I’ve been dressing and preparing clients for professional interviews at Dress For Success for almost seven years. I have also prepared my paying clients for the job interview process. And of course, I have interviewed and been interviewed myself. So I thought I would try to distill a set of guidelines from my experience. 

Your goal in a job interview is simple: you want the job. How does your outfit help or hurt your chances of being successful? In my opinion this all comes down to two things.

1. The impression you make on your interviewer. In the first few seconds of meeting them their brain will be trying to make the hiring decision on the only information they have: the way you look. Can they imagine you doing the job? Will you fit into the culture? This may not even be a conscious evaluation.
2. The impact that your outfit has on YOU. You must also be able to imagine yourself doing the job you are interviewing for. Above all, you need to feel confident and physically comfortable. It’s your time to shine and the outfit must complement your skills, not make you feel self conscious about them.

After the first few seconds, you want the interview to focus exclusively on your expertise and your ability to excel at the job. Your outfit should make the right first impression and then get out of the way. It is impossible to create a universal outfit to achieve this goal for positions in all professions, in all industries. But here is a checklist to get you started.

• Err on the formal side: It’s better to dress too formally than too casually for an interview. Interviewers will expect you to dress more formally than usual.
• Err on the conservative side: This is straightforward if you’re interviewing for a profession in a conservative environment, but the lines blur for more creative professions like design, art, literature, advertising and fashion. For creative professions, you can add trendy elements to the ensemble, but it’s a good rule of thumb to be more classic than the way you normally dress.
• Err on the modest side: Look tailored but don’t wear overly figure hugging clothes. Skirts and dresses should end on or around the knee and make sure you do the “sit-down-test” as skirts tend to creep up once you’ve sat down. No cleavage.
• Wear a jacket: A suit blazer or jacket adds bus loads of polish to your appearance. It really steps things up a notch so my suggestion is to wear a jacket no matter what the interview.
• Suit versus Separates: Conservative professional job interviews require a formal interview suit, whereas other job interviews are fine with the dressier side of business casual attire – which still means jacket in my book. A dressy dress like a sheath with a jacket is another good option for business casual.
• Skirts versus Slacks: You might perceive this differently, but I find skirt and dress suits more formal than pant suits. So if you want to make an even more formal impression, go with a skirt suit. But if you feel better in slacks than skirts, stick with the slacks suit.
• Blouse, shirt or item of knitwear: Wear one of these underneath your suit or separates jacket. Sometimes you’ll be able to wear a good quality knit top too, like a solid shell top. Wearing sleeveless blouses and tops underneath jackets is really comfortable so bear that in mind because your jacket does not need to come off during the interview.
• To tuck or not too tuck: Tucking is not essential, but you might feel neater if you tuck your top into your bottoms. When you tuck your top into slacks, finish off the look with a belt. Also do the sit-down-test for blouses and shirts as they can pull across the bust when you are seated.
• Neutrals versus Colour: Keep your suit and separates neutrally toned. Black is not your only option: grey, brown, caramel, olive and navy are great too, and so is a subtle pinstripe. What you wear under the jacket needn’t be neutral, but I’d stay away from anything too bold just because it might overpower you in the interview, and distract the interviewer.
• Wear good shoes: Keep them close-toed, heeled, polished and fairly neutral. Sling-backs, pumps, mary janes and oxfords are all fab.
• Limit the accessories: By all means wear accessories, but stay away from anything too flashy, noisy and oversized. Again, it’s distracting for the interviewer. A watch, wedding ring, specs and small earrings are flop proof, whereas chunky necklaces, bracelets and scarves are a little harder to get right. If in doubt, leave it off.
• Hose: I’m still not sure about this one. Should you wear hose with a skirt for an interview? I’m inclined to say yes, but you tell me.
• A hairstyle that stays in place: You don’t want to fuss with hair that you have to keep pushing out of the way during the interview, so make sure it’s secured.
• Light make-up and perfume: Wear just enough so that you smell sweet and look polished. Check for lipstick on your teeth just before you go into the interview.
• Neatly manicured hands: Your hands are quite visible in an interview, so if you can make them extra pretty beforehand, so much the better. Short nails and neutral nail polish (or no nail polish) is best.
• Handbag, brief case or portfolio bag: This will depend on you and what you need to bring to the interview. Keep the handbag fairly structured as opposed to overly slouchy, but there is no need to keep it neutral. Avoid neon colours, but a beautiful deep red or purple handbag can lift an interview outfit perfectly.

If you’re still not sure what to wear, visit the organization and watch employees coming in and out of the office to see what they are wearing. It might help you make decisions like skirt or slacks, blouse or knit top, or how formally you should dress.

Finally, be sure to find out whether the hiring company has guidelines on what to wear to the interview. When Greg interviewed for a well known software company, he was actually told not to wear a suit and that he had to wear really comfortable clothes because his interview would be grueling and would take the entire day.

I would love to brainstorm together with you and come up with a killer list of flop proof guidelines for effective interview attire, perhaps even across different professions. Let’s hear about how you like to dress for an interview and what you have learned along the way. If you are a recruiting professional or a hiring manager (or have been one in the past), please share your thoughts on what makes a great interview outfit, your likes and dislikes and any tips in general.

