Help me dress for interview

[411sleeper]

I have just returned to work following mat leave and am hoping to get an interview for a promotion. I have struggled to return to pre-baby weight/rebuild my wardrobe so need help finding a suitably smart outfit!

I only have about £100 to spend as I haven't yet been paid since returning from mat leave.

I am 4"10, size 12 hourglass shape. I was thinking of buying some wide legged blue trousers anyway so thought this could be a good opportunity. Would these be ok or too cheap?

I really like this but on me it would be too low cut.

The trousers look very nice - and they’re mostly viscose, so unlikely to look ‘too cheap’ - though it’s obviously hard to tell.

The top looks like holiday wear, though! Even if the dress culture at the place you’re being interviewed is fairly easy going, you’d look more serious and pulled together in something plainer. A navy shirt or blouse would look sleek.

Really like the pants; not a fan of the blouse tho & agree with pp. bonded do a nice navy boat neck tshirt that might work if you wanted a casual look; otherwise a blouse (navy or blue themed print? Try H&M or zara) would be nice

good luck with interview!

I don’t understand what the problem is with patterned shirts for a job interview? I had a friend say the same thing to me before a job interview earlier this year about a dress I has chosen for to wear. Do people seriously only wear patterns on holiday? Patterned blouses are so much more forgiving that plain colours.
Don’t pick that blouse if it will be too low though, you’ll be worrying about it the whole time.

It’s not as black and white as that, @BingoandBlueyForever - more a matter of perception. Not all patterned shirts or dresses might be perceived as holiday wear, and there are plenty of patterned clothes that might look serious enough for a job interview.

Obviously context matters - the degree of formality desirable for a pupillage interview probably wouldn’t be necessary for a customer service role in a fast food chain outlet.

I’m puzzled by your comment on patterned clothes being more ‘forgiving’ than plain. The point of most job interviews is to demonstrate capability, not to show off one’s figure. And surely most adults fortunate enough to have access to laundry facilities don’t need interview clothing to disguise food stains, or whatever? Perhaps you meant something else that I haven’t considered?

Sweat. Plain colours in many shades and fabrics are impossible unless you magically don’t sweat. I shower daily and wear antiperspirant deodorant but I still can’t wear say, a pale blue cotton shirt dress, especially if I have to take public transport and wear a backpack for the commute.

Aha! I get you. So you don’t choose the pale blue cotton; maybe you choose the navy wool twill or the black linen? Or a muted pattern in sober colours?

And interview day might be a good day not to carry a backpack if one can possibly avoid it?

Or perhaps to commute in whatever and then change into something fresh and un-crumpled on arrival?

#Specialistsubject !

OP, look for some dresses on Vinted, even if you bought 3 at, say, £15 / £20 each and you don't like one of them, you've still spent less than your budget and you can re-sell the ones you don't like. I recently bought two dresses for holiday from there, one was £5 and the other was £8 and my daughter said I looked amazing in them! Good luck with your interview!

Do you not want the OP to get any rest, @LouLou500? She has a new baby, and has just returned to work, and is preparing for an important interview - and you want her to burden herself with buying and selling on Vinted as well?

Wouldn’t it be easier, in this instance, just to find one good thing?

Idk if you could get away with this because it isn’t petite. The sleeves are too short for the model - i appreciate she’s a foot taller than you. The length would be good as you could tuck it in.

https://www.whistles.com/product/satin-stripe-spot-blouse-32320.html#q=Satin%20blouse&is=false&sz=60&start=0&isSecondPage=false&pid=satin-stripe-spot-blouse-32320&pos=0

I don’t know your proportions, @411sleeper, but would something fitted from & Other Stories suit? I searched ‘Fitted shirt’:

https://www.stories.com/en_gbp/search.html?q=fitted%20shirt

Written by someone with a car!
I’m never been to a job interview where turning up in one set of clothes then immediately changing into your real outfit would be an option. I’ve always lived in big cities with dense public transportation systems where space is tight. So you just have to get off the underground/subway/bus/tram looking presentable. And whatever bag you take needs to be pickpocket proof/unsnatchable. And heels are not an option ever (too many stairs). Add in the fact that in my industry I’d probably be going to the job interview with a laptop+prepared presentation.

