Rate my interview outfit?

Anything to do with the traditional world of get a degree, get a job as well as its alternatives
OldPro
Posts: 298
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:37 pm

Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by OldPro »

Fiby41, those diagrams do show how to tie the knots but the descriptions are somewhat misleading.

According to the descriptions, both are supposedly 'even'. The half-Windsor is not an even knot. If you look at #6 in the half-Windsor sequence and compare it to the #9 in the full-Windsor sequence, you will see how the half-Windsor cannot be even. One side simply has more tie material under it than the other. Here is a photo where that additional material under one side is quite obvious. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tENCJAhqhmk/maxresdefault.jpg You can fiddle with it a bit to make it look a bit less obvious but for the majority of men it usually ends up more like: http://parisiangentleman.fr/wp-content/ ... -forum.jpg
It's not bad, just not as nice as: http://i0.wp.com/www.smokingpopes.net/w ... =800%2C390 Here is a good side by side comparison photo where you can clearly see the difference. http://artofstyle.hucklebury.com/wp-con ... -knots.jpg

The description also says the half-Windsor is a 'medium size knot' and the full-Windsor is a 'large knot'. That is also incorrect. The size of the knot is dictated by the amount of tie material in the knot. That depends on the type of material the tie is made from and the shape of the tie. No, not all ties are created equal. They vary in shape and length and of course material. If you really want to get to know about ties, here is an article that does a decent job of describing what to look for. http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/05/1 ... -giveaway/

If you think about length alone, it shouldn't take much thought to figure out that the length of tie someone with a longer torso needs would have to be longer than the length of tie someone with a short torso needs. Both want the tie to end up just touching the belt buckle. One length cannot be correct for both of them. The same applies to someone with a 14 neck vs. someone with a 17 inch neck measurement. If both had the same torso length, the second guy would obviously need a tie 3" longer to hit the mark. How about someone with a beer belly? How many times have you seen a guy with a beer belly in a suit and tie and his tie only makes it half way over his belly.

Almost any topic someone can ask about has its own set of technical details that the vast majority of people have no idea of. Ties are no different. There are ties and there are ties. It's like wine. Anyone can buy a glass for the price they can afford and anyone can drink it but not all wine is created equal and not everyone knows how to tell the difference.

Tyler9000
Posts: 1758
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:45 pm

Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by Tyler9000 »

Scratch everything I said. I've found my new interview outfit.

Image

(No, that's not me. But he just might be my hero.)

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by TopHatFox »

If you're curious and would like to comment (copied & pasted from my journal):

---------------------------------

The results for the fancy wear are in:

Total Cost: $840 at Men's Warehouse (Yikes! But I needed it now and I wanted nice, tailored things for years to come)

What I got:

1. Slim and Tailored 100% Wool Charcoal Grey Suit & Pants ($650 suit for $400)
2. Brown Leather Plain Dress Shoes ($145, Woah didn't know shoes can be that $)
3. 3 Black Dress Socks ($20)
4. 2 Fitted, no-iron, high-quality shirts (one white, one light blue, $135)
5. 2 Slim plain ties (one black, one light blue, $45)
6. A Brown, 100% leather belt to match the shoes ($40)
7. Alterations ($49)

It does feel weird to spend so much on clothing, but I do think that this suit is indeed an investment for a much higher income. Thoughts? I'm sure I could've met the need of a nice suit to wear for interviews using much less cash, but it is what it is.

jacob
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Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by jacob »

I didn't know that shirts could be that expensive. Shoes yes, shirts, no. (Well, technically I did know, it's just that I never ... ).

Curious why you settled on brown for the leather. Black tends to be more flexible and black always goes with black whereas brown comes in different tones which are harder to match up. In a sense, brown is the "more expensive" option. Maybe you just look better in brown?

If the shoes have leather soles, you want to reserve them for indoor use only and use another pair (joggers are popular) for commuting when you work. Asphalt eats up leather.

TopHatFox
Posts: 2322
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:07 pm
Location: FL; 25

Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by TopHatFox »

@Jacob, I think the salesperson had something to do with the brown leather. I'm only moderately skilled in dealing with salespeople since I don't buy retail ever. That said, the (dark) brown leather shoes and belt can go well with a light grey suit, dark charcoal suit, and navy suit -- the kind that would get worn most often. They also pair very well with dressy jeans or business casual outfits. I did agree with the salesperson that they are more aesthetically pleasing than black for the 75% of suits one would wear. (I've seen some pictures online where they even look good with a black suit!)

I could always trade out the belt and shoes for black, however. Now that I think about it, even if brown matches with suits, I imagine they might be harder to match with shirts and ties.

As far as the shirts, I didn't actually know their ridiculously high cost until I got to the register; I was simply happy they fit for once. I will revisit the store to pick up the tailored suit tomorrow. I might possibly return some of the accessories if I find nice, less expensive stuff at JC Penny. Maybe the best way to use MW is to buy the nice suit there, but get the accessories somewhere else.

Thoughts?

jacob
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Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by jacob »

Fit is 9/10 of a good look, so if it's hard to find something that fits you, you just might have to eat the price tag. If you don't care that much, after all, the shirt will be mostly hidden under the suit jacket, you can buy JCP shirts for $20-40/pc (or you could 10 years ago when I last did that ;-) ). Less on sale. If you ever get inclined to buy a new $75 each month though, ...

WRT brown or black leather. If you do both, you'll need more items. If you do either/or, then the issue is that brown looks more casual and is harder to match (different "shades" of brown) but often looks better, whereas black is both formal and causal but doesn't always look good. Black gives you optionality. Brown locks you in---which might be fine if you decide that it just works better for you.

Peanut
Posts: 551
Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:18 pm

Re: Rate my interview outfit?

Post by Peanut »

Sounds like a great outfit, and very on-trend. ;)

Other tips. In general, if you have lighter hair and coloring especially, brown accessories will likely be a better choice than black. Black best suits 'winters,' or people with an olive undertone. Coordinating with the specific gray of the suit (blue, green, purple, or pure gray) is more important, though. I imagine the salespeople helped you find a lovely patina of brown for the fancy shoes.

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