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[confused]

I am going to be attending an interview in January in New York and being from India, I have no idea what women wear to interviews in winter! I am in the humanities and the college is quite small. I was reading the previous thread about the Anne Taylor suit...do women actually wear skirts to interviews in winter? Isn't it too cold? If I don't and wear a pants suit instead, will I be looked down on?
Thanks all.

[anon]

Trouser suits (with a silk blouse) and nice (but practical) flat or low-heeled boots or shoes are perfectly acceptable. Generally subdued colours and fairly traditional styles are standard (no ruffles, frills, pink, etc)

I've been on multiple search committees and the only times I've known  women's clothing to come under discussion  have been two cases (separated by a decade) of women who wore extremely short skirts and plunging necklines to campus visits, something which seemed really inappropriate self-presentation.

[Senior Scholar]

And do remember that in New York in January you will need a very warm coat and, in all likelihood, boots, as well as hat, scarf, and gloves. On the other hand, buildings are apt to be over-heated -- which is why the trouser suit and attractive blouse (or very light-weight silk turtleneck) are essential, so that layers can be removed, including the suit jacket if the building is really really warm.

(Despite energy prices, there is a significant difficulty in maintaining a steady temperature in all parts of a tall building with windows on all four sides, as many buildings in New York City will be. Thus you may be chilly in the department chair's office and stifling in the classroom, etc. Do be prepared to have the jacket off or on as needed.)

[Mouse]

I wear skirts all the time, at work or not.  (Just don't have a pants butt.  The tail gets in the way, I guess.)  And I live in the frozen midwest.  Skirts, particularly ones of appropriate interview length, aren't necessarily colder than pants, and are often warmer--think of the warmth of mittens, compared to gloves.

[mouse]

Ah, here the mice differ!  I NEVER wear a skirt.  Just don't like them.  Nice pants are not looked down on, at least not in the sciences.  I have good, silk-lined wool dress pants for winter.

[tamiam]

If you are going to wear a skirt, make sure that it is a suitable weight fabric for the winter - i.e. wool. Also, no flowers or other pattern on the skirt itself. Then you can wear opaque tights and boots and look chic and warm both at the same time.

[Mother Hen]

How about a nice cashmere/wool turtleneck and wool pant suit? I interviewed a few years ago at a CAA conference in NY. It was right after a massive snow storm. I had to bring my snow boots and packed my "interview shoes" in an additional bag and changed in the hotel bathroom before going to the interview.

I'm in the humanities too, and teach studio art. While folks in the art dept. may be more relaxed vs. other departments, a nice sweater and pants were just fine. Keep it simple, but nice. Good luck!

PS. If you must go with a skirt, then buy warm tights! You can also purchase warming packs to insert into your shoes to keep your feet warm. (some people wear these in their shoes while skiing). I believe you can find these at a CVS or any pharmacy in NY or the Northeast. Also, silk long johns are a good bet if it's really cold. Usually you can find silk long johns at an outdoor clothing store like LLBean or Eddie Bauer. Silk long johns are warm and thin and will help keep you warm. Perhaps you can find something online and on sale! I also recommend buying "Airborne" if you have to take a long flight during the wintertime. Airborne is an herbal medicine with lots of Vitamin C to prevent picking up a virus/cold while traveling. Wow, do I sound like Mother Hen? I'm turning into my mother.....

[history grrrl]

Echoing Mother Hen: For teaching in winter, I've been wearing some very warm (and nice-looking) corduroy-type skirts since I can't find decent women's pants to save my life. I wear them with tights over lightweight silk long johns (Wintersilks has a great selection -- look for them on line), and boots that look nice but have good treads for winter (Trotters). I think something like this would be perfect for interviewing.

Of course my puffy down parka doesn't look too classy with these outfits, but I haven't yet graduated to the "ladies' winter coats" thing. Maybe someday...

[%sig%]

[debra]

Believe it or not, the biggest problem you will have in terms of winter dressing is not freezing but overheating (when indoors). Then you'll sweat and start smelling funny after a few hours, then get chilly because of the sweat -- it's a vicious cycle. You won't be spending much time outdoors, so your aim is to be comfortable indoors.

AnnTaylor makes pantsuits. If you will be Europe or the US at least a week or two before your interview, I'd buy clothes there. Or if you have a close friend in NY who dresses well and is your size, maybe you can just borrow her clothes or at least the accessories (i've done this before for another location).

