PULL YOUR LOOK TOGETHER
Do your homework. Visit the office or call human resources to get dress code details before the interview.
Focus on fit. Nothing too tight or too short. Same goes for shoes. Make sure you're comfortable in your clothes. If you're not, it'll be painfully obvious.
Tone it down. Cover tattoos and cleavage. Limit jewelry and piercings. Do not wear perfume or cologne.
Leave the casual at home. No flip-flops, deck shoes, jeans or shorts.
You need to look sharp for any job interview. But it can be tough to look your best when you don't have much money for clothes. How can those short on cash – including recent college grads and downsized workers – make a stylish impression without going broke?
We set out recently to find four interview-worthy looks, keeping cost in mind. We were able to bring each ensemble in for around $200. You can do it, too – you just need the hows, wheres and whys of maximizing your shopping dollars.
“Eighty percent of style is having the right clothes for the occasion,” writes Details magazine editor Daniel Peres in the book “Details: Men's Style Manual” (Gotham, $30).
There are rules around interview dress that transcend budget, says Kenny Colbert, 53, president of The Employers Association, a human resources consulting firm.
“You can never overdress,” Colbert says. “Always look your best. Even if you're going for a job at a fast-food restaurant, at the absolute minimum, you wear a nice shirt and a nice pair of pants.”
There's no need to guess what's acceptable – do a little recon before you go.
Dress code, written or unwritten, varies by company. Call the human resources department, ask current employees, or schedule a visit to the office before the interview to see what others are wearing, Colbert suggests.
“I dare say, if you haven't prepared for the dress code,” he says, “you have not prepared for other things.”
So where does that leave the fiscally-challenged job seeker? In better shape than you might think.
“When you look at clothing now, price is not the arbiter of what is good, it's the clothes themselves,” said Barry Prevor, one half of Steve & Barry's, told the New York Times recently. Steve & Barry's is a chain of more than 200 clothing stores (including locations in Charlotte and Gastonia) where prices are less than $20 per item, and usually closer to $9.
Here are a few things we learned during our shopping trip:
Know where to cut corners. Don't buy duplicates of items that can be repurposed, such as reversible belts and neutral shoes (for men, black leather oxfords; for women, a closed-toe, moderate-height black heel).
Focus on materials. For example, in shoes and bags, leather is the way to go. Leather (even lower grade) looks better than fake. And properly cared for, leather can have a long life.
Shop discount. Some of our best deals came from TJ Maxx and Ross Dress for Less, stores that sell designer gear from previous seasons. Conversely, don't be afraid of big-name department stores. Watch circulars and ads for sales.
