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Looking more professional, a fashion thread
I'm currently a fourth year grad student in Economics. Next year I'll be going "on the market." The market is basically a huge conference where people give talks on a variety of topics, some meetings take place, and most importantly pretty much all job interviews take place. In the fall schools post openings, the interviews take place at the aforementioned AEA meetings in early January. Candidates have anywhere from a couple of interviews up to 30 or more. If successful, a candidate is flown out to give an hour and a half talk at that school.
I don't spend a lot of time thinking about clothes. I pretty much always wear t-shirts, most of which are Oregon related. I have a North Face fleece that I have worn a lot this winter. I usually wear jeans or shorts when it isn't too cold. For shoes, I basically wear New Balance cross trainers. I went on a bit of a binge last spring. Last Christmas, I took advantage of sales to buy a bunch of colored shirts, just your basic Old Navy/Gap etc. type. I also bought a few pairs of khakis and cargo pants, a pea (sp?) coat, and two pair of Clarks shoes (one brown, one black, otherwise identical) that I actually really like. I wore these pretty regularly for most of the winter and spring, but once summer came around and I wasn't around the department, I went back to wearing shorts and tshirts etc. For whatever reason, I haven't gone back to wearing the nicer clothes, and even some new stuff I bought early this month. Basically, I would like to overall look more professional. I have the type of personality where I don't take myself too seriously, and the clothing I usually wear is representative of that. The problem is that I suspect it also rubs off and people get the (sadly not incorrect enough) impression that I don't take my work seriously either. Also, I think that when making the change from student to professor it seems appropriate to not look like a total slob all the time (at least until I get tenure). Some tips for day-to-day stuff would be good here. Also, I will need to buy a suit to wear to the interviews and hopefully fly-outs. I've never owned a suit and don't have the slightest clue what to look for. There is also usually a dinner which is somewhat, but not completely formal at these things. So basically, I am seeking advice on 3 how to dress for three types of situations: 1. Day to day office - something nice and comfortable, should be professional but need not meet any dress code. 2. Formal suit/tie for a job interview, giving talks etc. 3. Something in the middle to wear to dinner and other events with potential employers. I don't have a huge budget to buy tons of stuff. While I'm not going on one huge shopping spree, my hope is that I can keep reading this thread and make some improvements gradually. Any input appreciated. |
#2
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
can this be expanded into the general fashion advice thread mrwookie suggested?
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#3
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
NCJ,
"can this be expanded into the general fashion advice thread mrwookie suggested?" Just add... 4. Going out and looking nice at casual places. 5. Going out and looking nice at dressier places. |
#4
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
Jared,
I'm currently on the economic job market, and I attended the AEA meetings in Chicago a few weeks ago. Of your wardrobe list, you should shop for the formal suit at the end of the summer or early fall, you can get dinner wear in December or January, and I wouldn't even worry about day to day office clothing yet. For the interviews themselves, you will want a solid black or navy suit. Make sure the jacket fits well, and get trousers of the proper length. You'll also need some dress shirts, probably 3. I got one white, one blue, and one striped shirts. Get some ties to coordinate with your suit and shirt. You'll also need matching shoes and belt. Next year's meetings are in New Orleans, so you can probably get by without an overcoat. For dinners, it is fine to wear your suit. If you want to wear something less formal, you can wear your suit trousers without the jacket and a light colored dress shirt and tie. Let me know if you have questions about specific wardrobe items. |
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
[ QUOTE ]
For the interviews themselves, you will want a solid black or navy suit. [/ QUOTE ] Grey is much better than black. Black is for funerals. |
#6
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
[ QUOTE ]
Grey is much better than black. Black is for funerals. [/ QUOTE ] Nearly everyone was wearing what I would consider a black suit. Maybe it is really a dark grey. But hardly any cadidates wore light grey suits. I've been told that grey (perhaps light grey) is more appropriate on older men. |
#7
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Grey is much better than black. Black is for funerals. [/ QUOTE ] Nearly everyone was wearing what I would consider a black suit. Maybe it is really a dark grey. But hardly any cadidates wore light grey suits. I've been told that grey (perhaps light grey) is more appropriate on older men. [/ QUOTE ] Dark grey is very standard. Black is totally nonstandard for business attire in the US. |
#8
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
Grey and solid black are both bad choices.
