The Interview Suit – A Guide to Appropriate Interview Suits

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Having recently attended some weddings and talked to a couple people about dressing for business I decided to put together a little guide.  If you are interested in choosing a job interview suit (or wedding suit) you came to the right place.  First we’ll go through the general rules and narrow down options.  At the end I’ll show you a couple examples at various price points that are all acceptable.

*if you are interviewing in a creative field, these rules do not apply strictly.  This is targeted towards lawyers/bankers/grad school/corporate jobs etc., to show you can “fit in” to corporate culture and not make any fashion “faux pas”.

Rule 1:

Only wear a navy or charcoal colored suit. This means no mid blue, no light blue, no mid grey, no light grey, no brown, no chocolate, no green, no white, no red, no pink, no black, nothing but navy or charcoal. Seriously.

Rule 2:

Only wear a solid colored suit, no patterns, even if they are navy or charcoal as a base color.

Rule 3:

Only notch lapels. This means no peak lapels, no double breasted jackets, no shawl collars.

Rule 4:

Only wear a suit made with “worsted” or “smooth” wool fabric. This means no flannel, no linen, no cotton, no cotton/linen blends, no wool/linen blends, no wool/silk/linen blends.

Rule 5:

Only wear a solid white or solid light blue shirt with a moderate spread collar. This means no mid blue, no navy, no black, no pink, no salmon, no yellow, no gingham, no checks, no stripes, no cutaway collars and no button-down collars.

Pro Tip – if you’re naturally tan both colors work equally well, if you’re pale, light blue generally looks better.

Rule 6:

Only wear a subtlety colored tie in solid, small sized designs, or conservative stripes. No paisleys, linen ties, knit ties or aggressive colors.

Rule 7:

Only wear black or dark brown “lace up” dress shoes with minimal detailing.

Rule 8:

Match the color of your socks to the color of your pants.  This means only wearing navy or charcoal colored socks if you’ve been following the rules above.  Matching your stocks to your pants creates an unbroken line for the eye to your shoes.

Rule 9:

Match your belt to your shoes. You will wear either a dark brown belt or a black belt depending on your shoe choice. Don’t wear a tan belt, a woven belt, a belt with a buckle that’s not silver or another brushed metal (no gold), or any belt with a crazy buckle that draws attention to itself more than you.

Optional Rule 10:

A white pocket square worn horizontally. This is completely optional but will add a tiny bit of style to your outfit without most people noticing. No other colored pocket squares, picture-based pocket squares, patterns etc., and not added in sloppily or “puffy” looking aka “sprezzatura”.

I have chosen to use Suit Supply for all options because you can buy a whole outfit from them, and they provide the best combination of style/fit/quality/price out of any other company I have tried. This includes; J Crew, Ralph Lauren, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Brooks Brothers, Men’s Warehouse etc., as alternate choices. I personally own multiple suits and sport coats from Suit Supply so I recommend them for most situations.

Suiting Options

Under $500

    Navy Napoli Suit – $499                                                Dark Grey Napoli Suit – $499

Over $500

Navy Lazio Suit – $648                                                   Grey Lazio Suit – $648

Pro Tip: These suits are more expensive but have the additional perk of being “Mix and Match”.  Most suits come as a “drop 6″, which means a size 38 jacket comes with a 32” pant, thus a 6 inch “drop” from chest to waist.  If you’re a gym-goer who has an over-developed chest/shoulders/back and/or skips leg day more than you care to admit, you may need a “drop 8” or even “drop 10″ which can be done by purchasing a 40 or 42 sized jacket with 32 sized pants.  The reverse case is for a gym-goer who loves a heavy squat/deadlift day, who may need to purchase a larger-waisted pant than is strictly necessary to make room for a more substantial lower body.  He can purchase a 34″ pant and have a tailor make some alterations to help bring the waist back in a bit.  Mix and Match can help solve both of these issues, to a point, and is worth consideration if you don’t fit a standard 6” drop suit “off the rack”.

Shirt Options

White Slim Fit Shirt – $99                                            Blue Slim Fit Shirt – $99

Pro Tip: buy the light blue shirt if you have pale skin, white will not make you look tanner, the lack of contrast actually makes you look worse.  If you aren’t pale, it’s all just personal preference.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!