Is this Suit OK for an Interview?

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by w00tw00t

WTF is going on with this forum? first watches.. now suits?? ...

can we please talk racing, cars and brake pads and shit please!

We are just turning into a one stop forum!

[ocso1606]

Sure, looks great...

[paradoxical3]

There are three things to consider:

1. About 75% of men have no idea if a suit is good or not (like 95% in this thread apparently), or what makes a suit appropriate for what occasion. There is a roughly 3 out of 4 chance that the person interviewing you will be clueless and thus your choice of suit doesn't matter.

2. Since you're going into marketing, you can be a bit more free than you would be in a financial/management environment, where peak lapels are typically reserved for the hedge fund managers/bosses and signal "fuck you" authority. Peak vs. notch has nothing to do with modernity, not sure where you picked that up.

3. If you want a technical answer to your question, no, the suit is not great for interviews. For interviews you want single breasted, notch lapel navy or charcoal suit. White/light blue shirt, and a subdued tie like a brown knit. Barrel cuffs, no cufflinks. No black suits, no peak lapels. If you want a practical answer, you are going to be just fine based on my two points above so don't fucking worry about it so much. If you do great in the interview and they don't hire you because you wore peak labels you probably don't want to work there anyway.

[Caddyshk]

GQ

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

There are three things to consider:

1. About 75% of men have no idea if a suit is good or not (like 95% in this thread apparently), or what makes a suit appropriate for what occasion. There is a roughly 3 out of 4 chance that the person interviewing you will be clueless and thus your choice of suit doesn't matter.

2. Since you're going into marketing, you can be a bit more free than you would be in a financial/management environment, where peak lapels are typically reserved for the hedge fund managers/bosses and signal "fuck you" authority. Peak vs. notch has nothing to do with modernity, not sure where you picked that up.

3. If you want a technical answer to your question, no, the suit is not great for interviews. For interviews you want single breasted, notch lapel navy or charcoal suit. White/light blue shirt, and a subdued tie like a brown knit. Barrel cuffs, no cufflinks. No black suits, no peak lapels. If you want a practical answer, you are going to be just fine based on my two points above so don't fucking worry about it so much. If you do great in the interview and they don't hire you because you wore peak labels you probably don't want to work there anyway.

LOL, dude, did you realize that in 1 fell swoop you managed to diss "95%" of the posters here? All I gotta say is "brown knit" tie? Srsly? I guess it's alright if you wanna look like Mr Bean...or going to an 80s retro party.

[Luigi524TD]

If they invite you to the on-site pub ... drink in moderation!!

[nujabes24]

Originally Posted by Luigi524TD

If they invite you to the on-site pub ... drink in moderation!!

or just get fucked up

[MikesBMW]

Some collar and tie combos I found online with the peak lapels:

[MikesBMW]

I'm thinking I'll go with something like the first but with a light blue shirt and blue/gray tie.

[ussoldierforhire]

power tie FTW

[reedo302]

That's fine to go with. The thing to avoid at all cost is the khakis with shirt, tie and blazer. Or the pants with shirt and tie, no sport coat/blazer. I have been involved in interviews at my agency and while we don't knock people for the type of suit they wear, we do knock people who don't wear actual suits.

Khakis, shirt, tie and blazer (usually blue/navy) means you took the lazy way out and bought a blazer to go with your church clothes. If you can't be bothered to buy an actual suit, you won't get very far. A lot of the inexperienced younger applicants do this, which is why we don't typically hire them very often. They all look the same. They need to borrow money from mom and dad, or ask for it for a birthday present, or they need to go to Mens Wearhouse and get a clearance priced suit. We could care less, just wear a matched suit.

Shirt and tie w/ no jacket means you aren't taking the process seriously. You don't think this is a formal enough or important enough event to necessitate a suit. We then don't think it's an important enough effort to invite you back for a second interview.

There's a new thing recently with wearing a shirt, tie and jacket with fashionable "dressy" jeans and dress shoes. For us, showing up with jeans is an automatic fail. I don't care if the jeans are $200 designer jeans, they're still jeans and you fail. This is typically with people who are big into looking trendy and fashionable. It's better to look like you're going to a funeral than to a fashion show.

