Today’s reader mail comes with a ton more of questions about interviewing…
I’m a 3L and have an interview next week with a panel of district court judges for a judicial clerkship. I have a few questions with regards to my upcoming interview:
1.) I (and the interview) are in the Midwest, so it’s cold and snowy outside. I am planning on wearing a black skirt suit and am wondering if it’s appropriate to wear black tights with my suit? Or would pantyhose (off-black) be more professional?
2.) What do I do about a coat? Is it ok to wear a wool coat over my suit? I’m not sure if there will be anywhere to hang it or leave it once I get to the courthouse. Or should I just leave it in the car and just suck it up during the walk to the courthouse from my car?
3.) What about a purse? All I’m planning on bringing with me are copies of my resume, writing sample, etc. so I don’t necessarily need a large bag, but I don’t know if it’s unprofessional to bring my purse and carry the paperwork in a leather portfolio.
Good luck on the interview! We’ll go through all of your questions…
First, on tights — this keeps coming up, and so we’re going to run some polls today. Our default answer, previously, was that off-black pantyhose should be worn with a dark skirt suit. However, readers in the past have disagreed with us, saying nude/sheer is more appropriate (check out their suggestions for the best brands in the comments here). We’ve also heard of folks who hate tights with a suit (which we also disagree with — tights, to us, are fine for any day when you’re NOT interviewing or something similar). So, without further ado:
In terms of the wool coat — it always pains us to see women wearing ski jackets or other short jackets over a suit. Maybe we’re old school, but a nice wool or cashmere overcoat — long enough to cover your thighs — will never go out of fashion. And of course you can wear it on top of your suit. For your interview, we would absolutely recommend wearing a coat — your common sense and judgment is a valid subject on the table, and if it’s cold out, common sense dictates you should wear a coat. You’re probably going to have to take the coat off to get through security, though, so we would just carry it, folded neatly, from that point forward. (Furthermore, there’s no real excuse for not having a proper wool coat right now, as tons of places have them on deep discount. Pictured above: Larry Levine Wool Coat with Camel Hair, part of the crazy sale that’s going on at Smart Bargains for today only. Was $279, now marked to $119, with an additional 40% off at checkout — comes to $71.)
Finally, as for the purse/portfolio issue — we’ve seen women do it both ways, and have never thought less of someone we interviewed because she carried a portfolio. (That’s what most of the guys do, isn’t it?) Personally we’re fans of carrying a nylon or leather tote bag, though, to hold both the portfolio or folder as well as the contents of our purse. We would suggest, however, that whatever you carry should be as professional and grown-up as possible — so leave the backpack with reflectors on it at home.
Readers, what say you?
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Reader M writes to us with a question…
Could you do a piece on where to find really good opaque tights? I would love to buy some Wolford pairs, but think $64 may be a bit out of my price range right now. I want TRULY opaque — not the kind that you can kind of see through at your knee.
Personally, we’re fans of Spanx’s reversible tights — because there’s a color on each side they seem much more opaque to us. We have the gray/black pair, and have been happy with the opacity of both colors. Our one little thing is that we wish the thick seam stretching below the belly-button weren’t there, or that if it’s still there, that it were more prominent on the gray than the black. Readers, which tights do you swear by for opacity?
Pictured: SPANX ‘Two-Timin’ Tights, available at Nordstrom’s for $34.
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Liking these posts? Follow Corporette on Twitter — this is the edited version of what we’re reading! (We also Tweet if we hear about a good sale.
- The Top 10 iPhone apps for lawyers. [Above the Law] Ladies, what are your favorite iPhone apps?
- Forbes enters the pantyhose debate. [Forbes]
- According to a new survey, the majority of women who leave their jobs do so in a search for flexibility and a more supportive environment. [ABA Journal]
- Networking is essential for a good career — but how to make time for it in your already jam-packed schedule? [The Gender Agenda]
- The secret to happiness, according to Sandra Day O’Connor… [The Happiness Project]
- The Law Blog explores the difference between millennials and previous generations. [WSJ's Law Blog]
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A while back, someone commented that instead of nude hose they wore nude fishnets in the summer. This piqued our curiosity — we used to do this also, back in the days after college, but not in a long while — we stopped because it felt inappropriate. So we thought we’d take a poll… (Photo credit: Fishnets, originally uploaded to Flickr by candinski.)
