Interview suit?

USMCmech said:
I have no clue what those terms even mean.
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jesus_facepalm.jpg
 
cencal83406 said:
My last interview suit (off the rack), cost $1100. Now I get to wear it for fun!

Is the interview suit truly the man's version of a bridal dress? I don't think I could interview in the same suit twice... It wouldn't have the just off the showroom floor feel anymore.
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You can get a custom built, tailored, Tom James suit for $600-$800 dollars. Why buy something off the rack at that price?
 
Boyington said:
You can get a custom built, tailored, Tom James suit for $600-$800 dollars. Why buy something off the rack at that price?
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Because I suck and went to Men's Wearhouse with less than a month until interview. Tell me more.

Edit: in fairness to the mass suit chain, I got a suit jacket, pants, shirt, belt, and shoes for that price.

Edit edit: they also had a sale going that got me several hundred dollars off to get to $1100.
 
MensWarehouse ALWAYS has a huge sale going on.

Tom James is a custom clothier. They send a tailor/sales guy to you (provided you live in a city that has them, which every major city does, more or less). They measure you, talk to you, evaluate your wardrobe, and you discuss exactly what you want. You can choose exact color, material, weight, fit, style, etc... They build it for you, and deliver it to you. They fit it, make sure it is perfect, and you are all set.

I didn't want to buy ties/shirts/socks from the guy, so he and I went to Macy's and Mens Warehouse and he helped me pick everything out. Then, he prepared a booklet for me with options for different occasions. What tie to wear with what shirt, which shoes to wear, etc. Then discussed shoe colors, taught me a couple different ways to tie a tie, and taught me how to take care of everything.

Best part is, when I have questions, I can call or email him. For my last interview, I wanted to wear a blue shirt with a charcoal suit, but wasn't sure which tie to wear. I emailed him the options, and he ranked them for me based on the situation.

This is a great way to buy mens clothing, in my opinion. Especially if you are not a GQ type of guy.
 
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I am in no way affiliated with Tom James, but I have a couple of their suits, and about a dozen of their shirts now. They used to have a buy 4, get one shirt free promotion once a year - not sure if they still do. My clothier would call me whenever they were doing it. He would bring by a bunch of swatches, and I would pick 5. Since they had a pattern already cut for me, I didn't have get measured again. All of the shirts are exactly the same (unless you need them changed). He also has a record of everything that I have bought, and suggests which shirts would look good with different suits/pants.

I bought a second pair of pants for my navy suit about 4 months after I received the suit, and since it was from the same fabric, it matched perfectly.

They do things such as make the left wrist a little larger for me b/c I wear my watch on the left side and sew my name in the tail of my shirt.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Perhaps corporate aviation would be more to your taste. I've never been in that part of the industry, so I don't know, but maybe they view things differently. @SteveC or someone else might be able to answer that. But in the airline industry, conformity is expected at your interview. Hell, aside from a colorful tie, even SWA looks for you to stick to the traditional "interview uniform."
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I don't know, man. I know of people in corporate aviation who wouldn't "conform" and they didn't last. IMO there's a subtle, yet notable difference between the tendency to conform and the ability to figure out what you can do beyond the guidelines of an interview. Fox is doing what a good line pilot should do. He's trying to understand the meaning of a line in the "GOM". You know as well as I do that even standards and procedures can get a little gray beyond the description and every captain you fly with may have a different interpretation. Fox even said he knows how to conform, but that he doesn't understand how the quality of the suit and the color of the tie is detrimental to the success of an applicant. I think the point is that the dress of choice just happens to be a suit and all the rest is just noise. Airways had a great idea. They took interview fashion one step further and inserted a known quantity into the instructions...something that most interviewers could quickly judge, with the uniform requirement. I imagine most interviewers lack a fashion sense beyond standard interview stuff. And that cannot possibly make it easier to select worthy candidates.

Who cares what kind of suit it is. Buy a men's fashion magazine and make the best of your budget. Follow the instructions. Nobody fails by following instructions.
 
falconvalley said:
I don't know, man. I know of people in corporate aviation who wouldn't "conform" and they didn't last.
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Hey, like I said, I know virtually nothing about that segment of the industry. It was just a guess.

I think the point is that the dress of choice just happens to be a suit and all the rest is just noise.
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Depending on the interviewer (and the airline), that may or may not be true. Which is why you should take the most conservative course of action to maximize your chances: navy blue suit, white shirt, red tie. You can never go wrong.
 
The issue of conformity, at least concerning Delta, is that is what is judged. The interview has nothing to do with piloting skill. As was told to me, "We know the applicants know how to fly. That's why there is no simulator portion. You don't get called if you don't have the requisite experience."

The whole interview is based on determining how well you conform the the "ideal" Deltoid, and assimilating into the pilot group. Part of that is how you dress for the interview. While there is gouge as to what is supposedly expected, there is some leeway either side of blue suit, white shirt, red tie. After 80 years of hiring pilots, they have figured out a program that works for them and you either conform to meet the norm, or you continue on down the road.
 
