Interview Coats for Women: The Best Coats to Wear Over a Suit in Winter
We recently rounded up statement jackets for winter — fun, colorful, bold jackets — and I was intrigued to see this comment from an interviewer in a snowy climate, basically noting that many new graduates are wearing FAR too casual a coat over their suit for winter interviews. Here's her comment on interview coats for women:
So wonderful to see no puffer coats. They appear on so many fashion blogs (by people who only work from home!) as the only coat a woman needs. More than once when I’ve been interviewing candidates for a junior position, the candidate has arrived in a puffer coat that I know from the branding cost her well over $1k (so it’s not a cost issue for a new graduate.)
But several colleagues (male and female) have joked about [their] collegiate or excessively casual appearance — which is surely not what these women intend to convey. The same comments are made about male candidates in parkas.
Of course, if there is a blizzard going on, all bets are off. . . . [E]veryone needs a basic cloth coat — for interviews, for formal meetings outside the office, funerals, evening occasions.
I don't disagree — the puffer coat has come a long way in the past 10 years; my earliest association with it was the frumpy writer played by Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. (Highly recommend if you haven't seen it; it's a classic rom com!) These days you can easily spend serious $$$$ on a puffer coat, but it still doesn't make it appropriate for interviews.
As we've noted before, in general your interview attire should be pretty bland — you want to keep the focus on your resume and not your fashion sense. (I've even argued that signs of ostentatious wealth are a bad thing for careers in which you are representing someone other than yourself, especially lawyers who may be in front of a jury.)
{related: check out our entire Guide to Women's Interview Attire!}
As I've also noted before, you should definitely make sure a suit blazer fits beneath your winter coat, which means you may want to size up a size (or three). Another good tip is that your coat should be longer than hip-length if you're wearing it with skirts or dresses… Look for something at least finger-tip length or longer.
{related: how to dress professionally on the coldest days}
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Classic Interview Coats for Women
Some of our favorite interview coats for women in classic styles include these styles and brands:
Some of our favorite classic coats for work as of 2024 include J.Crew, Sam Edelman, Aritzia, L.L.Bean, Quince, and Cole Haan. On the splurgier side, do check out Mackage, Soia & Kyo, Eileen Fisher, Fleurette, and Cinzia Rocca. We've also rounded up our favorite washable winter coats!
{related: what to wear to work when it's cold outside}
Plus Sizes: The Best Coats to Wear Over a Suit in Winter
Hunting for plus-size coats for a winter interview? These are some of our favorites:
Readers, how about you — what are your thoughts on the best coats to wear over a suit in winter? What do you think of when you think of “interview coats for women”?
{related: how to do business casual in cold weather}
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / arkusha.