I can generally tell the difference between a cheap suit and a good suit, but so long as the applicant is wearing a suit in the first place, it's all kosher and I leave it at that. Shoes do need to be dress shoes, not Doc Martens or Lugz.
Suit fitment also is important. Not for looking trendy, but for the fact that many people tend to put on weight and then try to squeeze themselves into a suit. If your suit fits poorly, you look sloppy.

And also, as stated in a previous post, look at what their stance is on hygiene and grooming. Not policy, but their view/stance. We have very strict standards for no earrings/facial/mouth jewelry for men, and for women it's only one earring per ear. We also have requirements for hair length and facial hair. Being in law enforcement, the only people allowed to show up to interviews looking like hippies or bums are guys who are working for other agencies in undercover or investigative roles. Kids just out of college better not show up with shaggy hair, earrings or goatees. Sadly, we get these kids coming in looking like that, and when we ask why they didn't get a hair cut, they either say "I just did", or "I want to wait until I get a job offer before I cut my hair". We then explain to them that they need to show up looking like they want to do the job from the start and groom accordingly. If your mentality is that you won't meet our standards before the interview, our mentality is that you have a sense of entitlement about you, and as such we will immediately deposit your application in the shredder.

[ZaraGSPBMW]

Go to the Men's Wearhouse and get one of their free brochures about dressing for interviews...might even be online. Thinner lapels and two buttons are the style now. Having made a career change recently the advice from the guys at MW was valuable. I am not associated with them whatsoever. Unfortunately, some of the advice your getting here is BS. When it comes to your future employment I would get good solid counsel.

[surlynkid]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

There are three things to consider:

1. About 75% of men have no idea if a suit is good or not (like 95% in this thread apparently), or what makes a suit appropriate for what occasion. There is a roughly 3 out of 4 chance that the person interviewing you will be clueless and thus your choice of suit doesn't matter.

2. Since you're going into marketing, you can be a bit more free than you would be in a financial/management environment, where peak lapels are typically reserved for the hedge fund managers/bosses and signal "fuck you" authority. Peak vs. notch has nothing to do with modernity, not sure where you picked that up.

3. If you want a technical answer to your question, no, the suit is not great for interviews. For interviews you want single breasted, notch lapel navy or charcoal suit. White/light blue shirt, and a subdued tie like a brown knit. Barrel cuffs, no cufflinks. No black suits, no peak lapels. If you want a practical answer, you are going to be just fine based on my two points above so don't fucking worry about it so much. If you do great in the interview and they don't hire you because you wore peak labels you probably don't want to work there anyway.

I am sure your closet is just busting out with Hickey Freeman suits............

I can wear whatever I want to work because I already have "fuck you authority", but it is pretty ignorant to take that approach. Who are you trying to alienate?

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by tranquility

LOL, dude, did you realize that in 1 fell swoop you managed to diss "95%" of the posters here? All I gotta say is "brown knit" tie? Srsly? I guess it's alright if you wanna look like Mr Bean...or going to an 80s retro party.

I don't understand why it's a diss to point out that most people here don't know how to properly wear suits based on their comments. It's not like it's a huge deal nowadays, it's a lot less necessary and prevalent than it used to be so it follows that less people would be well versed in business-wear. It's a car forum, not a suit forum - not sure why you'd even expect people to be familiar with suits here?

If you actually read my post you'll see that I pointed that out. But that doesn't change the fact that there are established "guidelines" and "rules" about what is considered appropriate or not. That's why I gave two answers - a technical one and a practical one.

Dressing for an interview is simple. You want to appear well put together and well groomed, but not too flashy or sloppy. The entire point is to appear competent but not showing off. Whether you like it or not, things like peak lapels, french cuffs, overly skinny or wide lapels, etc, are considered "flashier" than a normal business suit. Does it actually matter in practice? Maybe not - depends where you work. On the east coast, if you work in the financial world than YES it matters. On the west coast, it's more relaxed. All depends on the context.

Your comment about knit ties indicates that you have a low level of familiarity with wearing a suit. There are tons of different types of knits, including silk grenadines, etc, and most of them don't look like Mr. Bean ties.

