Best modern interview attire to consider buying.

Being selected for an interview is half the warn won, but the real challenge is the interview itself. Seeing that appearance is the first communicator regardless of how skilled you might be, informal interview attire wouldn`t be the right path to choose.

Job interview attire for young women can definitely go beyond a grandma look that involves a loose blazer or a dress pant that appears too baggy. It is always a wise decision to aim for a neatly tailored suit that fits your particular body type perfectly and even compliments your shape.

Let us discuss some of the does and don’ts of modern interview attire:

Figure 1.  Modern Interview. [Photograph] Academicchic, 2010,
Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/academichic/5075444713/

When dressing up for an interview it is vital to ensure that your attire is pressed and wrinkle free. This automatically gives you a plus point in the books of the employer, as you walk in for the interview.

·         Ensure that your shirt is buttoned up leaving enough space for you to breathe but not enough to extenuate your cleavage.

·         Avoid tight skirts or skirts above your knees, which give a negative vibe to the employer

·         Interview attire doesn`t need to be boring and conservative, try experimenting with a splash of color with a professional business dress, but avoid anything too bright or splashy that can take away from your interview.

·         Avoid excessive accessories such as dangling earrings and large sunglasses

Regardless of what you wear, ensure that you look polished and neat to make an excellent first impression on your potential employer. If you are not too sure about the fine line between professional and unprofessional business attire, browse through some of the tips from about.com at: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interview-attire/ss/interview-outfits-for-women.htm for ideas on interview attire for women, which can go beyond a traditional look.

How would you categorize Proper interview attire for women? Any ideas to share? 
For more ideas on Proper interview attire read some of our previous blog postings http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/choosing-proper-womens-interview-attire.html

Where to find cheap business attire for women without sacrificing quality

Haley Clark for Buyer|10. [Photograph By giovanni, (June 25, 2011),  

Adapted from  http://www.flickr.com/photos/liveloudtx/5885244661/

I hear all the time that women who are just starting out can’t afford a wardrobe to fit dress code business attire, they see this as a chicken before the egg concept; can’t get the job without the wardrobe but can’t get the wardrobe without the income from the job.

This doesn't have to be the case; Kohl’s is a great store which sells all forms of business professional attire for women, and at a very reasonable price point.

Your first thought when I say at  a reasonable price point it “but you get what you pay for”, and in most cases I would agree, but not with Kohl’s. Kohl’s is a great store because you get the low price you want, and the quality smart business attire you would expect at a higher price point. 

Kohl’s is very versatile as well, you can shop online or in store and they don't burn you on shipping charges if you shop online either. They have a very nicely laid out website making it super easy to find what you are looking for and overall it seems like a really great place to shop for proper business attire for women.

Choosing proper Women`s Interview Attire

After having received countless emails from women asking “what is proper attire for interview with… company X” I decided I should write this response. The bottom line is there is no best interview attire for women, every position, every job and every company culture are all very different. 

Saying every interview is different is not to say that you always simply have to take a shot in the dark and hope you chose something suitable. I have tried that on many occasions and failed miserably, there is nothing worse than showing up for an interview in a full suit, pocket square and all, only to sit across the desk from your prospective boss who’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt. That is just it you don’t want to overdo it and seem so high and mighty that you’re above the job you’re applying for. 

If you had an interview at McDonalds would you wear your best Pencil Skirt Suit, probably not, that would be inappropriate interview attire you would probably wear some form of casual interview attire for a women. That is the point you want to dress to one degree of formality higher than you expect the interviewer to be wearing. 

Send in some descriptions and or pictures of some of the outfits you’ve worn to interviews, the best way to learn is through the experiences of others.

Rountree-and-Saldo. [Photograph By Connecting Point, (9 May, 2012),  Adapted from  http://scifundchallenge.org/fishlistener/2012/05/09/im-on-tv-interview-on-connecting-point-with-carrie-saldo/rountree-interview-on-wgby-connecting-point/

What is black tie attire for women?” – Let’s find out.

Black tie attire refers to attire worn on formal affairs such as evening dinners, dances, socializing events and business inaugurations. For women black tie attire events refer to days where they can be their beautiful selves whilst socializing and sipping cocktails / martinis.