No. The opposite!

Have spent much of my life commuting between 2 and 6 hours round trip by train and tube.

When I was younger it wasn’t at all unusual for me to travel with a fresh shirt or whatever for an interview, and change either in a coffee shop around the corner or (better) in the loos at the interview building. It just meant arriving a little early.

I didn’t mention heels …

I didn’t say don’t take your laptop. I suggested that I’d carry a tote bag over my arm rather than something over my shoulders if I wanted to avoid arriving for an interview hot and dishevelled.

Nowadays (and I acknowledge it’s not always a viable option) for something important such as a meeting / conference / etc, I usually try to travel the day before, stay in a hotel overnight and get a cab, or walk to the venue in the morning. It feels professionally justifiable not to arrive stressed and exhausted, so I’m totally prepared to throw money at a situation to avoid that.

That was a reply to @BingoandBlueyForever , btw!

Thanks everyone for your really helpful replies!

@Gruelle love the white silk blouse on the link you shared, but not in my size unfortunately.

@Mummyoflittledragon i think with those slits they often come low to my cleavage which, although pretty great post baby, i dont like showing haha.

What do we think about this?

And yeah i will be travelling about 3 hours to interview so will need to freshen up when i get there!

I think the binding on the neck looks too much like a t shirt. Possibly jersey fabric too. I’d go with woven.

In this instance, don't forget M&S. Their wide leg trousers are FAB! I have these in a couple of colours - they are terrific worn with loafers. M&S also good for workwear shirts.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/crepe-tab-detail-wide-leg-trousers/p/clp60579903?color=BLACK#intid=pid_pg1pip22g4r5c2|prodflag_As%20Seen%20On%20TV

Trousers are great. Im a big fan of navy bottoms and a white shirt, just get a white shirt from M&S or New Look.
Personally I have switched to dresses for interviews as my middle has got too big to be comfy in anything else these days!

@Rebootnecessary thanks, good thing about M&S is i can go and try a load of stuff on so i may see if the little one allows that today.

Im also considering something like this shirt and these trousers

@Gruelle
I guess I always choose interview outfits (often new for the interview) that I can then continue wearing later on normal work days. So I do think about things like spilt coffee and how commuting friendly it is even if I make a special effort to avoid crumpling etc for the interview. I just wouldn’t buy interview clothing that couldn’t cope with a normal day’s commute and wear. The anti-patterned shirt thing feels a bit personal (I know it’s not) because a friend recently told me I shouldn’t wear my brand new green and white patterned shirt dress to an interview because it looked like holiday wear. He thought I should wear a plain coloured shirt and trousers. It was also 30’ weather and air conditioning is a rarity here. I decided he actually had no idea what women in our industry typically wear and only ever paid attention to men’s outfits. And I wore the dress. It was fine.
I look like a waiter in black trousers with either a black or white shirt and solid colours just don’t work for me because of the sweat issue. So I kind of just want to scream at people who suggest patterned shirts are bad because they are basically the only choice that works for me other than merino wool jumpers in colder months.

Cant see your last two links (temporary poor reception here) but I’m wondering if you’re restricted by size considerations, @411sleeper? The brands you’ve linked all seem quite (forgive me!) dated: Dorothy Perkins, Mint Velvet, Abercrombie … I shopped at the first in the 70s! And would never consider any of them now. But it may be that you find they fit best?

@Gruelle dorothy perkins is my go to because of their petite range. The others have just come up when ive googled things i might like. Definitely open to other brand suggestions!

I despise black trousers, @BingoandBlueyForever!

And I get that advice from a man would be annoying.

But a plain black or navy (for instance) linen dress would surely be an option in hot weather?

(And no one forces you to combine coffee cups and interview clothes! If you must - spread something over your clothes before you drink.)

I think you missed my point about interview clothes becoming everyday work clothes. And my workday needs coffee.