[surlynkid]

Originally Posted by MB135i

Some collar and tie combos I found online with the peak lapels:

of those pictures:

1) shave
2) don't skip the tie
3) skip the plaid and check shirts - wear solid white
4) ditch the handkerchief in the pocket
5) keep the tie pattern simple but nice - silk
6) cheaper ties are flimsy and do not sit well or knot well. spend money on a good tie. robert talbot best of class is one I use.
7) if you do not want a button down shirt, make sure you own collar stays and make sure they are the right length
8) you don't want them focused on your outift positive or negative. you want it to just blend into the woodwork.
9) don't forget a nice belt that is not worn to shit.
10) that cut jacket only works well on slimmer european cut individuals. not sure of your size, but don't wear that unless you are quite trim.

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

I am sure your closet is just busting out with Hickey Freeman suits............

I can wear whatever I want to work because I already have "fuck you authority", but it is pretty ignorant to take that approach. Who are you trying to alienate?

My suits are custom made, I went through the off the rack phase and never got satisfactory fits.

What exactly is alienating? Stating that most men don't know how to wear suits properly? It's no different than saying most men don't understand the difference between a M3 and 328, which is a statement that wouldn't be controversial whatsoever. It's not alienating, it's just the truth.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

I don't understand why it's a diss to point out that most people here don't know how to properly wear suits based on their comments. It's not like it's a huge deal nowadays, it's a lot less necessary and prevalent than it used to be so it follows that less people would be well versed in business-wear. It's a car forum, not a suit forum - not sure why you'd even expect people to be familiar with suits here?

If you actually read my post you'll see that I pointed that out. But that doesn't change the fact that there are established "guidelines" and "rules" about what is considered appropriate or not. That's why I gave two answers - a technical one and a practical one.

Dressing for an interview is simple. You want to appear well put together and well groomed, but not too flashy or sloppy. The entire point is to appear competent but not showing off. Whether you like it or not, things like peak lapels, french cuffs, overly skinny or wide lapels, etc, are considered "flashier" than a normal business suit. Does it actually matter in practice? Maybe not - depends where you work. On the east coast, if you work in the financial world than YES it matters. On the west coast, it's more relaxed. All depends on the context.

Your comment about knit ties indicates that you have a low level of familiarity with wearing a suit. There are tons of different types of knits, including silk grenadines, etc, and most of them don't look like Mr. Bean ties.

Who made you the 'god' of GQ? Gimme a break. Ya, you seem like the pedantic type. I'm not one to criticize other ppl's views and certainly am tactful when making comments to strangers. A diss is a diss, period.

You're not the only one w/ tailored suits. Most my suits are tailored, including all my dress shirts, monogrammed. Yes, they are french-cuffs as well since it's more formal and suitable for my profession and I like to accessorize w/ nice cufflinks.

...and no, brown is a wimpy color for interviews. OP, if you want to look like Mr Bean, pls follow this guy's 'advice'. If not, listen to others that are more helpful and less condescending.

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Who made you the 'god' of GQ? Gimme a break. Ya, you seem like the pedantic type. I'm not one to criticize other ppl's views and certainly am tactful when making comments to strangers. A diss is a diss, period.

You're not the only one w/ tailored suits. Most my suits are tailored, including all my dress shirts, monogrammed. Yes, they are french-cuffs as well since it's more formal and suitable for my profession and I like to accessorize w/ nice cufflinks.

...and no, brown is a wimpy color for interviews. OP, if you want to look like Mr Bean, pls follow this guy's 'advice'. If not, listen to others that are more helpful and less condescending.

This is pretty ridiculous. I'm not the God of GQ at all, far from it. GQ is mostly a terrible magazine. In fact, 95% of the problem with the OP and people here is that they think suits in GQ are good. We've got a bunch of fat men wearing super skinny lapels with black knit flat bottom ties and black Kenneth Cole square toe shoes that look like duck billed platypuses because of GQ, in some failed attempt to look vaguely "European."

Again, if you'd actually read my post you'd notice that my opinion was that the OP would be fine in either suit. I'm not the one being pedantic here.

But the technical answer is that a peak lapel, black pinstripe suit is not a good traditional interview suit. It's on you to disprove that - good luck! Here, I'll help: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+suit+for+an+interview

Most of these issues won't even be noticed in the real world. Peak vs. notch lapel? Please, most of your interviewers won't even be wearing a suit that fits well or know which lapels are which, just as most people don't know the difference between a 328 and a m3. But just because most people don't know the difference, it doesn't mean there ISN'T a difference - and that there is an appropriate standard of dress for different occasions.

