Thursday, June 24, 2010

Dress to Impress: Don't be a hot mess

prices4antiques.com

All through high school and college, career counselors and professors have tried to instill in our disillusioned minds that we must "dress for the job we want, not the one we have."

With this in mind, when I first set out to find a public relations internship I knew that if I wanted to look the part, I would have to invest in a serious, grown-up skirt-suit.

After an hour of browsing the racks of K & G Fashion Superstore (best place in the world, my friend and I got $300 suits for $40!) the choice came down to the practical, boring black skirt suit or the flashy, hot pink Anne Klein.

I chose the hot pink mess.

The Result: Got neither internship I wore suit to the interview for.

Looking back, I think the pink suit (while absolutely fabulous) was way to loud, especially for first impressions. There is a time and a place for fashion statements. I think that as in any corporation, as you work your way up the ladder and earn higher salaries and better offices, you also earn the right to bend the dress code rules to your liking.

Moral of the Story: Dress like an intern, not like Anna Wintour.

2 comments:

Peggy said...

Exactly . . . it's always better to err on the site of conservatism. It's a fabulous suit, but you should wear it a couple of months after you got the job!

Also, location counts . . . I realized this after growing up and working on the West Coast and taking a job for an East Coast company. When I'd go to the mother ship in Boston or New York, the dress code was definitely more conservative than freewheeling Silicon Valley or Seattle.

You can show you are a bit daring by choosing a hot pink top to peek out from under the dark suit.

I do think things have loosened up overall, however; I wouldn't be caught today in those pinstriped skirted suits I once wore. Yikes.

Anonymous said...

The hot pink suit would definitely give strong image to interviewers.
In Japan, when people job hunting, they have to wear black suit and their hair color have to be black, otherwise, you won't get any job. It is boring everyone looks the same. Japanese companies are really strict about appearance. I think how you dress is hoe you are. It shows characteristics.

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