Last week (oops, I’m way behind!) for Five Take, Claire gave us the challenge of doing an outfit for a potential job interview. I’ve had my share but it has been a while…
For my last informal interview, I wore a very similar outfit but with my favorite black & white cardigan, the same teal top and a black skirt. I got the job, so I figured it was a decent place to start!
Skirt – Avenue, 26/28 (twins with the one from my last post *cough*)
Top – Sejour via Nordstrom Rack, 24W
Tights – Avenue, EE
Flats – Ancient, recently found
Rings – Evans
As soon as Claire said interview, I knew that I’d be pulling out this blazer. I picked it up at Kohl’s sometime… well, I don’t remember – but it is amazing. I should wear it more often. The few times I’ve shopped at Kohl’s, I’ve been really pleased with some of their clothing – particularly from Elle. And you can’t beat the Kohl’s clearance racks!
Part of the reason why it sits in the closet is the sleeves. I’ve thought about getting them tailored but keep putting it off. If I wear the blazer, I roll up the cuffs neatly but things can get a little… haphazard over time, as you can see.
Elbow length sleeves on a casual blazer are great but this blazer fits pretty well everywhere else – which means I don’t want to risk chopping it up if I need something for a formal interview. Do the shorter, cuffed sleeves work for a formal interview? I’m thinking not. What do you say?
At the same time, I think I’d be fine in a skirt, blouse and cardigan for most jobs I’d be applying for anyway! And I think applying to creative type jobs (as I have/will be doing) I think I could also get away with more or brighter color(s).
I didn’t want to go with a black skirt with the black blazer, so I thought the grey might work. Honestly, I’m not totally in love with the end result. Maybe it needs a belt? But the ruffled top kind of presents a problem.
Speaking of the top – I love it and got several compliments today… why don’t I wear it more often? Probably because the tag says some scary words – dry clean and iron. I try to keep those activities to a minimum. I picked it up at Nordstrom Rack early last year after a reader suggested I check the store out (Thanks Juliette!).
I wore the tights because I felt there needed to be a little more visual interest (plus they were hanging up from being washed and my regular black ones were still wet). How’d I do?
Here is the outfit from the last “formal” interview I went on. I might have worn a black cardigan with it – or possibly this blazer… can’t remember now, it’s been too long! ;)
I swear I wear (and photograph) more outfits than Five Take posts, but things have been a little crazy! In addition to work being busy, my computer decided to do some weird stuff this week – so I had to re-install the operating system and just got everything sorted out this afternoon!
Many thanks to my lovely friend Dianne who snapped a few pictures for me. She likes my hand on the hip poses and told me others that she didn’t like. “Okay, do something else!… Not THAT!”
If you haven’t heard yet… it is officially Fa(t)shion February! I’ll be participating on Tumblr but won’t be posting every single outfit here. You can read more about the project (and learn how to participate!) over here.
Go see how the others styled their interview outfits!
Claire – A Monkey Fatshionista
Rebecca – The Plus Side of Me
Gina – Fat Fit Fine
Becky – The Ramblings of Mrs BeBe
What would you wear to an interview?
