Q I read in The Wall Street Journal about not being dressier than your boss and especially not your interviewer. They were talking about watches specifically but seemed to imply that dressing too well for interviews is a problem. Is this really true? I'm worried enough about looking good; do I really need to not look too good?
A While looking good and careful grooming are important at all times, looking too good is certainly not a widespread problem for most men. A great deal depends upon how established your position is. If you have been with a company for years, you can feel less limited. However, dressing for an interview is certainly different from dressing for a typical office day. So here is a set of what might be overdressing, what are essential dressing rules in both settings and some final thoughts on the topic of the WSJ piece -- watches.
INTERVIEW DRESSING
Interview dressing should be quite conservative. It should send the message that you are not the type to rock the boat, not the type to try to shock anyone or call unnecessary attention to yourself. Does this sound as though I am suggesting that you dress rather innocuously for an interview? I am.
• Any form of dressing noticeably expensively, such as wearing $4,000 worth of high-end items (shoes, tie, watch, briefcase, etc.), might be pushing it for an entry-level interview.
• A lot depends on the formality of the industry. Also, many less "professional" offices have executives who dress down out of choice or to show staff a casual workplace but still wouldn't mind, and probably would expect, the standard look from the applicant at an interview.
• Dress well, yes, but dressing "nattily" is a potential risk.
• Maybe the dark "pinstripe suits" that I mentioned last week as less of a current standard might be pushing it for interview dressing. Medium-dark solids in blues and grays are safer.
• As part of interview grooming, polished shoes are a must.
DAY-TO-DAY BUSINESS DRESSING
On the other hand, after you have the job and are established in your position, your clothes can certainly express more individuality.
• You can show more of your own personal style, in how you use color and in the garments you choose.
• While that old bit of advice about not dressing better than your boss or a great deal better than most of your colleagues still has some validity, I have always wondered whether it is really a problem. It seems to me that those men who do not dress well are unaware of the subtle nuances and would not even notice the quality of your choices.
• Keep in mind that I am discussing quiet quality, not flashy dressing. In business situations, wise people don't wear flashy clothes in front of clients "for fear of their wondering where all the money they are spending is going."
WRISTWATCHES
In the past, a man's shoes, his tie, and especially his status watch often said a lot about his place at work. Many men, even those who were not "watch collectors," owned three types of watches: a dress watch, an everyday watch and a sport watch. These days, due to the popularity of smartphones, a man's timepiece can be left at home sitting in a drawer. Many modern young men may not even own a watch at all, and no one seems to notice.
Even though this change in attitude has taken place, I know that men who are true watch-lovers/collectors still exist. Which brings to mind a question I have wondered about for years: Do men who are serious watch collectors, men who actually spend, not thousands, but tens of thousands of dollars on a superb timepiece (and who usually own more than one), actually recognize such a watch on someone across the room.
If any of my readers are among them, I would love to hear from you regarding my long-held questions. When you are wearing such a watch, do others recognize it? And do you recognize it on others? I know that, if I see a woman wearing a beautiful, super-expensive dress, I recognize and appreciate it as such from across the room.
Please send your men's dress and grooming questions to MALE CALL:
Lois.Fenton@prodigy.net
High Profile on 10/20/2019