Shopping For Your Job Interview

The subliminal power of a visual cue is a psychological fact.  One that leads marketers to spend billions.  You need to represent your product--your ability and professionalism--on the outside.  Unlike the mind-blowing qualification that fill your resume, your appearance is the element that is in everyone's face, every day.  Other candidates are giving their wardrobe a high level of attention.  You can't afford not to.

Invest In Yourself
Dressin up to your potential cost money.  Your initial wardrobe will cost more than your prom dress, less than your wedding dress.  But the payoff, thankfully, will be much closer to the latter than the former.  You're investing in your confidence, value, packaging.  You're showing people what you have on the inside.  It's the unspoken cue that relays your capability and worthiness all day, every day.  A cheap suit will leave you insecure, worried, inferior.  A good suit, tailored to fit perfectly, with the right shoes and bag, will make you feel confident, appropriate, and raring to go.  You've paying for conviction and poise, comfort, self-esteem.  You're paying for the luxury of forgetting what you're wearing so you can get on with the job at hand.

The goal when shopping for a smart wordrobe is to keep the wallet outlay at a minimum, while keeping one key factor in mind:   The better the quality of the item you buy, the better it will make you look, and the longer it will last.

The first step in buying high quality that's affordable is to browse the designer floors.  Assess the fit, fabric, quality, and style of the clothes you find there.  How are the suits cut? What fabric does they use? Try on a suit to see how they fit. Once you're familar with the details that denote quality, head to the more affordable racks and look for the closet approximation to those qualities that you can find.

Dressing for less mean carefully determining what you are going to spend the most money on.  Rule of thumb:  Buy items that are classic--- not trendy--and good enough that you will have them forever.

   Reserve the largest chunk of your budget for your suit.  It must be a nice fabric--a wool or woolblend is timeless, lasts year round, and is versatile.  Choose on with clean, classic lines and in a neutral color (black is most versatile) that will easily mix with other items in your wardrobe.  Remember to factor in the cost of tailoring.  The items you wear with it---your handbag, your shoes, for example---can be more affordable.  After all, under her tuxedo, Sharon Stone wore a Gap T-shirt to the Oscars and drew raves!