My interview outfit

[Lomezz]

Thanks for all those who chimed in with advice regarding my suit quest. I decided to forgo buying a new one, having been disappointed with what's available RTW in my price range, and instead treated myself to a new shirt and tie at full retail (well, only the shirt...) the interview is rescheduled for Friday, and here's what I'm thinking- Suit: a simple Jos Bank plain navy, albeit in very good condition Shirt: Hilditch and Key plain light blue, very classy (view it here http://www.bensilver.com/fs_stor....roup=6, BTW, even though is says "˜oxford', the cloth has a very fine weave) Tie: woven Borrelli in Navy with widely-spaced diagonal stripes of medium blue framed in thin gold. Simple, uncluttered and attractive. Shoes: C&J black handgrade oxfords. So what say you all about? Am I putting too much thought into the minutiae of what to wear? - probably, but it does help with stress relieving...

 

[BjornH]

Sounds great and this shirt is a superb backdrop for any tie. This sounds like a sober, professional outfit. Good luck.
B

 

[FIHTies]

Pix man...Lets see some pix... (specifically the tie and how it all comes together)

 

[ernest]

Thanks for all those who chimed in with advice regarding my suit quest. I decided to forgo buying a new one, having been disappointed with what's available RTW in my price range, and instead treated myself to a new shirt and tie at full retail (well, only the shirt...) the interview is rescheduled for Friday, and here's what I'm thinking- Suit: a simple Jos Bank plain navy, albeit in very good condition Shirt: Hilditch and Key plain light blue, very classy (view it here http://www.bensilver.com/fs_stor....roup=6, BTW, even though is says "˜oxford', the cloth has a very fine weave) Tie: woven Borrelli in Navy with widely-spaced diagonal stripes of medium blue framed in thin gold. Simple, uncluttered and attractive. Shoes: C&J black handgrade oxfords. So what say you all about? Am I putting too much thought into the minutiae of what to wear? - probably, but it does help with stress relieving...

Better buy on H&k website in 3 weeks = 45 GPB per shirts

 

[retronotmetro]

Sounds good. A belt would be nice, though

 

[FIHTies]

Better buy on H&k website in 3 weeks = 45 GPB per shirts

In other words...Dont wear a shirt this friday at the interview and when they ask you why you arent you can tell them that you can get a better buy in 3 weeks. In addition to getting their attention, that will show them that you are confident about yourself, and have common sense to know a good price when you see it.

Yah.

JJF

 

[j]

Relatedly, but not much: I've read things in old guides to interview attire about not wearing "club" ties to business with unknown people. Supposedly, this is because you might accidentally wear the tie of the interviewer's club or maybe a rival club, or just look like a poseur trying to be in the 'club class'. I don't know if this has any truth to it, especially now. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

If I recall correctly, you are interviewing for an associate position at a law firm.  Based on my experience interviewing associate candidates, I think you would better off wearing a white shirt and a patterned tie.  Boring, yes, but I think you would rather be remembered for what you said than for what you wore.

 

[tattersall]

Relatedly, but not much: I've read things in old guides to interview attire about not wearing "club" ties to business with unknown people. Supposedly, this is because you might accidentally wear the tie of the interviewer's club or maybe a rival club, or just look like a poseur trying to be in the 'club class'. I don't know if this has any truth to it, especially now. Has anyone else heard this?

Probably more of an anachronism, I'd say.

All of the misfortunes that befall the protagonist in Waugh's "Decline and Fall" can be traced to the incident where he is assaulted due to a confusion regarding his tie which closely resembles the tie of the Bollinger club: "The difference of a quarter of an inch in the width of the stripes was not one that Lumsden of Stathdrummond was likely to appreciate...'Here's an awful man wearing the Boller tie,' said the Laird. It is not for nothing that since pre-Christian times his family has exercised chieftainship over uncharted miles of barren moorland".

 

[artdeco73]

Lomezz,

Assuming you are in the US, I believe j's comment regarding wearing a tie with a club's colors inappropriately would not be much of a concern.  Club membership is rare in the US these days (for those kinds of clubs, anyway), and as far as I know (esteemed members, please correct me if I am wrong), wearing specific colors on your tie to show affiliation has not been done here in decades, if ever.  Even if your interviewer happens to be a member of such a club, I would hope he realizes that he cannot possibly expect everyone to be aware of the club's colors and not wear them on their ties.  If he does not realize that, I would have major reservations about working for him.

I will second the opinion that common job-hunting wisdom recommends white shirts for interviews, but I also agree that yours does sound like a very professional outfit.

 

[Lomezz]

thanks all.

Retor - I've decided to forgo the belt, in keeping with Ernest's no shirt policy... actually, I'll be wearing a simple black Coach belt.

Ambulnacechaser - would your advice change based on the fact that I'm interviewing for a (hopefully) 4th year associate position? also, is very pale blue such a departure from white in your opinion? I can always revert to white/patterned tie if necessary, but having gone to all this trouble...

J - but isn't it true that not all striped ties are also club ties? Plus, knowing the partners/associates I'm interviewing with, I doubt they ever belonged to a club...

tattersal - thanks for the quote. as chance would have it, I just finished re-reading Decline and Fall last month.

 

[j]

I know, probably most stripe patterns are not real club patterns, as the quote illustrates (good memory&#33

That's why I said it was barely related. You never know, though, you might have been interviewing with Lumsden of Stathdrummond himself.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Ambulnacechaser - would your advice change based on the fact that I'm interviewing for a (hopefully) 4th year associate position? also, is very pale blue such a departure from white in your opinion? I can always revert to white/patterned tie if necessary, but having gone to all this trouble...

I would go with the white shirt and patterned tie if the law firm is in DC and/or the law firm is the conservative "white shoe" type.  Other cities/firms may be more fashion forward.