Vintage clothing might lose you that job interview!!

[Miss Neecerie]

You know, there are many who follow this exact philosophy.

I've lived under this banner for a number of years, and was largely driven to it by the kind of drivel that says "no tweed in town" "no brown for business" etc etc tsetse

(of course, i fully understand that if i want a job i need to follow "their rules" but i do it under sufferance, and will argue to the day i die that the "rules" are merely a pile of garbage designed to homogenise the workforce and therby make them malleable to the machinations of the ruling classes - bring on my cave!)

bk

Exactly....in a sense I -choose- to have the job I do, which involves looking the part for the 8-10 hours a day I am there.

If I could not abide by that, I could choose to go work somewhere else, doing something that did not inpinge on my dress sense.

I went with the paycheck. lol

 

[Marc Chevalier]

:eusa_clap

I wish this writer could say the same about outdated clothes

Me too.

As a volunteer, I work with men who have fallen through the cracks and are trying to get their lives together. One thing I do is take them to thrift stores and help them pick out a suit/jacket, dress shirt, tie, and shoes for job interviews. The key is to find clothes that look relatively contemporary and fit well. They don't have to be very well made: just modern, clean, and sober. It's psychological: the guy feels more confident going into the interview, and the interviewer judges the clothes as much as the man.

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

And i have chosen to half my paycheck to avoid dealing with these idiocies.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You know, there are many who follow this exact philosophy.

That's good to hear.

.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Being in the minority we tend not to be very vocal about it . . . i try to get the word out into each thread that deals with these issues.

bk

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

I think that it is a choice whether to be bothered about something or not. It's not hurting anyone, either way. Unless you plan on attacking that man and telling him off because he's not wearing a shirt. It was 110 degrees and he was jogging! What do you want from him?

I think it is a good choice to conform to the rules of the employer if it means getting hired, with good pay and security. They can't tell you what not to wear when you're not at work. Agree to their rules for that period of time. They're just clothes.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It was 110 degrees and he was jogging! What do you want from him?

A three piece tweed suit . . . obviously.

Not brown, though.

bk

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

A three piece tweed suit . . . obviously.

Not brown, though.

bk

it's at the cleaners. Always is.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

it's at the cleaners.

And even they can't get the stains out.

.

 

[Fletch]

In the unlikely event I ever get offered a job as a "suit" again, I will have a suit made along the lines of Jimmy Stewart's in Vertigo. The shape and fit are timeless and subtly elegant. (Stewart's suit was brown, but never mind that.) I'd wear the collar pin, but ditch the tie bar and hat.

If they think this is a costume, they're as petty as they are sophisticated. In which case to hell with 'em.

 

[Miss Dottie]

I think the point that the writer was trying to get across is that you don't want people to remember the clothes--but you and your smart savvy answers. I'm sure the right vintage more conservative suite, regardless of color would be fine.

 

[Senator Jack]

I don't know about the rest of the country - maybe the people out there are more insular than I thought - but I've been wearing vintage to jobs, clients, interviews, et cetera since the early 80s, and no one has said boo about it. Women that have interviewed me seemed to always like it, and as for the men, the worst I've ever been told to my face is, 'That's some outfit you have on. You wear that all the time?' and he wasn't even being sarcastic. As I wrote before, I might have got a snide comment from a stockbroker or lawyer, but they were drones and not paying the bill so who cares?

I guess the attitude I've always had when looking for a job or now taking on a client is, 'I don't need you. You need me.'

In closing for this round, treat your clothes like a costume and they are.

 

[koopkooper]

Good point Jack. The vintage clothes I wear is what I wear daily.
Sure at a job or job interview I wouldn't wear spectators, just normal conservative vintage clothes. Not all outfits from the past are loud or even obvious. I would rather wear my normal clothes and not try be someone who I am not. Unlike others I would never consider just wearing vintage on the weekend. When you do that you are treating retro style as a costume.

It's interesting with suits and hats. If you wear even your loudest most interesting suit down the street no one will even notice. However, put a hat on and the whole look is completly different. I believe the hat makes the man!

 

[52Styleline]

This thread has really made me think, because a large part of my job is conducting or overseeing interviews. Because I appreciate vintage clothing, and know how much time and money is devoted to putting together an complete outfit, personally I would be impressed and favorably disposed.

Thinking about my colleagues at other firms, I am not so sure their response would be positive. I have nothing to back this up except opinion, but I think that a woman might have a harder time being accepted in vintage garb than would a man. Let's face it, most people these days aren't savy about lapel width. I think a conservative suit from almost any era would receive little notice as being unusal. A woman,on the other hand who is dressed in vintage really stands out because she is so totally together.

If a woman ever showed up in my office in full 1940's regalia, I would swoon and immediately fall in love... Heck with the interview, you're hired.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

3 piece, Double Breased and Black . . .

For example, would anyone consider this to be anything but conservative? Just imagine the fedora and lapel pin are not present.

bk

 

[Elaina]

I also think it should be pointed out that "vintage" suits can still be bought today (like Bk's picture) for a pretty penny. I personally think that job sites like that don't write for people with money, taste, and sometimes class.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

yes, i suspect when she's (author in first post) talking about out of date suits she really means the napoleon dynamite look so popular with the graduating undergraduates these last few years.

bk

 

[Orgetorix]

For example, would anyone consider this to be anything but conservative?

Some, at least here in DC, would. To a lot of folks, anything out of the ordinary is not conservative. DBs and 3-piece suits are out of the ordinary. Put the two together and it's virtually unheard of. It's a shame, but those are the times we live in.

 

[Fletch]

My DC friends tell me it is, in some ways, the place I always thought existed, where they know style but don't quite cotton to it, and to be at all subtle or sophisticated is to invite special scrutiny. Think of the red scare days, and people quietly reading one another for "tendencies" and "signs."

 

[Baron Kurtz]

It's good to know. Should go to a job interview wearing a hopsack-esque modern suit, i guess. Best make sure the shoulders are far too big for me too, to fit in with the other college grads. Note to self: polyester is the way to go.

reading one another for "tendencies" and "signs."

heh, one of those signs might be the need to cover microphones so no-one knows what you're sayin', eh?

bk