Generally, a job interview calls for professional or business attire. This could include a suit jacket and slacks with a button-down shirt and tie, a sweater and button-down shirt, or smart slacks or dark-colored jeans with a knee-length or midi skirt. In a formal setting, you might wear a tailored suit, a button-down shirt with a tie, a blouse, dress shoes with laces, or shoes with closed toes. Accessories should be kept simple.
Some outfits are more difficult to decide on than others. Trying to figure out a cute date outfit when it’s freezing outside, finding the best way to wear red when you’re a redhead, or knowing the best power outfit for the office, even in the middle of winter, can all be so tricky. Still, none of those are quite as important and perplexing as the job interview outfit. Few fashion-related dilemmas could ever be as tricky as determining the exact look you should wear in order to snag your dream job.
To be honest, this is not an issue that has arisen much in my life. I’ve pretty much been at The Gloss since graduating college three years ago (with the exception of an online internship, freelancing, and a nighttime job at a call center, all of which involved sweatpants). Still, a friend who recently quit her job brought up the subject with me earlier today.
Since giving her two weeks’ notice a few days ago, she’s witnessed a slew of applicants show up at her office in various outfits, one of whom wore a pair of boyfriend jeans to her interview. “Is that appropriate interview wear?” my friend asked me, to which I replied, “I really don’t think so.” Still, this led me to wonder: What do most people wear to job interviews?
As I said, I can’t tell you from personal interview experience, but I can show you the item that makes me feel the absolute most professional.
It’s the Selkaey Jacket in Fixture Ponte from Theory, which I got at my first sample sale in NYC a couple years ago. (Pro-tip to size 10 and 12 girls like myself: You can get SO MUCH stuff at sample sales because fewer people of our size attend them.) I absolutely love it and wear it with skinny jeans, cropped pants, skirts, and dresses.
Obviously, it depends on your line of work and the general vibe of the place you’re interviewing, but regardless, I’m still curious: What is your go-to outfit for job interviews? Tell us in the comments!