For our $.02, fishnet tights are generally inappropriate for the office environment. Let’s face it, they conjure up images of dancers (both professional and otherwise) and hookers — and that association is a little too much for bosses of either sex. Besides, the goal of a working wardrobe should be to avoid what we’ll call “the second look” — you don’t want any of your coworkers to look at you once casually in the hallway and then be forced to look a second time in order to answer the question, “Were my eyes deceiving me or is she really wearing that?” Even if they answer the question with a blase “ok, well, I guess that’s acceptable,” the second look in and of itself is something to be avoided. We would argue, though, that fishnet trouser socks could be appropriate as long as they’re in a neutral color. (Our reasoning here is that only perverts are staring at your ankles; otherwise, what you wear there is unlikely to elicit the dreaded second look.)
What are your thoughts, readers?
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More reader mail to catch up on… we thought this one was particularly relevant given some of yesterday’s questions in comments about when/how to wear nylons. Pictured: Calvin Klein Hosiery Perfectly Sheer Invisible Control Top Pantyhose
, available at Amazon.com for $12.
First, while you’ve discussed whether or not to wear stockings, I could really use some advice on HOW to wear them once one decides that they’re appropriate. I rip stockings to shreds whenever I wear them, so I would really appreciate tips on finding a durable brand, as well as how to properly care for them.
We would agree with most of the commenters in yesterday’s post that stockings/nylons aren’t necessary for most day-to-day activities. If you’re interviewing? Nylons for you. If you’re going to court or to a big meeting? Ditto.
As for which brand, we got a ton of great suggestions when we ran a poll on whether black hose or nude hose was better (the readers overwhelmingly contradicted us, saying nude hose was the way to go); check those out in comments.
In terms of other tips for wearing stockings… it sounds crazy, but a pedicure is almost more important when you’re wearing hose than when you’re barefooted because it stops your toenails from shredding the hose. Secondly, you may want to look for various bells and whistles, such as reinforced toes (although this will limit your shoe choices if you have any shoes with a very low vamp). Also, maybe it’s just us, but we feel like control-top hose last longer than hose without; this may be because they stay put better and we’re not constantly yanking them up. If that isn’t enough, there are gloves that you can buy to wear while putting on your pantyhose (although, unless you carry them with you, they won’t help when you have to go to the bathroom.)
Otherwise, in terms of technique, we’ve found it’s best to put them on slowly — take the leg opening and gather the fabric until all you’ve got is 3-4 inches of hose to put over your toes. As you step into the hose and pull them up your leg, un-bunch the fabric as you go, trying to pull the hose tight enough as you go.
As far as caring for pantyhose, the best advice is to hand-wash them, particularly if you shell out for a very nice pair (Wolford, La Perla, etc). We are (generally) far too lazy to hand-wash anything, however, and we’ve had success with the delicate cycle of our shared industrial washer in our apartment building. Our method: get a lingerie bag or hosiery bag
to put your hose in. Keep bras (or anything with hooks) out of this load if you can. Add sweaters, workout clothes, etc, and wash it on the delicate cycle, in cold, with Woolite. We would guess it would probably even be okay if you followed those steps but threw it in a regular cycle with regular detergent. Whatever you do (for the love of God!) airdry your pantyhose.
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Ah, interview week. The time when stress is running high at business schools and law schools, the time when everyone’s wearing suits in uncomfortable heat, loitering about awkwardly in hotel lobbies, and wishing they were still in flip flops and ripped jeans. Today’s important question is thus: Assuming you’re wearing a black suit, what color pantyhose is appropriate for an interview in this time of year?
Personally we tend to wear off-black… but a friend of ours told us years ago that she thought any dark hose said “evening” way too much, so she preferred to wear nude hose. But nude hose on us always looks like we’re trying to fake a tan, and it just isn’t flattering… |
What BRAND of pantyhose have you guys had the most luck with? What’s the most you’ve ever spent for a pair of pantyhose (and how’d it turn out)? Tell, tell, in comments. Pictured above: SPANX ‘All the Way’ Sheer Support Pantyhose
Missed an earlier poll? Take ‘em here…
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