can be your guide. But if not, it may be better to play it somewhat safe — with some important exceptions.
Indeed, just because the idea of a suit seems yawningly familiar does not mean it has to be boring. It is what you wear with the suit — the details — that matters, largely because they demonstrate an attention to detail. I think of the suit, especially the trouser suit, as a professional canvas you can decorate according to taste. Or, for that matter, to display your taste.
This is where shoes, jewelry, watches, scarves — even shirts — become important. Catherine Holstein, the designer of Khaite, said that as far as she was concerned “you can never go wrong with a great pair of black pants, a black sweater or a crisp white shirt and a belt with a cool buckle.”
A statement bangle can also be pivotal, Ms. Holstein said, though if you are using jewelry as a talking point, keep it to one piece: earrings or a necklace or a bracelet, but not all of them at the same time. The idea is to suggest hidden depths and out-of-the-box thinking, not to whack your interviewer in the face with it.