Matt13C said:
If it's a Delta interview, you should be getting at least a made to measure, if not full bespoke suit. Off the rack suits can fit well, but if you don't fit into the averages, then off the rack wont work or can look forced, especially if you are after a more European look. If your drop is over 8, 6 really, it's either separates or mtm.
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Are you at delta?
 
Matt13C said:
If it's a Delta interview, you should be getting at least a made to measure, if not full bespoke suit. Off the rack suits can fit well, but if you don't fit into the averages, then off the rack wont work or can look forced, especially if you are after a more European look. If your drop is over 8, 6 really, it's either separates or mtm.
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While that certainly is one way to go, and it doesn't hurt to own a suit like that for other occasions, it's not 100% necessary. What Delta is looking for is that you are capable of some thought and attention to detail. Wear a clean pressed suit, ironed at a minimum shirt and shined shoes with matching belt. You don't need to show up in sartorial splendor, but at least make it look like you gave it some thought beforehand.
 
H46Bubba said:
Good advice! Now how about pilots wearing corfram in uniform? Saw a deadheading captain wearing a pair the other day.
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I've seen a few military officers at suit-required (vice uniform) type functions wearing corframs and military low quarters. I've been meaning to pull a few aside and say "Stop being cheap... Go buy a pair of dress black leather shoes."
 
Black leather shoes are only appropriate for uniforms and when wearing black suits (which should almost never be worn). When wearing navy, cordovan is the appropriate color for shoes. Wear something like this with a dark navy suit:

allenedmonds_shoes_macneil_burgundy-cordovan_l.jpg
 
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-pick-the-right-shoes-for-any-color-suit-2013-7
1. Navy Blue Suits

Pair with:

  • Black shoes
  • Brown shoes
  • Red or burgundy shoes
Navy can go comfortably with all three of the main color families of men’s leather shoes. You can probably even make a navy suit work with more exotic colors if you have them, although blue is generally too close to make a good contrast.

The leather color mostly affects the formality and attitude of a navy suit. Black shoes are business dress, while brown are more relaxed, and red or burgundy give it the most playful, social feel.
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http://www.styleforum.net/a/what-should-i-wear-to-a-job-interview
The Basic Uncontroversial Outfit:
  • A single-breasted, two or three button, navy or dark gray/charcoal suit (i.e., jacket and pants made of the exact same fabric, not just same or similar color), tailored to fit you (especially make sure the sleeves are not down to your knuckles and the pants are not puddling around your ankles)
  • A white, spread collar, long-sleeved dress shirt with single cuffs (i.e. not French cuffs/double cuffs)
  • A silk tie in a solid or simple pattern (pindots or stripes, for instance). Almost any color will do well with a white shirt and either of the aforementioned suits.
  • Black cap-toe shoes and black belt (or suspenders/braces instead if your suit pants take them – but this is rare on ready-to-wear suits today)
  • Socks in the same color as the suit


The above outfit is never wrong for a job interview. Nor is a job interview a time to get “creative” with your outfit, especially if you are not already well-versed in suit-and-tie-wearing, in which case you wouldn’t be reading this.
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http://www.gq.com/style/style-guy/shoes/200501/navy-suit-brown
http://www.gq.com/style/style-guy/shoes/200007/blue-suit-matching
Brown shoes with a navy suit
I work with rather conservative dressers. An older coworker and I disagree on whether my brown shoes are appropriate with a navy suit. I contend they are an obvious choice over the black-and-blue look. Please help.

There are many older men who will go to the grave believing that wearing brown shoes with a navy suit is morally wrong. Actually, it is wearing lighter brown shoes with a navy suit that is wrong. Your shoes should be at least as dark as your suit. If your brown shoes are of a darkness approaching black, you are okay. If they are tannish, the old man is right, and you should be banned from the executive washroom. There is nothing wrong with wearing black shoes with a navy suit, sir. Ask any admiral.

What color shoes to wear with a blue suit
A man who thinks he is the best-dressed man in the world works in my office. He wears nice suits, but I say his shoes don’t match. What color shoes go with a blue suit?

Is this my final answer? If I took my one phone call, I guess I could call the eminent tailor and author Alan Flusser, who says that Italian men have made brown shoes safe with blue suits. I was raised on the black-with-blue dictum, but I have been known to Flusserize, especially when there’s some brown in my shirt. But that reminds me of a joke. This lady walks into a funeral parlor, and her husband is laid out in a blue suit with brown shoes. She’s shocked. She tells the undertaker she’s never seen anything so horrible. He says, "Come back in five minutes." She comes back, and her husband is laid out in a beautiful gray pinstripe with black shoes. He even looks as if he’s lost weight. The bereaved widow says, "That’s amazing. Harry never looked this good when he was alive. How did you do it?" "It was simple, madame," says the undertaker. "I switched heads."
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Cordovan? Name of a color? A finish? Color me confused!
 
Cordovan is a color (basically a very deep burgundy). It's named after a city, I think in Italy, where they used to finish leather in a certain way that produced the color. It's not the same as brown, which is what the Style Guy is talking about in GQ. Some colors of browns can work with navy blue, also, but typically it's best with lighter shaded of navy rather than the typical dark navy interview suit. And it's too fashion forward for an interview, too. Cordovan is the more traditional complement to dark navy. And traditional is always the way to go with an interview.
 
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