Fashion Orbit

Dear FO Personal Stylist: Graphic Designer Needs Interview Outfit

I am a Graphic Designer looking for work and will soon be going on interviews. I want to be taken seriously but as a designer, I also want them to see a little bit of personality and creativity.

I have a black suit but it feels too stuffy and corporate, and a slew of unmatched dress pants and blazers. Is there anything I can do to spruce of a black suit or do you have any pant/blazer/blouse suggestions?

Thank you,

Lisa E., San Francisco, CA

Dear Lisa,

Picking the right outfit for a job interview is about as agonizing as picking an outfit for a first date: you want to look good, but you don’t want to look like you’re desperate and trying too hard. Interviewing in a creative industry, like graphic design, brings in a whole new level of difficulty. You may very well end up in a workplace in which tees and jeans are the norm, but under-dressing for an interview could give the impression that you don’t take the job seriously.

In general, when given the choice between under-dressing and over-dressing, I always err on the side of formality. The trick is to selectively show personality. If you have an interesting top, make sure that the paired jacket is relatively classic and plain. Unless it’s a super corporate environment, I would lay off the suit entirely, but the pieces can certainly be used separately.

Prints are somewhat of a slippery slope for interviews, but introducing some color into your ensemble is not. Darker, richer jewel tones like amethyst, dark teal, and emerald green can add a little sophisticated individuality. Of course, there are always certain absolutes, at least for the first interview: closed toed heels, skirts knee-length or longer, ixnay on the dangly jewelry, and no cleavage of any kind.

I’ve put together three potential interview looks for you. As you can tell, I am a huge fan of Chie Mihara shoes, but they are truly ideal for work-type situations - they are extremely comfortable, gorgeous but unique, and chunky enough to be taken seriously. All of the components in each outfit, however, can be altered according to your tastes and the contents of your closet. Hopefully these looks will provide a good jumping board to your winning interview outfit.

Potential Outfit #1

Remember Jerell’s winning outfit for the Working Girls challenge on Season 5 of Project Runway? I love the idea of substituting a cardigan for a blazer for a job interview. Of course, any old cardigan won’t do: a heavier weight (but not chunky) and finer quality cardigan is obviously preferable. I also think that an open cardigan (i.e. no buttons or ties) is best - buttons can be distracting, as well as a bit too casual.

This cardigan ensemble can be switched up in a number of ways. You could add a more neutral statement pin to the cardigan, or substitute a slightly bolder belt. If you opted for either, I would recommend changing the color of the top underneath the cardi to something a little more subdued.

The Items

Hayden’s Cashmere Open Cardigan, $139 (originally $295).
Alisha Levine’s Silk Ruffle Top, $109.99 (originally $220).
Black Halo’s Button Down Pocket Skirt, $115 (originally $230)
Cole Haan’s Aerin Black Patent Belt, $99
Himatsingka’s Water Oval Earrings, $154
Chie Mihara’s Poker Pumps, $186.42 (originally $338.95)

Potential Outfit #2

Here the basic black blazer in your closet gets paired with less matchy matchy (but still interview appropriate) wool pants and a more chic ruffled top. The color palette of this outfit is very neutral, but special touches in the individual pieces keep it from being boring or typical. If you didn’t own a suit, the well-coordinated but not matching top and bottom pieces are a good way to go (two pieces made of different materials in the same color do not a suit make).

The main individuality factor of this outfit derives from the ruffled top, so if you wanted to change things around a little you could experiment with different shirts. A tie neck poplin top that buttons to the neck could be a cute alternative.

The Items

Sa Va’s Black Blazer, $155
T-Bags’ Jemma Ruffle Top, $151.20 (originally $216)
Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent’s Oxford Wide Leg Cuffed Pants, $126.99 (originally $297)
Himatsingka’s Paper Disc Earrings, $92
Chie Mihara’s Passion Pumps, $206.77 (originally $375.95)

Potential Outfit #3

This outfit, which is missing the extra layer on top of the two others, could be construed as the most casual of the bunch. The blouse, however, is the most formal and “professional.”

I generally loathe the typical collared “work appropriate” blouses with the fire of a thousand burning suns, but this one breaks the mold with the ruffle details and more pronounced buttons (which subtly match back to the earrings). This top could also be substituted with a crisp, long-sleeved tuxedo-type top. Little splashes of color with the shoes and earrings add individual finishing touches.

The Items

Priorities’ Daisy Blouse, $42.99 (originally $106)
Nolita’s Knee Length Skirt, $129
Brian Danielle’s Pink Topaz Diamond Studs, $253
Chie Mihara’s Ducari T-Strap Pumps, $285.48 (originally $390.95)

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Dear FO Personal Stylist: Wedding Shoe Dilemma

I really hope you can help me! I am getting married in less then 3 months, and I have not been able to find a pair of shoes for ‘the’ day.

I’m about 5’2”, and have found a wonderful dress that fits my frame. It’s a floor-length, off-white silk chiffon gown, with tonal satin stripes. It’s strapless and very airy and light looking (if that makes any sense). I was hoping to find shoes that would fit the style, but that also have a platform (a la Christian Louboutin), with a fairly high heel. I would love to find something for under $300 (otherwise I would go with Christian!).

Can’t wait to hear what you might find for me - I’m getting close to the cut-off date and getting nervous about not finding anything.

Thank you!

Julia P., San Francisco, CA

Dear Julia,

First of all, congratulations! Having gotten married myself last year, I completely feel your sole searching pain. Finding the right pair of wedding shoes is ridiculously difficult; unless you’re able to completely throw caution to the wind and eeny meeny miney mo it, even the most reasonable of brides can find herself obsessing over the most frivolous of details. Your eyes start to glaze over, all of the shoes start looking the same, yet none of them are what you’re looking for, and then you start questioning what you’re looking for in the first place. Don’t start thinking about the fact that your floor-length dress will more or less obscure your shoes no matter what, unless you want to spend the next week or so picking up pieces of your brain off the floor.

Imposing practicality on your selection helps the decision making process. I am personally biased towards non-bridal bridal shoes (no dye-to-match or cheesy rhinestones here, please), and neutral metallics. Matching your shoes exactly to your dress is sort of a hopeless and pointless endeavor, as is buying a pair of shoes that are so specific to your dress that any future use is ruled out. A neutral metallic – such as soft gold, antique silver, platino, etc – matches just about anything and is appropriate year round.

Given that you want to wear a high heel, I think your preference towards some sort of platform is a wise one, even if only for comfort’s sake. Since your wedding is in spring/summer, your dress is strapless, and by the sound of it, fairly ethereal looking, I think a dressy sandal would be your best bet.

I’ve found a number of shoes with good wedding potential, listed below and divided into various categories. The great news is that a lot of styles are on sale right now (yay, recession?). My personal favorites are the Claudio Merazzi dress sandals, the Badgley Mischka Marsilia peep toes, and the Pura Lopez Lana sandals, but ultimately you know best in terms of your own personal preferences, appropriateness with regards to your dress, and the general look and feel of your wedding.

A couple last pieces of advice that, like many sage bits of wisdom, originated from Martha Stewart. Make sure to wear your shoes of choice around the house to break them in at least several times prior to your wedding. If the bottoms are somewhat slick, take a piece of sandpaper to them to scuff them up a bit. Your feet will undoubtedly be hurting at least a little at the end no matter what you pick, so it’s good to do a little damage control beforehand.

Platforms