<p>Ok, finally back from my trip and it was interesting! First of all we were visiting my sister who had all kinds of unsolicited advice. She and her D wanted to go to the mall with us, oh it will be so fun! But after everyone got ready and we had to run some other errands for her and have lunch, we had exactly 2 hours to shop! </p>
<p>Found a jacket at Ann Taylor that fit and pants that fit but not ones that went together. The sales associate checked to see if she could order the pants for us but said they were not available in a store but were on line, just go home and order the pants we needed. So we bought the jacket and a gray striped cotton blouse (that my sister hated and so it went back). My D has a gray pencil skirt and a silk shell with pink, gray and black so she is going to wear that for her interview today. It was the best we could do with our time.</p>
<p>I went home and tried to order the pants but they weren’t available in her size on line and in fact the next day those pants were not available in any size. Called another store about an hour away, they didn’t have the pants she needed but she would order them for us. So I did but not sure if D will receive them since they were sold out on line and another store said that they couldn’t get them for us but we are hoping. If this suit comes, it is a black wool crepe.</p>
<p>Since I am not sure of when or if the pants to the jacket are coming, I ordered another suit for D. It’s a gray/brown tweed suit, I really liked it but D, not so much but we didn’t have any time.</p>
<p>Found a jacket at Banana Republic also but no pants to fit, we did buy a shell and a white tuxedo shirt for whatever suit she settles with.</p>
<p>Looked for shoes, D will have site visits (we hope!) where she will need shoes that are not heels but still look nice. She did need a small heel so that the pants we got will lay nice so we found a wedge that we liked in either patent or suede. This is where WWIII broke out. My sister went on and on that my D could not wear patent or suede and that it was inappropriate and I should refuse to pay for them unless my D bought leather shoes. She went on and on about how we should buy something really nice or my D will never be able to get a job or move up in her job. That she works with people who wear suits all the time and what my D picked out would never work. That she couldn’t wear a cotton blouse and it had to be something nicer than cotton. </p>
<p>Sigh! D walked out of the room. We are disregarding what my sister said, she thinks she knows everything but my D and I feel that no one is going to notice if her shoes are suede or patent. My sister also said my D should dye her hair from red to brown because red was too flashy.</p>
<p>Best of luck with getting everything together! It can be challenging if someone is not average in terms of height and weight. I shared your situation with my daughter, and apparently my memory is not as good as it used to be. She bought a black suit jacket, pencil skirt, and pants. (“Remember, I thought black was more of a power color than gray?” Oh yeah, now I do.) We did have to order the skirt online because they didn’t have 00 in the store. I do remember that because we bought the 0 in case the 00 didn’t come in before the interview and she had to make do. Then there was a mistake and they sent us TWO size 00 skirts. Oh well, it all worked out in the end (because mothers do what they have to do) :)</p>
<p>My daughter also said she bought a lot of things at Express once she had the internship. The pants come in different lengths ( short,average, tall) and they had lots of pretty colored shells, sleeveless tops that she could use under jackets. She bought a couple of cardigans, too.</p>
<p>Unless it’s a neon red and looks very unprofessional, your daughter should leave her hair the way it is. During her freshman year, my daughter dyed her blonde hair dark brown because she felt no one would take her seriously. ( "Mom, it took THREE boxes of dye to cover up the blonde!) I told her that her thoughts and actions–not physical appearance-- would speak for themselves, and after a few months she realized that and went back to her natural, but enhanced at the salon, hair color. :)</p>
<p>Wow! You’re more patient than I am. I don’t shop with others unless I KNOW I have a lot of leisure time & don’t REALLY need to get anything. There are too many unknowns when shopping with others.</p>
<p>If your D hasn’t work the jacket, she can return it if she decides she doesn’t want it or if no matching slacks or skirt can be obtained in her size. Sounds like it was a frustrating time for you. </p>
<p>I would NEVER advise my kids to dye their hair for an interview or anything else (neither H nor I do either). I wouldn’t want a job that required me to alter my appearance that much and neither would H nor our kids. Sad that your D felt she needed to dye her hair dark brown to be taken seriously—I’m sure she’s lovely as a blond and there are many who will take people seriously as soon as they realize that they have functioning brain cells.</p>
<p>Oh wow! Your sister’s advice is very dated. I remember being quite “daring” in the mid 80’s to wear suede heels instead of leather heels with a business suit – but these days? There’s no place where patent leather or suede heels are inappropriate, IMO.</p>
<p>Your D might want to look at a blog called Corporette - it is geared more towards a lot of young lawyers, but has some nice fashion advice for young working women in general.</p>
<p>Jeanie did not get an offer, unfortunately… But the company finally figured out that attractive female interns were a major distraction to the mostly male engineering staff (and vice versa :-)) and seems to have brought in fewer of them :-O</p>