Figure 1.  Black tie attire. [Photograph] Nellie Christenen, 2010,
Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/formalfashion/4810965779/

Us women like to cherish events that take our breath away, where we can be the center of attention with our spouse / partner on our side. Black tie attire consists of elegant gowns, draping dresses caressing our slender curves and extenuating our figure.

Black tie attire when picked appropriately in advance in accordance to your event requirements, can achieve wonders in terms of your image and self-respect. Ensure that you have the right accessories to pair with your attire so that you don’t end up rummaging towards the end moment. Black tie events can make or break your reputation so ensure that you conduct yourself in an appropriate manner and socialize as much as possible with the higher ops.

Would you like to share any suggestions with regards to what White tie event attire means to you?

To learn more about the differences and common confusions between Black Tie and White Tie event attire, go here: http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/differentiating-white-tie-event-attire.html

Top 5 forms of stylish business attire for women

The office has long been a male dominated field, and although women are quickly encroaching on man’s heels in the workplace, a women’s choice of attire can and will hold her back. The goal is to be seen as a professional equal to her male counterpart without losing femininity and seeming butch. 

Here is a list of the top 5 forms of stylish smart business attire for women:

    1.   The Pencil Skirt Suit

The Pencil skirt suit is the perfect combination of traditional business norms (ie the suit) and sexy feminine flare. This look should never be worn without panty hose, in doing so you could lose credibility and be seen as more of an object of desire, something you want to avoid in the workplace.

    2.   The Pant Suit 

Womens pant suits are only at the number two spot because the cut of the suit is extremely important, with the wrong cut you will look butch and seem as though you are trying to discard your femininity for the sake of trying to prove worth in the company, this seems desperate, and negative; on the flipside of this dressy pant suits can do you and your career wonders.

    3.    Pencil Skirt Outfits

And back comes the pencil skirt, this is truly a staple every business woman should have.

    4.    The Sleek Dress

Although a sleek dress always looks good overusing this wardrobe item will again turn you into an office object of desire, not something you want if you would like that promotion.

    5.    Cardigan

A few cardigans are great staples to have in your wardrobe as well but like the sleek dress they will negatively impact your image if over used, you will seem as though you simply don’t care. 

What are the top 5 forms of stylish smart business attire for women in your opinion?

So you know what to look for, but business fashion doesn't have to be expensive; check out this post about cheap business attire http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.com/2013/06/where-to-find-cheap-business-attire-for.html

Where to purchase good business professional attire for women?

Ever walked into a store with flamboyant business attire and enticing floral prints realizing half way in, that cute business attire for women does not really speak well with your company`s image?

Let`s face it; your company wants you to look like a serious individual with smart business attire that reflects your skills and personal accomplishments. How do you do this with stores featuring business attire exclusively targeting the younger generations with nothing left for you to consider purchasing, let alone even look at.

So, where can you buy business professional attire for women who are not looking for a cute trendy fix. The trick here is to mix and match various key pieces from separate stores based on their level of sophistication, quality and professional look. Let us look at some of the brands you are familiar with.

Figure 1.  Conservative-business-attire-ladies [Photograph] by Straight Primpin, 2013,

Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/95248191@N07/8683942150/

Zara for Women: Zara offers everything from chic and elegant to abstract and trashy. This requires your womanly touch to analyze which piece of clothing is a throw away just as you walk into the store and which piece is what I call a ``key essential`` towards your sophisticated business look. Zara offers some high quality, neatly tailored blazers which are more than capable of adding professionalism to your attire as long as you stay away from tribal patterns and abstract artwork which won`t be perceived seriously in your workplace.

Suzy Shier: Professional attire involves incorporating conservative colors. Suzy Shier offers a wide range of neatly cut

business trousers in dark colors such as; black, gray and navy blue at an affordable and reasonable price range.

They also offer a 10$ discount card for any of your further purchases. However, an initial purchase of the discount card itself is required.

Le Chateau: One of my favorite stores to shop at for business casuals is Le Chateau, but seeing that  allot of their products are targeted to the younger generations looking to invest into cute business attire this store might not be a good idea for someone aiming for a professional look. However, Le Chateau does offer a wide range of neatly tailored business pants and knee length business skirts that can be an excellent addition to your wardrobe.

Would you like to share any insights as to where you would suggest purchasing formal business attire for women?

