Interview in the Blazing Heat of Summer

[kitonbrioni]

Have you or can you quietly check out the building a day or two ahead and determine the level of A/C? Or arrive early and cool down, and have a friend drop you off at the door. Wear a navy suit, white shirt, silk tie, and shined brown shoes--that scare the hades out of them.

 

[rdawson808]

Oh, I'm going to take a test run one morning to make sure I know when to leave and hit the Metro and get there on time. It shouldn't be hard since the interview is at 10am--past rush-hour. I should probably put on a pair of trousers too. You know, just to get used to it.

bob

 

[new obsession]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

A silk-weight undershirt will surely NOT help. I don't buy the baselayer/wicking argument for one second; it's only marketing. Insulation is insulation, and will only make you feel hotter. I wore undershirts for years before seeing the light. Same goes for working out/endurance sports.

It is the difference between having a damp undershirt, and a damp dress shirt. Sweaty pits can be covered by a jacket, but a V of sweat advancing in an ever-larger pattern from on your chest is not pleasing, and I find that undershirts to help.

In addition, the feeling of sweat dripping is not pleasing to me unless I am working out or playing golf, and the wicking effect eliminates this feeling. Am I markedly cooler, probably not, more comfortable, yes.

Yours in sweat,
N.O.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

A silk-weight undershirt will surely NOT help. I don't buy the baselayer/wicking argument for one second; it's only marketing. Insulation is insulation, and will only make you feel hotter. I wore undershirts for years before seeing the light. Same goes for working out/endurance sports.
You obviously haven't tried Under Armour HeatGear shirts then.

 

[new obsession]

Originally Posted by j

You obviously haven't tried Under Armour HeatGear shirts then.

Those are awesome!!

Apropos of nothing, and at the risk of a second hijack of the same thread - For you golfers out there, check out UA's line of golf shirts (Edwin Watts Golf carries them). I would not wear them to the office under a blazer, but there are very few other shirts I will wear on the course!!

 

[Renault78law]

I should have been more clear.

Originally Posted by j

You obviously haven't tried Under Armour HeatGear shirts then.
No, I have not. But I do have a lot of baselayers from Craft and DeFeet, and various wicking t-shirts from New Balance, Nike, Alpine Loews (?), etc.
I'm not sure what you're getting at. That they're cooler than cotton? I completely agree with that statement. I disagree with the implied assertion that wearing a wicking baselayer under a cotton dress shirt will keep you cooler than wearing the dress shirt by itself. Showing sweat, as other posters alluded, is a different issue.
Tangentially, I strongly disagree that wearing a wicking tshirt is cooler than wearing no top at all (under the vast majority of circumstances).

 

[Manton]

I'm with Renault on this. I think different bodies react differently, but for me the extra layer just makes the heat all the more unbearable.

 

[pkincy]

Wear an undershirt.

Now for the bigger question. I probably would wear a trop wt wool suit (if you have it) in a color lighter than navy. Hopefully you have a tan, khaki color or light grey trop wt suit. If not go with a med grey, next best char grey, next best and still very appropriate navy suit.

Do not wear seersucker or cotton to a job interview. It is certainly appropriate to wear it after you get the job but not before.

I had a presentation to one of my client's and 10 of his clients yesterday evening in Phoenix. It was 111 when I got to the restaurant. I had passed on my tan cotton and my tan silk/linen suits but did wear a trop wt wool mtm Sammy in tan.

Last week I did a 3 pm presentation at Flemings to a group of brokers followed by dinner and wore a navy suit. It was 114 out. Some one in Tucson told me I must be the only person in the whole city with a navy suit on that day.

(Tucson is definitely less cosmopolitan that Phoenix)

That probably was over dressed. So the color alone can make a difference.

Perry

 

[LabelKing]

I find wearing a light, possibly Panama, hat, and fanning yourelf with it helps with heat but probably not appropriate for a job interview unless the the other party is old Southern gentry.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

I find wearing a light, possibly Panama, hat, and fanning yourelf with it helps with heat but probably not appropriate for a job interview unless the the other party is old Southern gentry.
LK, my mental image of you will now be based on M. Emmet Walsh in Bood Simple (although his hat wasn't a Panama).

