Six Ways to Make Your Interview Attire as Slick as Your Design Portfolio
Pantsuit? Distressed jeans and penny loafers? Chuck Taylors? What is acceptable attire for a design interview?
Sales adages have long held that the best way to judge the spending power of a potential client is to look at their watch and shoes. So showing up at Saks with a t-shirt and khakis might actually attract hordes of obsequious salespeople...if you're wearing a Patek Phillipe. Likewise, attention to detail in accessories or details in attire can have a profound impact on the way an applicant is perceived. The shine of your shoes says a lot more about the character of your personality than your brand of jeans, but designers don't require military polish to pass muster. Designers are usually meant to break the rules, to establish new trends, and to innovate - both professionally and sartorially. The following are a few simple rules for how to make a good impression in a paradoxical business where "any publicity is good publicity."
1. It is OK to "fit in," especially as a junior employee.
Ultimately, corporate culture is predominantly about being a team player. Society has very strong pressures for "fitting in," and business is no different. A good interview benchmark for fashion is to look to the other employees. As a designer, it is your burden to act creatively within someone else's parameters.
2. Your attire (and grooming) is an extension of your portfolio.
Your bosses will at some time (ok, most of the time), ask you to create things that go against your personal taste. To do so, you'll need to become adept at calibrating other people's desires and expectations. Your design interview is no different. So supplying a portfolio that fits your potential employer's design ethos is more important than creating the "perfect" portfolio for you. Your attire is an extension of your portfolio and of your image and should follow the same rules.
3. High fashion no longer needs to be expensive...it's better to simply be up on trends and find clothing that fits.
Since it no longer takes hundreds of man-hours to create lace and no one has hordes of Victorian retainers to dress them in multi-layered outfits, fashion must take other cues for what's appropriate attire for a given station in life (or a much-desired job position). Fashion now means that wearers need the newest thing, not the most luxurious, so you no longer need to bust the bank to look great. The only true currency that still applies in our modern world is time. Since it's difficult for non-professionals to judge the quality of clothing these days, just make sure that the clothing you choose fits you well. Only your tailor will know for sure.
4. Even bad fashion can have positive implications.
During the dot-com boom, tech wonks were expected to wear flipflops and t-shirts, even when they met with white-shoe investment bankers. The very dorkiness and unprofessionality of their attire established their credibility. After all, if you can get away with dressing that way, you had to be a hell of a programmer. After the bubble burst, however, many of these trends continued, and jeans are now acceptable attire even in the restaurants Zagats puts in all capital letters.
5. The nature of "cool" is being comfortable doing things other people aren't comfortable with.
The only people who can start fashion trends are the ones whose positions in society are assured regardless of convention. Designers are supposed to be experts in cool, and your clothing is the first signal that others see about how culturally aware you are. The nature of cool is to be comfortable in your own skin, regardless of what others think or say. For designers in particular, a few little deviations from the status quo are to be expected. The more important innovation is to the position, the more entitled the designer can be in breaking from tradition in their attire. For very senior or autonomous positions, creatives are free to dress however they like, so the Steve Jobs' of the world can keep wearing turtlenecks and I can still frown on Karim Rashid's skinny white suits. He can afford not to concern himself with my opinion. At that level, the designer is supposed to be the one defining the trends.
6. Fashion, like art, is all about context and contrast. Wearing a conservative outfit with a few deviant touches sends a far more powerful signal than a full counterculture ensemble.
In a final note, moderation still rules the day. You're supposed to be bucking the status quo and defining your own rules. Just don't overdo it. Particularly as a junior person, somewhat conservative attire rules the day. After you've been hired, then you can roll up your shirtsleeves to show your tats. The nature of compelling art, design and photography is in contrast, so designers aspiring to work in corporate environments would be well served to dress relatively conservatively, but with just a touch of rebellion. Perversely, wearing mostly professional attire will only serve to highlight the hipster jacket you just bought or the Vans poking out from under your khakis.
Note: This article was originally written by Robert Blinn.