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[jobhire]

OK, let's get this thread back on track. Does anyone have opinions on traditional vs. fashion forward fashion attire? Also, tips on accessories like I asked about last time would help also.

[zharkov]

OK, let's get this thread back on track. Does anyone have opinions on traditional vs. fashion forward fashion attire? Also, tips on accessories like I asked about last time would help also.

Traditional clothing is required, or what I'd call conservative clothing. 

Take your cues from the president and the speaker. You can't go wrong with the George and Nancy look.  Accessories should be kept to a minimum and understated. For a briefcase, get a leather one, doesn't have to be too expensive, and keep it as your interview and conference briefcase.  If you don't want to carry a briefcase, a leather portfolio may do. Don't bring something too heavy, since you'll be lugging it around the campus when on tour.

[zharkov]

I see. Where can I get a good professional looking bag at a good price. Any stores or specific brands? Any links?

Don't carry your things in a back pack.

Take a look at LL Bean and at Lands' End.....  They usually have reasonably priced and serviceable leather briefcases.

[artsearch]

jobhire,

I don't think anything you have mentioned on your original list would be unacceptable; provided the narrow tie is not really skinny, the whole list is pretty conservative.

No pinstripes?! Have y'all seen the TV news anchors lately? That's all they wear, to the point that a solid jacket sticks out. There are many subtle pinstripe patterns that don't look remotely gangster-like; I think they add a bit of texture and interest to an otherwise dull set of wardrobe choices for males.

Personal preferences:  I don't get why so many men are wearing the combo of light blue shirt with red or pink tie; doesn't work for me. Will somebody please steal that cotton candy shiny pink tie that Donald Trump is wearing these days? Not a good look.

[pink_]

I tend to lean towards conservative.  If I have the brown suit on, I'll go conservative with everything else.  If black, then I'll wear a shell in a bright color.  My sense is that you can get away with one fashionable thing but I wouldn't push the envelope.

I like pinstripes, but if you feel self-conscious, I'd pick something else.  Wear what you feel comfortable in.  If you're self-conscious, then you'll draw attention to the clothing, and the focus will be on that and not on you.

Of course, if you're interviewing in NYC or LA you might have a bit more leadway, but I would err on the side of caution.

Accessories: glasses if appropriate, a watch, a briefcase.  Keep them simple.
It's much better for them to remember your personality and qualifications for the job than for your fashion sense.

Good luck.

[dimpled_eggplant]

Sigh.  It pains me to know in my gut that you are correct:  it's time to let the piercing go (even though I don't want to).  But what if I *am* vainly and pathetically clinging to the last vestiges of my youth?  What if I'm just too boring without it?  What if (more to the point) my work just stinks and having a piercing and trying to look inappropriately hip might have distracted people from my poor performance at the job talk?  Aaargh, panic attack!

Forget the piercing, I need therapy!

LOL!!! The only way you might get away with your piercing is if you are (a) an absolute star who blows them away, (b) very goodlooking, and (c) extremely charming. If you think that's not you, take it out. Anything negative they MIGHT see in you will be magnified if you wear a piercing. Sad but true! But: you can put it back in once you have the job and wear it until you find yourself that it looks ridiculous.

[sibyl]

I remember landing in LA and NY on the job hunt and realizing that my style was seven years behind fashion-forward.  But when I got to campus, even in LA and NY, I was only two years behind. 

(When I got to campuses in flyover land, I was considered nicely dressed.)

Fashion-forward is for people in fields, or at institutions, where fashion is part of daily life.  If I were teaching in the film department at USC, or the art department at NYU, or the humanities department at the Fashion Institute of Technology, I'd be willing to go fashion-forward; if I were teaching in the classics department at USC, or the chemistry department at NYU, or anywhere else, I'd go conservative.

[goldenapple]

I agree that it depends on your field. Anybody here go to the Economics convention in Chicago? I had a nice chat with some folks conducting interviews there and let me tell you, they talked a lot about the candidates' papers and whether they'd be a good fit for their group -- but trust me, these people don't look like the stepped out of the pages of L'uomo Vogue and they don't care what the candidates wear, either. In fact, I'd put money on them not being able to even say what any of the candidates was wearing. French cuffs vs. regular? Brown shoes vs. black?  I love my economist friends dearly, but I think you could have shown up wearing a Spiderman suit or sporting Maori facial tattoos and their response still would have been "Is it normal to have that many co-authored papers?"

Meanwhile, the last time I dropped in at the CAA, it looked like a scene from "Dancing with the Stars." You could be interviewed by someone who spent half his salary on a Hedi Slimane jacket or dipped into her retirement account for an Issey Miyake blouse. And those people will judge your eyebrown piercing very critically. (do people still say, "That's so five-minutes-ago." or is that . . . so five minutes ago?)