Let me ask you this - do you actually disagree with anything that I'm saying, or merely the delivery of it? Because if it's the delivery of it, you need to get the sand out of you know where. And if you disagree with what I'm saying, you need to do more research.

PS: Aside from the fact that "tailored" is completely different than MTM and bespoke suits, monograms - really? Speaking of Mr. Bean, he might have been the last person under 75 to pull that off without looking tacky.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

This is pretty ridiculous. I'm not the God of GQ at all, far from it. GQ is mostly a terrible magazine. In fact, 95% of the problem with the OP and people here is that they think suits in GQ are good.

Again, if you'd actually read my post you'd notice that my opinion was that the OP would be fine in either suit. But the technical answer is that a peak lapel, black pinstripe suit is not a good traditional interview suit. It's on you to disprove that - good luck! Give me a minute and I'll post multiple sources affirming my stance - you won't be able to find any reputable ones affirming yours.

Let me ask you this - do you actually disagree with anything that I'm saying, or merely the delivery of it?

Haha, there you go again. I'm just using GQ as an example, but you just had to (again) impose your supposedly sartorial superiority to us mere mortals. I don't go around saying stuff/dissing ppl even though I have a decent business wardrobe and know what I'm doing. I'm not pedantic like you, I go w/ what looks good, not nit-picking nonsense. I don't need to see your cites, this is not a court case. :facepalm:

I disagree w/ your brown tie on dark suit suggestion. Regardless of your posts' contents, obviously your delivery leaves A LOT to be desired.

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Haha, there you go again. I'm just using GQ as an example, but you just had to (again) impose your supposedly sartorial superiority to us mere mortals. I don't go around saying stuff/dissing ppl even though I have a decent business wardrobe and know what I'm doing. I'm not pedantic like you, I go w/ what looks good, not nit-picking nonsense. I don't need to see your cites, this is not a court case. :facepalm:

I disagree w/ your brown tie on dark suit suggestion. Regardless of your posts' contents, obviously your delivery leaves A LOT to be desired.

Go back and read my edited post, I softened it up for you

I'm not superior, I just know more about this particular topic.

Mostly through trial and error, unfortunately. I wasted a lot of money on shitty suits, shoes, ties, etc. I have an embarrassing list of mistakes, actually - $250 on Bostonians, $200 on Johnston and Murphys, $900 on a Hugo Boss suit, $500 on Joseph A Banks, hundreds of dollars on Brooks Brothers non slim fit shirts, my first suit being a black suit which I quickly learned was barely ever appropriate to wear, etc, etc.

I'd rather the OP didn't make the same mistakes - which he will if he listens to most posters here. It's pretty funny that you're even disputing this - just step outside in any city and take a quick look around. Most people don't have well fitting suits.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

PS: Aside from the fact that "tailored" is completely different than MTM and bespoke suits, monograms - really? Speaking of Mr. Bean, he might have been the last person under 75 to pull that off without looking tacky.

If I wasn't clear enough, most my suits are tailored in that I mean they are custom. I have a tailor. I have custom-made suits and shirts. Yes, monogrammed, it's another bit of accessorizing, like my french cuffs. I like to be more dressed and formal, just personal choice but also suitable for my line of work. If you think that's tacky, you're crazy...coming from the guy who suggests brown knit ties w/ navy suits. Mr Bean must be your idol.

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by tranquility

If I wasn't clear enough, most my suits are tailored in that I mean they are custom. I have a tailor. I have custom-made suits and shirts. Yes, monogrammed, it's another bit of accessorizing, like my french cuffs. I like to be more dressed and formal, just personal choice but also suitable for my line of work. If you think that's tacky, you're crazy...coming from the guy who suggests brown knit ties w/ navy suits. Mr Bean must be your idol.

Who's your tailor? Can you post pics of the label? I'd be interested in seeing his work, it's rare to find a good truly bespoke tailor - though Toronto does have a few. Shots of the buttonholes on the cuff would be particularly interesting to see the quality of his buttonholes.

What details do you have on your suits? Pick stitching? Functional cuffs? Kissing buttons? What fabric did you choose? What type of shoulder?