Ps. While we’re talking business attire, Corporette.com is a blog that focuses on what women wear in the workplace. Their “interviewing” category has some interesting discussion on this topic.

In case you didn’t see the ruckus a few days ago, Lane Bryant’s new lingerie ad caused a bit of stir when television networks ABC and FOX were not prepared to air it during prime time television (in the case of ABC it was the hit show, “Dancing with the Stars”). Both ABC and FOX said that they would air the lingerie ad between 9pm and 10pm. But in the end the ad was only aired during the last minutes of that time slot. And in FOX’s case the ad went through several edits before it was aired.

Lane Bryant’s ad shows stunning plus size model Ashley Graham prancing around a hotel room in underwear. Lane Bryant believes that the television networks decision to restrict the airing of the ad is “rooted in the cultural prejudice against plus sized women”. On their blog, they went further to say:

While it’s no secret that Victoria’s Secret “The Nakeds” ads are prancing around on major networks leaving little to the imagination, steaming up t.v. screens and baring nearly everything but their souls, our sultry siren who shows sophisticated sass is somehow deemed inappropriate. The network exclaimed, she has “too much cleavage” Gasp!

Apparently, ABC and FOX claim that Lane Bryant was treated no differently to other advertisers with similar products.

Whatever the story behind this incident, I think that this is a very tasteful lingerie advertisement. The model and the lingerie look absolutely beautiful. Yes, she has a lot of cleavage, but models who model lingerie and bathing costumes generally do. It’s ABC’s and FOX’s loss in my book. Of course, all this publicity is fantastic for the Lane Bryant campaign, and for Ashley Graham herself.

What do you think of the ad? Is it appropriate? Do you think that the model is too busty for prime time television?

NOTE: Here’s a link to the ad, but a word of warning to those at work. You’ll see a model in her bra and knickers.

Yes, I’m boot crazy. And yes, the pairing of the words “summer” and “boots”  sounds like an oxymoron. But please hear me out. For some people in some parts of the world, Summer boots make complete sense. Like for me in Seattle. And I might be in the minority, but I’m probably not alone.

Here’s why…

1. Summers aren’t always that hot. On cool Summer days here in Seattle (and many places in Europe) when the temperatures are between 58 and 65 degrees (14 and 18 degrees Celsius), I’m extremely comfortable in a dress sans hose and a lightweight pair of knee-high cream boots. Leaving off the hose keeps things adequately ventilated, balancing out the warmth that’s provided by the boots. Slouchy boot styles offer even more ventilation.
2. Boots are comfortable. My feet enjoy the comfort of socks so wearing boots keeps them happy. That’s why I’m motivated to make boots work on cool Summer days. If you think about it, men wear shoes and socks far more frequently than we do. I want to wear socks more often too.
3. Inner thermostats vary. I handle heat quite well but have little resistance to the cold. So my tolerance for warmth around my legs is high. For the same reason it takes me forever to break out sandals because my feet feel cold very quickly.
4. Inside temperatures can be frigid. Extra leg coverage is a saving grace in cold air-conditioning (and another reason why I battle to wear sandals at all).

When it comes to Summer boot styling, I vote lightweight and light coloured, like tan, beige, stone, putty, cream, and white. Nothing too dark, heavy, chunky or overly warm — otherwise they’ll look and feel like Autumn boots, and we’re trying to create a difference. Think knee-high or mid calf and fairly flat and casual.

The boots above are a good visual. The perforated styles are particularly breezy while the light colour adds a sense of freshness to your ensemble. They’ll look adorable sans hose, paired with walk shorts, short shorts (if you have the gams), short flirty skirts, sleeveless sheath dresses and summery patterned dresses.

I have two pairs of Summer boots, one in off-white and one in tan, that I enjoy wearing with all sorts of dresses. I wear them in Spring too and you recently saw me sport that look in the Melrose Street Review.  Obviously, if you have hot, humid Summers that are 80 degrees plus, Summer boots are a ridiculous idea. But as a fringe fashion statement in the right geographical location, I think the concept rocks.

What do you think, ladies? Can you see yourself wearing Summer boots, if not in the heat of Florida or Arizona, but in cooler regions? Let’s hear it.

This frock gives you a 50’s hourglass silhouette without even thinking about it. Beautifully A-line and generally flattering. It’s in a weighty polyester spandex that drapes extremely well. I mean “wow-drape”. And the Grecian integrity of the dress helps with the drape factor too. Lovely, lovely quality. It looks amazing paired with a cropped white or blue denim jacket and metallic sandals.

The style clings in all the right places and glides over those little extra bits. No back fat. Perfect for pear and hourglass body types and pretty good for apple, rectangle and inverted triangle body types too. Even my less than curvy frame has curves in this dress.

If the V-neckline plunges down too low, then the micro camisoles from Second Base have you sorted for extra coverage. White or black camisoles get my vote as they work with the print, which is quite the  acquired taste. You’ll either like the boldness of it or not. If the pattern and colours are not to your taste, try to find a similar silhouette in another colour. Don’t brush past the style if you’re well endowed either as it can work.

The wash care label states “dry clean only”, but if this were my dress, I’d throw it straight into the machine and wash in cold water on the “hand wash delicates” cycle – after all, I do bend laundry rules.