 

[j]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

I should have been more clear.

No, I have not. But I do have a lot of baselayers from Craft and DeFeet, and various wicking t-shirts from New Balance, Nike, Alpine Loews (?), etc.
I'm not sure what you're getting at. That they're cooler than cotton? I completely agree with that statement. I disagree with the implied assertion that wearing a wicking baselayer under a cotton dress shirt will keep you cooler than wearing the dress shirt by itself. Showing sweat, as other posters alluded, is a different issue.
Tangentially, I strongly disagree that wearing a wicking tshirt is cooler than wearing no top at all (under the vast majority of circumstances).
YMMV of course, but the Under Armour works so well for me that I will often be cold to the point of shivering while wearing it. And it keeps keeps an outer shirt from sticking to me, which in turn keeps me from feeling damp cotton against my skin and also allows it to move better.

Between wearing nothing and wearing an Under Armour shirt in hot weather, the latter is far more effective at keeping me feeling cool. While riding I routinely wear one under my thick black leather jacket in 80 degree heat and as long as I keep moving even a few miles an hour, I'm never too warm. It's just more efficient than skin at allowing airflow, probably in good part because damp skin sticks to the outer layer while the shirt doesn't.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

I should have been more clear.

No, I have not. But I do have a lot of baselayers from Craft and DeFeet, and various wicking t-shirts from New Balance, Nike, Alpine Loews (?), etc.
I'm not sure what you're getting at. That they're cooler than cotton? I completely agree with that statement. I disagree with the implied assertion that wearing a wicking baselayer under a cotton dress shirt will keep you cooler than wearing the dress shirt by itself. Showing sweat, as other posters alluded, is a different issue.
Tangentially, I strongly disagree that wearing a wicking tshirt is cooler than wearing no top at all (under the vast majority of circumstances).

You see, there was no "implied assertion" about "a wicking baselayer" that cools. (If there were strong evidence of that, the claim would appear in the website's article about undershirts. Even the counterintuitive possibility that an undershirt minimizes sweating by lessening physical and psychological discomfort from top layer dampness is not worth including in the article. But enough with the subject, okay?)

The assumption was that, like most people probably do, he would be wearing an undershirt, in which case silkweight would be more comfortable than carded cotton.

A strong antiperspirant is a good idea, too.

 

[rdawson808]

I got this email today from the gent I'll be interviewing with on Friday.

"Also, I want to let you know that, during the summer, the dress code here at XXXX is business casual. This means that none of us will be wearing a jacket and tie, and you certainly need not do so either."

Thoughts? I guess I can get away with no suit which I'm inclined to do. And I really wish that RL summer suit I ordered from STP had fit properly, I would have worn it. I think I may go with basic gray trousers and a nice (new) french blue shirt.

These guys are essentially academics (and economists to boot) so I actually fear that the grey pinstripe suit I was planning to wear will make me really over-dressed.

The temp is expected to be in the 90s and humid.

bob

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

I got this email today from the gent I'll be interviewing with on Friday.

"Also, I want to let you know that, during the summer, the dress code here at XXXX is business casual. This means that none of us will be wearing a jacket and tie, and you certainly need not do so either."

Thoughts? I guess I can get away with no suit which I'm inclined to do. And I really wish that RL summer suit I ordered from STP had fit properly, I would have worn it. I think I may go with basic gray trousers and a nice (new) french blue shirt.

These guys are essentially academics (and economists to boot) so I actually fear that the grey pinstripe suit I was planning to wear will make me really over-dressed.

The temp is expected to be in the 90s and humid.

bob

I'd still wear a jacket, just because it's an interview -- it probably makes a better impression on some subconscious level, even though if they won't really mind if you don't wear one.

 

[rdawson808]

Yes, I still will wear a jacket I guess. It does look a little more professional. And since it will be a sportcoat I can easily take it off and be more casual.

Tie? No tie? I'm thinking no tie.

bob