Today’s reader mail comes to us from a reader with an interesting dilemma:
I just scored 3 awesome interviews with publishing companies in the South. I know I need to dress conservatively, but it’s so HOT down here in the South that I’m not sure what to wear. I don’t want to look like a freak all dressed in a suit when it’s 98F with 100% humidity. What would you suggest? Also, I currently work at a summer camp, so my legs are covered with mosquito and chigger bites! I’m way more comfortable in a skirt than I am in pants, but should I wear pants just to cover up the bug bites? Would really appreciate any suggestions and advice!
This is an excellent question, and one we don’t necessarily know the answer to. Unless your interviews are taking place outdoors, we would dress for air conditioning — which is to say, wear a regular skirt suit. Layer, layer, layer in order to deal with the heat — if you’re taking public transportation to get to the interview you may want to wear just the skirt and a tank top, and then add a button-down and the suit jacket on top of those.
Your bug-bitten legs are the most interesting question, for us, and we’re hoping the readers have some good advice for you. We would say that even though your legs are a bit marred, you should still wear a skirt suit: the point isn’t that you’re displaying your “assets” as you would on a date, but rather that you’re wearing an outfit that, for whatever reason in today’s society, registers as the one that is the most conservative and professional thing to wear. So theoretically it shouldn’t matter that your legs have bug bites all over them. If you’re sensitive enough about them to cover them up, though, we recommend playing around with concealers. For all-over coverage, Sally Hansen makes a spray-on concealer to help “tan” your legs and cover imperfections: Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Tan Glow, available at Drugstore.com for $10.95 (pictured at right). For spot coverage, you may want to look into stage makeup like Ben Nye — it’s used a lot for covering tattoos, and won’t break the bank. (If it’s just one or two really bad bug bites, you may be able to cover them with a band-aid, also.)
Photo credit: Year Two, Day 337: Hairy Legs and Bug Bites!, originally uploaded to Flickr by Brymo
Other reading: Ask Metafilter
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