Any interviewers? What shall I wear?

[Jackyjill6]

I have an interview this week at a place where the day to day culture is for smart casual wear.

I am never sure whether interviews demand more formal wear, but I don't possess a suit anyway. What would be appropriate?

Do you have a jacket? You could wear that. But clean / ironed / something that makes you feel like a good version of you would be a good place to start. Dress for confidence. I don't have a suit but I'll wear trousers, nice top, black jacket or a dress with a jacket (or to be fair in May my wool blazer would be overkill) and hope that smiling and looking comfortable will make up for any lack of matchy matchy. I work in higher ed. Good luck for the interview.

Yes, I would always be a bit smarter for an interview. A jacket is a good start. Do you have a jacket and dress that work together, or a blazer and trousers?
Smart casual is a really wide range - what kind of industry is it?

I'd still dress in the female equivalent of a suit - you're on an interview, you don't work there (yet!). Do you have a dress and a jacket you could wear? I interview people and too formal is not an issue as long as it's not black tie, whereas too casual isn't a great look. It mightn't affect the outcome, but great candidates tend to dress appropriately (i.e. in a suit) - if your field is very casual it might be different, but I assume not from the OP.

As a rule always dress smarter for an interview than you would for day to day work.

I would recommend always having an interview suit as a staple in your wardrobe- it takes all the thinking out of what to wear. M&S do some really nice and affordable suits for around £44 total. Then you just Team it with a white/ cream blouse in winter or shortsleeved top in summer.

www.marksandspencer.com/checked-blazer-and-a-line-mini-skirt-suit-set/p/dsd4bf50cb6229880a9ac4c4de21f90cdb?prevPage=srp

Always dress smartly, even for a casual culture. It gives you confidence and makes you feel the part. You're there to impress, they'd never mark a candidate down for wearing a suit

In the example I've linked to, you could even buy the jacket and wear with a black skirt if you want to limit the cost to £30 then consider buying the matching skirt at a later date.

I've got an interview suit I've had for years and it's good for other uses such as important meetings where you need to dress 'up' a bit more.

Daisy, that suit you've linked to is cheap but I'm afraid in my view it looks it. Classic dress and jacket would be better, or jacket, smartish top, well-fitting trousers that aren't jeans.

I interview a lot. I’d suggest a dress/trousers and jacket, and that way you could wear them again separately. Always dress more smartly for interviews, even if the dress code is jeans. Good luck!!

I haven’t worn a suit to an interview in over a decade! I normally wear a Hobbs smart dress with nice tights and some low heel court shoes.

Ooh, thank you all for your thoughts, an interesting range of replies. Looks like I'll be shopping for a smarter than usual me!

Gabrielle, I was just using that suit as an example because I didn't have any idea what the OPs budget is, so if they wanted to spend more on a more expensive suit, then the choice is theirs.