Hayulp - suitable interview attire

I work in a city insurance firm and most of the women here just wear black trousers and a shirt.

Its not a requirement here for women to wear suits and nor has it been in the previous 3 office based environments i have worked in

Smart trousers i would say M&S and shirts anywhere really

Some people wear skirt suits but most just wear skirt and a shirt/blouse

hth

Thanks - suits for interviews though surely? Or just normal office wear is Ok these days? i'll be going for fairly senior roles. I am so out of it. ?

I'd defintitely wear a suit for an interview at my place.

I would wear a suit for a interview to be on the safe side, although having said that i have never worn a suit to a interview - always just black trousers and white shirt, i only take the suit jacket off as soon as i get in a office anyway.

If you want a nice suit then get one from M&S Autograph range - they are pretty good quality and wont break the bank. Or you could try Zara although i can never get trousers long enough in there

Thanks - I'll have a look in those places.

I'd always wear a suit for an interview and I'm not in a corporate world so I'd imagine it's even more expected in that area.

Not a shop I have ever been to before but I went to Matalan with a friend and their suits looked great. I got H a few pairs of their trousers and they are very good quality. I'd certainly look there if I needed a suit.

I'd second Zara. I had a load of interviews over the past few months and found that I alternated between a zara charcoal grey suit and a zara shift dress that I wore with a bright cardy or scarf.

From memory the suit was about £80 a year ago and I love it. Very simple styling but so much better than anything else I tried on.

Fab, thanks all, much appreciated. A suit it is then!

Knownowt posted a similar thread t'other day, have a rummage and see if you can find it as there were a few good recs on there.

Mwah xx

I know it's not the highest of fashion but Debenhams own range suits are pretty good quality and value for interview usage if you don't want to spend too much.

Good luck with it!

Suit for interview, absolutely no arguing.

As for funky work wear, mix it up. Trousers with funky shirts, dresses, skirts. I tend not to wear my full suit unless I have a meeting. I also avoid the typical office wear of trousers with a v-neck top as much as possible. There are loads of ways to jazz it up but still look smart and professional. The best thing you can do is hold off re-doing your wardrobe until you know where you'll be working and the range of clothes worn there.

Suit, definitely.

I've just been looking for a suit and eventually got a lovely one at Jigsaw. They have quite a good range (it's on their website) and I really like the one I got, which is dark grey chalk striped skirt suit. I am in a very traditional industry though so maybe you want something less traditional- although I think erring on the side of smart and formal at interview is always a good idea- if you get something that fits perfectly and suits you it won't look frumpy. Jigsaw have a sale at the moment- I got 1/3 off.

Zara had a nice linen suit which was too informal for me but definitely smart. Whistles had nothing. Hobbes had some quite nice 50s dresses (think Joan from Mad Men) which you could put a jacket with but their suits weren't great- although so much comes down to fit with a suit I think so they might just have been wrong on me.

While it's obviously more expensive, I'd err on the side of getting one with a good wool content (or linen or whatever) and would steer away from New Look polyester etc.

Thanks again. I'll be buying a more expensive suit as I prefer natural fibres and it will need to look suitable for the sort of roles I'm going for. I love New look for jeans and the odd pair of shoes, but I think it will show if I wear a New Look suit for a senior role interview IYSWIM. I suppose you have to dress for the role you want.

So, on my list is Zara, M&S Autograph, Debenenenenenenhams (wonder if John Rocha etc... do suits?), Monsoon maybe? Jigsaw is just a little too expensive as I don't know how long I need to make my redundancy money stretch! ?

Slightly tangentially, what do you wear if you're up for an interview in a different department of the same company and the chances are you'll know everyone in the interview room - in one case being good friends for twenty years?

They know exactly what I dress like normally, as I see them every day, so wearing a suit seems like overkill. And in a case like this, I don't need to worry about first impressions, as these were made so long ago that they'll have been long forgotten. To be honest, the interview itself is a bureaucratic formality - I can't believe they'll learn anything new that they don't already know!

But does anyone have any direct experience of this kind of thing?

I'd still wear a suit, Mr JK, assuming you would if you didn't know them (ie that it's an industry in which that's the sort of thing people do). It shows you're taking it seriously- while the interview may be almost a formality, the last impression you want to give is of treating it as such. I just don't see how dressing smartly can do anything other than improve your chances. I would try to think up a witty line though for when they inevitably comment on the fact you look smarter than you have for the last X years ?

Well, the major argument against wearing a suit is that it would spill the beans to my current boss pretty much instantly - I can't think of any other reason I'd wear one! ?

Wonks I'd go for a sharp, classic suit, but rock it with some statement jewellery or a bright jewel coloured top underneath.

Sharp, business-like, but individual.