<p>geek_mom: Thank you! I’ll check that out :)</p>
<p>Great post geek mom. I agree! My husband wears polo shirts and slacks to work just about every day and looks fine. If I do that, I feel it’s a little too much like a uniform.</p>
<p>When we toured colleges with S1, we saw a number of applicants being interviewed by students. Both sets looked equally casually dressed, in shorts and flip-flops. This was during summer. Being nicely dressed at a college known for its laissez-faire attitude to dress might make the applicant look like a potential bad fit, just as someone in a tide-dye shirt might rub the bow-tie wearing alum the wrong way.</p>
<p>^ Good point, marite, but I would argue that it’s easier to compensate for being a bit overdressed than the other way around. If you show up overdressed, pointedly look the interviewer up and down, then sit with arms and legs tightly crossed… obviously (and deservedly!) you’re done. But a quick self-effacing joke or a reference to some other event that required dressing up, followed with an interview in the appropriate casual and friendly tone, would probably be all it takes in most cases.</p>
<p>Outfitting a male versus female-One can walk into Costco and come out in 15 minutes with appropriate attire for a young man. You won’t have spent much and he will look handsome and prepared for any interview. Dockers and a nice cotton long sleeved dress shirt or nice polo. Inexpensive but it doesn’t look it. How many Mom’s out there have done the Costco run for their male child. The kid doesn’t even have to come to the store. Fit for a male has much more leeway.
Dressing a girl. So much harder! You have to deal with fit, style and price. As someone said most girls are not going to wear an outfit from Talbots or Lands End and certainly not from Costco. Not to mention the issue of what is the appropriate footwear.</p>
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<p>My D actually works at one of the stores you mentioned and yeah, she thinks it’s stodgy old lady but is grateful for a job. Having said that, since she needed something that would be more polished than jeans and tees, I took her to Nordstrom’s BP department (juniors). The salesperson was in her early twenties and did a phenomenal job outfitting her in clothes that were fresh, young, totally appealing to teenage tastes, but would also pass Mom-muster. Cute cardigans in fresh cuts in all different colors (not old-lady twin sets, at all) ; plain tanks or tees; skirts (with elastic waists so super comfortable) with fresh, young patterns; ballet flats or nice sandals; some great jewelry at the neck or ears to pull it together. Trust me, it doesn’t look old or stodgy at all, and it easily shows personality in the choice of colors and accessories.</p>
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Mo-o-o-o-mM! These flipflops are dressy! They’re metallic and they cost 60 bucks! :rolleyes: What do you mean, the platform wedgies with the ankle-to-knee straps are inappropriate? High heels are dressy, right?</p>
<p>(I’ve done the Mervyn’s run, mom60 – same thing. And counted my blessings that I had a boy! :D)</p>
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You getting this, bouda? Sounds like Pizzagirl has a great lead… you could go in wearing your dress and ask what would go with it for an interview… even if you don’t buy anything, you may get some good ideas.</p>
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<p>That’s very true and I’ve seen that. But where are their parents who didn’t clue them in that there’s a difference between everyday casual wear, nice casual (school awards assembly) and “fancy” wear (a dinner dance or a wedding)?</p>
<p>My 16 yo son asks me, if we’re going out to dinner, does he need to wear a “fancy” shirt (by which he means a polo). Drives me crazy that he thinks a polo is “fancy”, and I keep telling him, no, a polo is not “fancy,” it’s just a bit more polished than a t shirt, and a button down is more polished than that. As you can see, my work is not done!! </p>
<p>To the poster asking for advice — The “third piece” (whether it’s a sweater / cardigan or a jacket or blazer of some sort) is really something that dresses whatever is underneath it quite a bit, and conveys authority and presence. It can still be done in a soft way - it needn’t look like Dress for Success; but I would say you’ll project better if you’re wearing a cardigan, blazer or jacket over a top and pants / skirt versus wearing just a blouse or just a pullover type sweater. “Statement” jewelry can express personality and pull things together as well. Good luck!!</p>
<p>Geekmom - D got blisters from one set of ballet flats so we did a DSW run to get a pair of nice sandals in black (NOT flip flops) that would be work appropriate. Of course she picked Cole-Haan (without knowing). Hee.</p>
<p>Bouda, Geekmom is right for pointing out Nordstrom’s (if that’s in your area) … The other thing you could do is go in there carrying (or wearing) your dress and they can accessorize it for you. Sometimes just a scarf or the right piece of jewelry can make it look really great. You totally DO want to show your personality – what I’m talking about isn’t old-lady or uniform looking at all. </p>
<p>Honestly I bet you could find the kind of stuff you need at a Target if Nordstrom is out of your price range. Just think about the “third piece”. Seriously.</p>
<p>And get a pair of nice dress black pants. They will serve you very well.</p>
<p>I’m applying to a range of colleges this autumn - is it a waste of money to look for something reasonably cheap and smart (like a trouser suit) that I can wear to every interview? Would I be better off spending that money on some extra books? I’m slightly younger than the average applicant, so I’m not sure if it’d come off as overly formal if I wore something too smart, lol :).</p>
<p>Also, is it OK to wear makeup/perfume/earrings/heels? (I wear those sometimes, but I’m not sure if that would be considered too casual)…</p>
<p>python – Always skip the perfume. Some people are allergic, and others just don’t want to smell you after you’re gone. 
