<p>Saw the post for young men below. Any suggestions for a 21 year old female as far as interview suits? Where can I find young looking (without being sexy or trendy)? The suit is needed for med school interviews.</p>
<p>I’ve always found great suits for ~$40-80 at New York & Company. Their business dress section is very nice looking and well priced. Obviously this won’t be a great, perfect suit, but at 21 it might be good to have a bigger selection over better quality. The thing I love about the store is that the business clothing is conservative enough for interview/work, yet still feminine and totally wearable for a 21 year old. The store is tailored toward working women.
Beyond that, the usual Macys, Nordstrom, and JCPenny have nice suits for decent prices.<br>
I’m not sure where you would go for a high priced, top quality woman’s suit.</p>
<p>As for colors/style: the best colors are the usual black and grey. Thin pinstripes can also do very well on women. White and brown suits are seen, but grey/black are the most standard. A collared oxford/“shell” (conservative tank top) are good for warm weather, and thin sweaters/long sleeve oxfords/ are good for colder seasons. Pair with a nice pair or heels or flats, add some soft, elegant jewelry, clean makeup and hair, and you’ve got yourself a wonderful looking 21-year old.</p>
<p>I’m a female, 21, and just bought an interview suit from Ann Taylor Loft. It was a gray pinstripe knee-length skirt and jacket, and a beige sweater top. In the $200 range, but very nice quality, conservative, and more of a classic style. The employees there were all very knowledgeable on the styles, how it should fit, accessories, and more.</p>
<p>Express had a few options when I tried suits on there, but I couldn’t get the fit right for any jackets. They were under $100, and worth a try. </p>
<p>I didn’t have any luck in any other stores (went to a couple dozen) because I wanted something that was appropriate for my age, and the department stores looked like the suits would better suit someone over 30 or 40.</p>
<p>Best wishes! I’ll be interviewing for engineering jobs hopefully in the Fall.</p>
<p>My D found a nice navy pant suit last year from Express. They are separates so you can mix and match pieces and sizes. It is styled for a younger person.</p>
<p>Also as kwtortoise pointed out Ann Taylor Loft is a great place to look for work clothing. Nice look but not as expensive as Ann Taylor.</p>
<p>D uses the Limited for her “dressier” needs as a TA.You can buy pieces as seperates and they also have tailoring on the premises.
She’s had some success with H&M but its more hit or miss there.
sara Jessica Parker has a new line of clothing at the Steve and Barry’s stores that is extremely reasonable and includes more conservative,classic type pieces that could be “interviewable”.Also, don;t laugh,but if you look carefully you can find nice pieces at Target (the Mizrahi collection,plus other names).</p>
<p>If you go to <a href=“http://www.target.com%5B/url%5D”>www.target.com</a>, you’ll find many, many more clothing pieces than they have in their stores, incl. a large selection of nice classic ‘dressy dresses’ and lots of Mizrahi. Lands End also has a lot of nice work clothes – and I believe they still hem pants to the correct length (which can be a total pain if you’re neither 5’ 9’’ not petite).</p>
<p>Best thing is to find a suit (they call it a wardrober) that has both pants <em>and</em> skirt. When interviewing choose the skirt but you’ll get a better value and more options if you have the pants as well. Take an armful of suits into the dressing room and try on lots and lots. If you – like most people – are two different sizes on top and bottom, go for matching separates. They can be a ‘suit’. Go for richer fabrics – <em>avoid</em> polyester! </p>
<p>For a first suit, I’d choose something where the buttons close fairly high on the chest…esp. if you are blessed in this area. As for style, it depends on what you are interviewing for and where. If it’s something where you are suppose to show creativity in the job, show that in your clothes with an unusual piece of jewelry or a top that goes beyond buttondown. For the Greater D.C. area, on the other hand, fashion isn’t something anybody worries about much, esp. in the governmental or support areas. Navy blue with a crisp blouse is fine 99 times out of 100. Closed toe shoes please, please, please!</p>
<p>I think for a 21 year old, I’d look at JCrew (pricey, but you never know if on sale…or keep in mind that the jacket and pants even as separates will last many years), Ann Taylor Loft (can find things for this age), Express, The Limited, possibly Banana Republic…all would have dressier clothes/suits but for young women.</p>
<p>How about if the D is newly graduated and interviewing in an academic environment for a staff job? It’s not corporate or urban. One place is an arts college, the other an Ivy.</p>
<p>She looks quite young and is only 5 feet, but is quite beautiful. She really needs to arrange her waist-length hair and choose an outfit that give off a polished elegant sheen. She knows she shouldn’t look hippie or dorm-like, but it’s okay to still look related to the college environment.</p>
<p>Where would you begin to advise on this (she asked)? Needs to look like “not a student” but able to serve and relate to students. </p>
<p>By suit, do you all mean pantsuits? When she gets dressed up, she normally puts on an ankle-length skirt but that might look odd for an interview. She’d feel so uncomfortable in a mini or calf-length skirt, I think she would…but maybe should try that?</p>
<p>My thought was a dark pantsuit, jewel-tone shirt, interesting artsy jewelry, and the platform shoes that give her height.</p>
<p>I think your idea sounds great. I am envisioning a very polished, put together young woman from your description … sounds like something Clint & Stacey would dress her in (“What Not to Wear”)!</p>
<p>In case you are not familiar with the show, I am not saying that what you describe is what not to wear!! :)</p>
<p>Paying3 – She should look for a suit (meaning a jacket and a matching skirt or pants) with a skirt that hits just at or very slightly below her knee. This will give her the illusion having longer legs aka taller. She should not wear platform shoes unless they are very discreet (platform matching the color of the upper). Though pants are fine, I would tend to choose a skirt for an interview. Please suggest that she wear hose…even though women go bare-legged all the time now err on the side of caution/conservative. A jewel-tone blouse is good, provided its not fussy which could make her look like she’s trying too hard. A thin knit under a suit jacket can look very pulled together as well. </p>
