I work at a med school and see young women come in for interviews all the time. Black or navy blue structured clothing - either a skirt/blouse/blazer/jacket combo or dress/jacket combo is pretty standard. Think classy and “smart” , not cute.
I just checked The Limited website. They have some nice suits.
Im close to her size and a microfiber jacket that is hip lenght or a little longer, that goes in at the waist and has some sort of detail like a collar, can look cute with dresses & pants and give her a more tailored look than a sweater will. You dont want to accentuate the boob, for an interview, with knits.
D is now beginning her 4th year of Med school.
Banana R ruled. skirt or two and a pair of pants (think Vermont or Mass.) and a few silky blouses with color and even a ruffle or two. One jacket that fits–even if tailored.
A pair of flats and boots. A wool winter coat and scarf and a few pair of gloves.
Think 500$-$1000.
Also, they need dress-ish clothes about 1-2 times a week for the first 2 years so the clothes will get worn.
Maybe something not realized>>>?
I just visited a BR. Not a single coordinating suiting piece to be found on the racks! I think checking the ongoing Nordstrom’s sale would be a better bet. Their own Classiques brand is reasonably priced and offers a lot of coordinating options.
My D is in her last year of residency, so did her med school interviews six years ago. She wore a teal suit that I bought her at TJMaxx. Suits were definitely the thing to wear. Most had black suits, and she was glad she wore a color.
Your D will need some professional type clothing such as nice dress pants or skirts and dressy blouses. They call that “clinic attire.” When she rotates with a dr in his/her office in 3rd-4th year, she will wear that.
Not med school, but my D did law firm interviews and she has had success with the Calvin Klein suiting line at Bloomingdales - very reasonable and holds up well. She has a coordinating dress, skirt, slacks and jacket. She is taller than your D and no curves in the hips, but very short-waisted and busty. She never buttons a jacket. Her preferred look is a sheath dress with a jacket and a “statement” necklace (hers is turquoise). She did wear skirt suits to callback interviews at firms with soft shell-type tops. Last season, JCrew had a “drapey shell” in a variety of colors that were perfect for under a suit.
my D has identical stats, and we found it virtually impossible to find a properly fitting blouse (gaps, button strain, too big in shoulders, etc). i would totally agree with above that if she prefers separates that a shell would work better for her body type. no matter what she decides, a proper fit is the most important–i know mine tends to look sloppy if the smallest proportion is off.
i vote sheath/jacket set too–the talbots suggestion was a great one as they do various sizing.
congrats to her and good luck…heres to only having to drag out the interview outfit once!
We were at the mall until closing last night…this is not so easy. Traditional jackets are not going to work, they gap oddly at the chest and the lapels do not lay flat …they just look awkward and I am told even with a lot of tailoring to get the shoulders and sleeves down to size and to fit correctly, the issue with the lapels really cannot be fixed…so “traditional” suit seperates are out.
We found a creme and black knit dress at the Loft (sleeveless, hits at knee for length, with a round high neckline so no cleavage) to go with it we found a jacket at White House/Black Market that hits right at the waist and is structured completely differently than a traditonal blazer and actually fits nicely on her figure this outfit is a possiblity? She could go bare legged (shocking for me) for warmer climates and add black tights for any cooler locales. We bought the outfit either way as she will get use from it even if it isnt the “interview” suit).
We also found a black and white checked flared skirt with a wide black waistband (very flattering on her)-the skirt is not terribly short, but doesnt quite reach the knee, with a white sleeveless silk top that has black trim around the neckline and down the front, it has a slit in the front but it hooks at the neck so again no cleavage and we will only have to take the waist in as there is a ton of extra fabric and it bunches when she tucks the blouse in…the same black jacket would also go with this outfit.
Both would be worn with plain black leather pumps with a mid level heel. She is comfortable in both outfits and they fit her personality, but neither is anything close to the black suit seperates with blouse I am hearing many wear to these interviews…but then again this is my kid who has never followed the crowd so to speak.
Thoughts on these outfits?
As a side note: our biggest disappointment was a fabulous navy business dress at Ann Taylor–it looked great on her, but was sleeveless…and the matching jacket was of the traditional style and ruined the entire look…turned it from a spectacular but conservative business dress into to dowdy looking outfit…so sad.
Additonally, my daughter has told me she prefers dresses or skirts to pants (I was surprised) and absolutley no to cardigans (she “hates” them…who knew? maybe because I live in them and she associates them with a “mom” look?)
We are heading back Monday evening to hunt some more…suggestions welcome!!!
A dress is fine is that is what she likes! I actually think I see very few women coming for interviews with pants. Again, I think the key is classic, smart, business like - and not “cute”!!! You do not want to be saying, “that’s adorable on you!” Not for this outfit. 
It sounds like the two of you have found two great outfits that will work perfectly. Congrats! I see no reason that they won’t be perfect for the interviews and her rotations when she’s a med student. Great job!
It sounds like those are two great choices. If she finds a great dress that is sleeveless, I would still make her try it on with a cardigan. The dress will pop, not the cardigan (especially if it is in black.) For some reason, D likes v-neck cardigans rather than round neck. They can be short or long–it’s basically the sleeve coverage that you are going after. D has blazers too–both structured and not. She recently picked up a rayon type one with a shawl collar which goes with a lot of things. That we found in Banana Republic Outlet for super cheap.
Here is one like if from the Banana Republic Outlet. We are lucky to have a BR outlet 5 minutes from our house. She picked up tons of work clothes recently that were all 50% to 70% off. Looks like they have the same sale on-line, too.
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1018572&vid=1&pid=102264002
@Miamidap might have advice
http://www.bananarepublic.com/products/petite-suits.jsp
Petite suit separates at BR
My D was required to wear pantyhose or tights with skirts and dresses in medical school for rotations or any clinic work. Her med school considered bare legs unprofessional and that was stated in their dress code. I think your D should wear them to interviews even though most young women don’t wear them much any more.
A great place for her to ask this question is on one of the forums at StudentDoctor.net
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I am worried that the two outfits we found are exactly as abasket describes…maybe a bit “cute”
I mentioned the pantyhose (do we still call them that?) to my daughter thinking she would say no way, but she agreed that they may be needed even though she dislikes them. (Now I’m wishing she would just wear pants)
I may take a peek at SDN. I had been on the site once before when D suddenly mentioned she was going to apply to Med School and it scared the heck out me! I asked my D if she has looked at the site. She said exactly what I was thinking–that place is crazy competitive and only stresses people out…so she has stayed away. But it may be helpful to find just a clothing thread…how bad could that be?
On one hand her non competitive and laid back attitude has served her well so far…but being a type A personality myself her casual approach to the med school application process has ME stressed out!
I try to stay out of it except for handing over the credit card for all of the app fees, but the clothing is something she asked for help with so I want to get it right (that type A personaily again!)
There are long and extensive threads on SDN about interview clothing.
http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/threads/womens-interview-clothing-3.842732/
I did a lot of research on SDN for my D all through her application, med school, residency application. I still look at it even though she is a resident. I have gleaned significant info for my D there.
There is a lot of good info there if you sift through it. Yes, there is a lot of competition, but that’s the world of applying to med school. It’s not so crazy competitive once you are already in med school. My D has never looked at it–no time.
My DD wore a black suit jacket and either slacks or a skirt (weather dependent) to all of her interviews. And she wore dark nylons…whatever they are called. Her “color” personality was in the shirts she chose, and her simple jewelry. She had blue, coral, red and dark pink shirts she wore…and a nice variety of necklaces. I should add…none of her shirts buttoned down the front.
And she wore “cute black flats”. She had black boots as well, but never wore those to an interview.