In general, I think custom-fit is the best way to go if you're buying more than 1, it looks better, fits better, you get better material and advice from a tailor who does this for a living. [not Bespoke, unless you want to spend $4-6k per suit.] Machine-cut, off-the-rack suits look terrible on most guys unless you're a perfect 40R or 42L, etc. Your basic suits, 2 or 3-button, for light-skinned guys should go like: navy pinstripe with a light chalk stripe, very sharp. [stripes are great for you if you're wide.] Charcoal, or charcoal with pinstripe [better than black] solid navy or Navy w/soft glenplaid pattern, houndstooth looks very sharp as well, [women always comment on when I have mine on] nice brown, or chocolate brown color - very businesslike and the right shade of brown looks great in fall. black is okay but gets hot and not for all occasions, [& you may get mistaken for a waiter], I would get this one later, [i.e. get charcoal instead] but is fine for nighttime instead of the office. A solid, dark olive is a nice change if you don't want to look like every other guy in the room wearing navy or white shirt/dark suit. Avoid: I would strongly suggest you avoid gray at all costs unless you have a solid tan 100% of the time. It will make you look washed-out and overly pale. Your tailor can help with these kind of details. [colors like orange, mustard, celadon, purple, etc generally go w/o saying]. Think about if you like back vent, side vents, or no vent. Also, tailor should help you match your shirts and suits obvs, think about bringing ties along if you wear them. Spending $$ is only one step in looking good, after that you have to match what you're wearing [easy with some practice] once you've picked out your type of suit, pleating, button, vents, colors, you still have to figure out which style/patterns you like: solid is obvious, so is pinstripe, altho there are different widths apart and width of striple from wide to extremely narrow chalkstripe is a faint pinstripe, often better looking than the narrow, bold pinstripes [unless you like loud pinstriping, nttawwt] glen plaid - http://www.polo.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2370792 -i.e. looks like faint squares/windows herringbone - http://www.tmlewin.co.uk/product.asp...wearSuits!SHBN houndstooth - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showt...10&t=14067 scroll down to see, 'loudness' depends on size of pattern nail head - http://www.execstyle.com/Sproducts_sepa.asp?pid=1758# No man should be cursed with having only 1-3 plain, navy, solid suits. Shirts: There are several different great cotton fabrics in the $100 price range [or less], Sea Island, Turkish, Swiss is really good stuff - some thicker, some softer than others. Get 2-3 white, 1-2 blue, 1-2 white with a colored stripe and you're all set with your starting lineup. Add in greens, yellows, pinks, purples, deep blue, very pale blue, windowpane as needed. [I have a lot of custom shirts...] I like french cuffs, as the $0.05 cent plastic buttons on $100 shirts break as easily as the $10 shirts, plus cufflinks look good and mark you as more stylish than the average joe [and chicks are always fascinated by them] & you don't have to spend a lot on them - Cole, Nordstrom, etc will all have them on sale now. Your tailor can steer you to the right kind of collar and spread, a bigger guy needs a narrower collar & vice versa. There are like 20 diff kinds, just take her advice if you can't see a difference. Ties: to really look your best, get a few nice ties from Hermes, Versace, Ferragamo, Zegna, Barneys, etc. Wear the suit/shirt combo when you go to buy them. Pick up a few cotton/[silk] solid/pattern pocket squares, you likely have a nice watch already, and you're all set. As my old tailor would say, 'fashions come and go, but good style is timeless.' |
#9
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Grey is much better than black. Black is for funerals. [/ QUOTE ] Nearly everyone was wearing what I would consider a black suit. Maybe it is really a dark grey. But hardly any cadidates wore light grey suits. I've been told that grey (perhaps light grey) is more appropriate on older men. [/ QUOTE ] It's probably a charcoal gray. Even navy can look black under certain lighting conditions. The most conservative suits you can buy (and the ones you start with if building a wardrobe) are 1) navy; 2) charcoal gray; and 3) pinstripe in either navy or charcoal, in that order. |
#10
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Re: Looking more professional, a fashion thread
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] For the interviews themselves, you will want a solid black or navy suit. [/ QUOTE ] Grey is much better than black. Black is for funerals. [/ QUOTE ] I agree with this 100%. In banking, everyone wears too much black. I've made a point to not own a solid black suit. (I have a black chalk stripe which I like a lot though). |
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