As to the clothes – I don’t think I’d bother with a whole suit for college interviews, but a good pair of black pants (in, say, a wool blend) could serve you well for a lot of occasions. If you already have a nice-fitting (read, not baggy and not tight enough to grab when you bend or sit) pair of Dockers or similar pants (especially black pants), you could pair those with a button-down shirt and/or a sweater and be just fine. </p>
<p>If you have pierced ears, earrings are better than holes. My rule of thumb for earrings is, if you could wear them while holding a curious baby, they’re fine (i.e., not big dangly or hoopy things). Don’t wear heels if you teeter in them. I’m biased against any shoes that show your toes and/or your heels, but a younger person like you can probably get away with open-toed pumps. But why? I’ve never encountered a pair of heels that was more comfortable than a pair of loafers or flats. If you’d feel compelled to slip them off during the interview because your feet hurt… don’t wear them.</p>
<p>@Pizzagirl – Cole Haan by instinct, you’ve raised her right! 
They last forever!</p>
<p>Hmmm, Python,as a girl if you aren’t comfortable in khakis, a button down shirt and loafers don’t wear them. It’s a good standby but if it’s not you, you might feel to starchy. Khakis are aways a good bet, but a cute sweater or a sweater set if it’s early fall is fine, if it’s warm you can take the top sweater off. If you are touring as well as interviewing you might want to skip the heels, but again you need to feel comfortable in your clothes. If you are more comfortable in skirts there are so many cute print skirts these days. A cute skirt and a sweater works well, too, with some flats to dress up from jeans and a t-shirt. Target is always a good bet for lower priced clothes that are current and they generally have some classic pieces, too. Or hit Goodwill. Don’t spend a ton of money, don’t get clothes that are too small or too tight and be true to your own self. You’ll be more comfortable interviewing if you are comfortable in your clothes…really.</p>
<p>Python, what would you currently wear if you were going out to dinner?</p>
<p>I like this article. It makes me feel that my interview attire was appropriate (a short f21 skirt. lol)</p>
<p>As an adult, if I were running to a parent teacher function and was wearing jeans, I’d throw on a little black corduroy jacket and great black shoes. I think a teen could get away with that look too assuming it is the fall and assuming dark wash not-holey jeans.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend khakis, a buttondown and loafers for a girl. That’s for a boy.</p>
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<p>Whether it is appropriate depends on the dress. If it’s the sort of a dress you might wear to a dance, it’s probably not appropriate. You might be safer wearing that cardigan with a shirt (or even a tank top) that is not cut too low and a pair of pants that are not jeans.</p>
<p>The multiple perspectives on this thread are very useful!</p>
<p>I don’t think khaki, button-down, and loafers are totally unacceptable for a girl, as I have seen people pulling this off super well, but I do think it’s a comfort level thing. It is a little more androgynous than dress and necklace, and some people are a bit stiffer in get-up and vice versa. I know that I personally can’t do button-downs at all, even tailored dressy button-downs - the way they fit on me just makes me really self-conscious.</p>
<p>I think my dress is on the line. It’s made of cotton or something breathable like that and not velvet, silk, satin, shiny stuff, embellished, etc, so it’s not really that “dance-y” (I’m using prom for reference here, where at my school girls wear shorter, knee-length dresses like this one). But it does have a V-cut neckline that ends pretty low although it covers a lot. So I might end up playing it safer. I’ve already have one interview (it’s a college interview, if that helps) with this individual, and that went really well and we spent more than an hour in illuminating conversation, so I am not as worried about first impressions as I would be if it were a job interview at some place new to me. But I still want to look snappy and put together.</p>
<p>Heels - keep in mind that if you can’t walk in them, maybe don’t wear them to your college interview! There are better times to learn to keep your balance. Every time I go to an admissions office, I always see some poor awkward girl teetering uncomfortably on heels she can’t handle. Don’t be that girl.</p>
<p>And I approve of Nordstrom’s - not fussy old lady enough at all ;). I am actually somewhat obsessed with their dress section but everything is always too expensive!</p>
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^^ This! As long as “comfort” doesn’t involve showing as much skin as you can possibly get away with.
Worked fine for me (well, button-downs not so much after having a baby). But both Pizzagirl and momofthreeboys are spot on in emphasizing that being a bit feminine is perfectly fine.</p>
<p>A dress with a deep V-cut could be made more modest with a coordinating tank top or camisole (one that doesn’t look like lingerie) underneath. I would wear pumps with a low (e.g., 2" or so) heel to go with a dress – not big on ballet flats, but many people like their look too. I’d recommend wearing sheer hosiery with the dress, assuming you can stand it. Knee length is good. If you haven’t done so already, figure out how to sit in it without having it hike up too far on your thighs; e.g., crossing your legs at the ankles instead of the knees. If you’ll be interviewing in somebody’s home, what will you do if you’re offered a seat on a deep sofa?</p>
<p>I’ve never been much of a dress person, so here’s my bias: I lean more toward lightweight wool suit separates and would always choose the pants rather than the skirt unless the occasion is business formal (which a college interview probably isn’t, unless it’s for a tippy-top full ride scholarship). What’s appropriate is also partly regional: I think we don’t see as many dresses here in the West. OTOH if you’re in the South, wear the dress for sure!</p>
<p>Old Navy is a good place to look for a inexpensive cotton cardigan to wear over a dress or with a skirt and tank.
I don’t know a single high school or college age female who would wear khaki pants, button shirt and loafers. The only girls I know who wear pants like that do so for a job</p>