If you've been to the UK on business during the cold months, just apply the same dressing guidelines.

If that doesn't apply to you, then here's some advice. If you will be in the city, your best bet to keep warm and still look good for the interview are:

SHOES -- make them knee-high boots (ones with heels can be very dressy) worn with wool socks or wool tights fo the same height as the boots.

PANTS -- best to go for highest percentage possible of wool, and if you're from the parts of India that never get cold (Kochi, Chennai), try to wear some long-johns as well (best is those made of silk -- they are very thin yet insulate better than thick cotton ones). Though if you wear the knee-high boots -- you won't need the long-johns.

TOP -- Ditto the previous posts that emphasize removable layers. In fact, if you wear the lined wool pants plus long-johns, you might want to wear something short-sleeved under a jacket in case you overheat. A light camisole underneath (as underwear) will provide an added layer of light insulation. A nice wool (esp. cashmere) turtleneck will also be a good, easy, dressy alternative for a blouse.

OUTERWEAR -- a long jacket, lined, preferably thick wool. Try to find one that doesn't attract a lot of lint. Bring a lintbrush, or lots of wide packing tape (to pull lint off).

ACCESSORIES -- Don't forget scarf, hat, gloves. Again, as much wool as possible. Make sure the hat can go over your ears, otherwise get ear warmers.

COLOURS -- subdued yes, but a pop of colour occasionally will be good too -- a pretty scarf maybe, or a brightly colored blouse underneath your jacket.  Just make sure they all go together.

SKIRTS -- if you want to wear a skirt, go for a thick wool skirt, and supplement with dark tights that are at least some percentage wool. If you have the knee-high boots then it will all go really well (no need for the wool socks in that case).

Assuming you won't be wearing the same thing every single day, mix and match those combinations.

***I emphasize the WOOL because most look warm but are worthless in a real winter. Bulk does not equal good insulation. If you go for the super-warm synthetics, like polartec, you are then more likely to overheat. The wool materials will allow your body to "breathe" and adjust temperatures. Cashmere is excellent because it's less bulky.

On the other hand, if you are interivewing in upstate New York, maybe you should not worry about sleek styling and just go for a full-body down coat.

Hope that helps.

[debra]

The lead sentence there should read: "I emphasize the WOOL because most SYNTHETICS merely look warm but are worthless in a real winter..."

Sorry for the too-quick posting.


debra wrote:

 ***I emphasize the WOOL because most look warm but are
> worthless in a real winter. Bulk does not equal good
> insulation. If you go for the super-warm synthetics, like
> polartec, you are then more likely to overheat. The wool
> materials will allow your body to "breathe" and adjust
> temperatures. Cashmere is excellent because it's less bulky.

[not confused!]

Hi,
thank you so much for your helpful feedback. The funny thing is they make a lot of these brands that you mention in your emails - e.g  Eddie Bauer - in South Asia! Sometimes department stores here do stock them, so maybe I'll get lucky.
I think I'll wear a wool suit and invest in a good jacket, gloves, long johns, scarves and hat!
Thanks again.

[mouseman]

How about a nice cashmere/wool turtleneck and wool pant suit? I interviewed a few years ago at a CAA conference in NY. It was right after a massive snow storm. I had to bring my snow boots and packed my "interview shoes" in an additional bag and changed in the hotel bathroom before going to the interview.

I'm in the humanities too, and teach studio art. While folks in the art dept. may be more relaxed vs. other departments, a nice sweater and pants were just fine. Keep it simple, but nice. Good luck!

PS. If you must go with a skirt, then buy warm tights! You can also purchase warming packs to insert into your shoes to keep your feet warm. (some people wear these in their shoes while skiing). I believe you can find these at a CVS or any pharmacy in NY or the Northeast. Also, silk long johns are a good bet if it's really cold. Usually you can find silk long johns at an outdoor clothing store like LLBean or Eddie Bauer. Silk long johns are warm and thin and will help keep you warm. Perhaps you can find something online and on sale! I also recommend buying "Airborne" if you have to take a long flight during the wintertime. Airborne is an herbal medicine with lots of Vitamin C to prevent picking up a virus/cold while traveling. Wow, do I sound like Mother Hen? I'm turning into my mother.....

sounds good to me. It really helped me out a lot. Thanks

Wow, Brad, you must have made quite the impression.  I can see disregarding mainstream conventions regarding gender-specific clothing, but I would expect that July is a bit warm for wool and cashmere, not to mention fashions from six years ago!