What on earth is smart business dress?! I'm totally lost.

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

I have an interview on Thurs.

At the moment, I work at home, so no smart dress required. I don't have much money at the moment.

The only smart dress I have is this in orange which DP assured me is nice, and matches what people at work wear. But someone just pointed out that it's a bit low cut on another thread, and now I'm lost again.

I'm a 32E/F, so hiding my boobs isn't an option. I don't wear anything high necked, because it looks really top heavy and horrid. I tend to live in jeans and vests, but ripped my jeans last week and don't have any more. I don't own black trousers. At the moment, I'm wearing colorful playsuits that really aren't workwear.

I am utterly lost for what to wear. I had hoped to borrow something but DP's mum is a 14, and I'm an 8/10, and she only has a very posh wedding skirt. It keeps falling down, I can hardly walk. It looks stupid.

What on earth do I wear?

[CommanderShepard]

A bra intervention sounds like it'd be a good thing - I'm a 12-14 and 30G so as an 8-10 I can't see how you'd take a bigger back.

[SofaCanary]

Good luck, hope it goes well

[Lucylloyd13]

Depends on the job, but the dress is proably not quite right.

You cant beat a skirt suit, plain blouse and 2in courts.

[WhiteBirdBlueSky]

I think the pink dress with your bag will be perfect. Good luck!

[BranchingOut]

I am the opposite and have no black in my wardrobe at all!
But, you can still look really smart and well-turned out by coordinating carefully and choosing the right clothing for the occasion. It sounds as if the pink Jaeger dress might be a keeper!

Sometimes it is actually easier to coordinate colours than black. Two shades of brown or grey might work well together, but if you have blacks that don't match then it can look awful, especially if fading is involved.

[flowery]

Dress sounds great OP. And actually interview being postponed is no bad thing, because you are all ready in terms of your presentation and will now be able to make sure you've had plenty of sleep.

I don't wear any black. It doesn't suit me and I manage to look perfectly smart. For suits I wear blue with usually a bright coloured top. Dresses I either wear darkish blue, or bright colours. As long as they fit well and are smart dresses, colours are great because if they suit you, you feel more confident and that comes across. Plus you don't look like everyone else.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Caja I live in black, and I get criticised for it. Not massively, and I'm sufficiently senior that actually I can wear what I want and get away with it (although to be fair, what I want is pretty low key, with the emphasis on comfort and warmth), but occasionally I get comments like 'ah Russians, another symphony in black today......' I work in, as I said, a very senior role in the city and most of the (few) women at my level do tend to wear bright colours, especially the younger ones. (I am now old :( )

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

I seem to have pneumatic boobs. Even in minimiser bras.

Okay, so the pink Jeager dress came today. It's nice. It's wrap-style but with a modesty panel built in, and it's brighter than it looked. I can't think of how to describe the colour, but it works in giving me a bright boost! I've got the toffee bag out and will empty it and clean it.

But, I just heard from the interviewers, and they want to move it 'til next week. I was up for hours over the past two nights trying to swot up and working on the presentation so I would look confident. I guess I can't say no...

I'm glad there are people who don't think I'm a nut for not wearing (or owning) much black, and I'm going to budget for some work clothes as soon as I can and go back through this thread. It's been invaluable for someone who has never worked in an office environment.

Thank you all

[QueenCadbury]

Or this one would work well too.

[QueenCadbury]

What about something like this dress. With your smart bag and nice shoes I think in this weather you would look professional enough without a jacket.

Going off on a complete tangent I wonder whether you're in the right bra size (I've obv been reading too many bra threads). I'm a size 8/10 and 30f but my boob aren't too obvious even in low cut things (unless I choose to wear a push up bra).

Good luck with the interview.

[Beaverfeaver]

I would pick someone in an interview who was confident and dresses to show it.

A bright orange dress would definitely make me remember you.

Go for it and stand out amongst the others!

Good luck

[lougle]

Caja, are you anywhere near Hedge End? Apparently the Cry Charity shop is excellent.

Alternatively, Bishops Waltham has the Rowan Hospice Charity shop, which has some lovely stuff. It's not your normal charity shop, they set the clothes out in colours, just like the shops.

Bishops Waltham also has a big second-hand clothing shop - they take clothes for sale on a 60/40 commission basis from customers. They have some really smart stuff in there.

[Snog]

Visible cleavage is a total no imo
You can still wear a flattering v neck - even a plunging v - with a camisole underneath so that no cleavage is on display

Any skirt length sorter than knee length is another big no

[LucyTheValiant]

Did you manage to get anything, Caja?

[GummyLopes]

Har! I clearly have terrible taste as I seem to be the only one thinking it could work. Either that or I'm right at the cutting edge, fashion-wise

Good luck with the interview, Caja.

[BadSkiingMum]

Forgot to add - they might be a bit hot for this time of year, but M&S do some very useful vests in a fine cotton for covering akward cleavage gaps.

vests

I think that, whatever you do for this interview, you need to budget some money so that you do have a suitable outfit hanging in your wardrobe. Much less stress all round.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

I wouldn't wear a suit unless you are interviewing for a receptionist job.

But I also wouldn't wear an orange dress to an interview. Even a modest one. The dress in the photo is way too cleavage showy to wear in any office, I'd say, even once your are well established, although it might look less up front, as it were, on you. Other than the cleavage, the dress itself would be fine for someone with the right colouring, in the summer, I think. It's not short, it looks smart, bright colours are fine for established people. But not for interviewees.

[MadAboutHotChoc]

I would use ebay to buy a suit/dress suit for next time.

Borrow a jacket to cover the dress and try and hide the cleavage.

[Justinepants]

I'd go for the red wrap dress from the charity shop with a black cami, black jacket and black ballet flats. You'll look coordinated, have a bit of a bright colour and not too much black, and not have spent too much money. Save the investment dressing for when you've got the job.

[BadSkiingMum]

Any further forward Caja?

Curious as to what kind of office your DH works in

[Nyancat]

If you search for m&s biker dress. I got it for about 30 in the sale recently but I am large of nork and the asymmetric zip really works as you can position where most flattering and it's a lovel shape on and just a bit different from most of my standard black work dresses

[Tweet2tweet]

I interview a lot and I would not be impressed at that dress, though lovely, as it doesn't look 'the business' IMO. However I can highly recommend charity shops if you are on a budget, you can get a suit for £10. Primark also do suits and Next have a sale on at the mo. With your colouring perhaps light grey, pastel colours etc would work.

I really hope you are successful, a big well done for getting to the interview stage- that's fantastic. Remember getting an interview means that you've met all the criteria, now it's just about getting to meet you.