<p>My biggest mistake as an interviewee has always been to obsess too much about what I’m wearing and not enough about what I’m going to say!</p>
<p>
I think this could be important when she goes for the art school interview,paying3, but perhaps (not sure) should be left out for the Ivy interview. I have an MBA and was an executive in the retail business. My interviewing took place in the era when women were wearing man-tailored suits (eg, navy pinstripe) and those blouses with the flouncy tie collars (ugh). I (correctly) bucked that trend for interviewing in the retail fashion industry, wearing for example an aubergine wool crepe suit with shawl collar and deep teal/emerald blouse. I had used a Personal Shopper in a quality boutique; trust me, it was a great look. But it was still too conservative for the fashion-oriented company. I was hired, but the CEO and I were comfortable enough that he told me this.</p>
<p>So… I think she will want to adapt to the eccentricities of the environment where she is interviewing.</p>
<p>I completely agree with Novelisto - nix the platform shoes for achieving height; fairly high heels are fine, but no platform. No on the maxi skirt. No on a mini of course. At or slightly above (1/2" to 1") the knee or below the knee is what I would suggest.</p>
<p>A person cannot go wrong by watching a couple of episodes of What Not To Wear, btw. Those two are great and really help their “charges” choose the right attire for the workplace and career enhancement.</p>
<p>Also, depending on budget, she can shop where this same type of personal shopping/what not to wear advice comes along for the ride. Talbot’s staff are often excellent at this. It is a bit of luck of the draw, but availing herself of a good salesperson’s eye can be really helpful. I don’t know that you can find this at too many dept. stores anymore, nor Target etc. Which are great places to shop - don’t get me wrong, but don’t have the fringe benefit of advice by a skilled individual.</p>
<p>Go to a store with great sales people, J Crew, Banana Republic both have excellent sales people who will help put the whole package together. Most important to be comfortable in your clothes! If it does not feel like you it shows.</p>
<p>I’m also a big fan of NY&C. Everything mixes and matches and you can’t beat the prices. If you get a card and get on the mailing list, you’ll get $30 off of $75 or more, or $60 off of $150 or more, which really adds up. And you get these coupons about every month! PLUS, if you spend $100 in any given month, you get even more discounts.<br>
Basically, you can fill your closet with great looking clothes, jewelry, and handbags for very little $.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a guy and have no business posting in this thread, but (…) if I were a young woman just entering the world of interview clothes in business or the professions I’d go to Nordstrom and throw myself on their mercy. It would cost more than Target, but I’d pretty much guarantee that you would walk out looking perfect.</p>
<p>There are two basic philosophies when it comes to investing in a business wardrobe. One says to get the very best, classic pieces you can and keep them forever. I do this when it comes to pieces like coats (not ski-jacket type coats- I like to buy new everytime I go for a ski vacation :)). </p>
<p>When I was buying for work 20 years ago, I purchased pieces from high end department stores and boutiques (Winter Park, Fl). At the time, the pieces were <em>classics</em>. I spent thousands of dollars on several suits. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing any of them today. Heck, I wouldn’t have worn them 5 years after I bought them. Even though they appeared to be classic at the time, the colors and tiny nuances of styling show how dated they are. Even those in basic colors like navy, grey, and black. </p>
<p>My thought is, as long as a piece is sophisticated, constructed well (or looks to be from the outside), I’d rather replenish or replace my wardrobe with updates every 1-2 years and save the money rather than invest heavily and have to wear them past their prime. Of course, if I had the money to spend thousands every year on new suits, I’d feel differently.</p>
<p>A younger woman can get away with more trendier pieces as well (within reason), so I say go for it!</p>
<p>I second Limited, JCrew, Banana, Express. The trousers at Express are particularly nice. I disagree with the advice on the skirt hitting just below the knee. That is an unattractive length on anybody! Go for just above the knee or you will look like an 80s through back.</p>
<p>payingthreetuitions- My D is also just over 5 ft tall. She was always frustrated trying to find nice clothing that was not styled for someone much older. Tops were not the problem but pants and skirts were. She had her Express suit with a few different tops but also invested in an expensive pair of nice slacks from a small shop. They fit perfect and the store hemmed them for her. They were styled for someone of her size. She has gotten more wear out of them then the suit. She paired them with plain white or blue blouses or nice tailered sweaters. She used this outfit for places where a suit would have been over dressed. She also found a nice pair of black pumps that gave her some height.
Most stores like Talbots that have petite clothing are just not styled for a much older woman.</p>
<p>My 22 year old loves J.Crew and Ann Taylor (regular) when she wants to look “respectable”. Between those two stores, she can find everything she could ever need. Ann Taylor usually has a large sale rack with separates where she almost always finds a bargain. She finds the cut of their clothes to fit her well- a bit better than Talbots, which she thinks caters to an older crowd.</p>
<p>I think I’ll second WashDad’s Nordstrom advice. This store is known for its service. They have lots of great clothing at decent prices. Macy’s is another option. My D looked all over for a suit to wear interviewing for a scholarship last spring, and she ended up getting it at JCrew. It was perfect for her, but it’s not something I would suggest for a woman in your D’s position (your D will want to look a bit more sophisticated, I think). Banana Republic has great styles that are very well constructed, so that is an option (always search online for in-store coupons before heading out to BR!). She will “know” the right outfit when she puts it on … or perhaps it will be an outfit with 2 different tops for the 2 different interviews. Good luck.</p>