For some of us it can be extremely hard to determine pairings for business attire's we choose to purchase. Check this out for more information on the forms of stylish business attire you can experiment with on a daily basis.
http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/top-5-forms-of-stylish-business-attire.html

Where to shop business casual for women

business casual for women are hard to exactly define so shopping for them is clearly not going to be easy because you can’t find let alone buy something if you don’t know what it is. This is why your best bet is to find some business casual for women stores which aim at catering to a business casual type style, then you just go nuts. 

The casual portion of the business casual is to promote comfort, and the best way to be comfortable in what your wearing is to where something you like, so that is what you should be looking for above all else; but you don’t want to end up falling off the business wagon completely and therefore finding a retailer that supports the basic style you’re going for is key; a great example of this is Banana Republic.

Banana Republic is a great retailer for business casual because they have a great variety of business casual tops for women as well as bottoms, you can mix and match and just have fun with it. the available business casual looks for women in store or online are almost endless;
check it out for yourself I’m sure you will like what you see: http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/division.do?cid=5002&kwid=1&sem=false

Now you know where to buy it, but what should you get... this list of the top 5 business casual outfits should help http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/top-5-forms-of-business-casuals-for.html

Differentiating white tie event attire from black tie attire

Figure 2.  Nice Dress (not for me). [Photograph 

By Chay, (Taken on January 27, 2008), 

Adapted from  http://www.flickr.com/

photos/chaymation/2272100370/

As if defining ladies attire for a black tie event wasn’t difficult enough there is a whole new category of confusing formal events; white tie events. Over the years black tie has come to be a very hazy attire description for women and white tie is not much different. 

When it comes to women and white, or black tie events the formality label (white or black) serves only as a guide, and a choosing  a dress requires great deal of discretion based on other event details. As a general rule of thumb the amount of effort put into the event determines the formality of the black tie gowns deemed appropriate; the same goes for white tie. 

The easiest way to differentiate the two levels of formality is to describe and outline each.

Black tie dress consists of dresses that you could picture wearing to a fancy restaurant or to an office cocktail party but that doesn’t fit the constraints of white tie event attire. Black tie events don’t even require that you wear a dress you could wear a fitted pants or skirt suit, with or without the blazer; but as I stated earlier, the effort put into the event influences its formality and a dinner/ cocktail/ dance event requires a dress. As far as the dress itself, the typical “little black dress” is perfect along with others like it, no restrictions on length, just try to avoid bright loud colours. 

White tie dress consists of a floor length dress of a solid colour, most often white or black. The accessories should be simple and classy; to heighten the formality, add elbow length white gloves, or a fur mink scarf.

It is important to pay attention to the dress code... or this could happen http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-importance-of-choosing-appropriate.html

The importance of choosing appropriate black tie attire for women – And the consequences of choosing wrong

Learn from jenny’s mistake don’t choose the wrong attire for a black tie event. At a new year’s eve party my friend jenny chose the wrong dress and it didn’t turn out well for her. 

I invited jenny to my cousin’s formal new year’s eve party held at sawmill creek golf resort and spa. Jenny wore a dress I could only describe as a riskay cocktail dress.  I can only describe it as a minny dress with a deep plunging neckline.

Julz. [Photograph By calebdrostphoto, (no date), 

Adapted from  http://www.flickr.com/

photos/drostphotos/2575894175/lightbox/

She Misjudged the atmosphere of the event and ended up feeling extremely out of place and vaguely low class. There was nothing wrong with her dress it simply wasn’t deemed women black tie attire. 

This should exemplify why it is important to know about what is appropriate black tie attire for women. 

Black tie events are simple for men but the line of appropriateness in hazy when it comes to black tie event attire for women this is why more attention should be paid to what you wear to such events.

Dresses for a black tie event is simply not that well defined and it leaves women everywhere wondering what to wear. Have you ever mistakenly worn something to a black tie event that turned out to be less than appropriate, like jenny did?  

you want to know what counts as which formal dress code check this out http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/06/differentiating-white-tie-event-attire.html

Top 5 forms of Business casuals for women

So, What is business casuals for women?
Business casuals for women are an informal form of Business attire that you can move around in on a daily basis without seeming too overly dressed or uncomfortable in your own skin.

In my opinion, business casuals should reflect professionalism and modernity as a package. A balance of the two combinations is necessary to achieve a polished and well thought out look. On the first day of your job, it is a safe bet to be slightly over dressed than your colleagues, but you will settle in fairly well if you pay attention and observe.

Some of my favorite tips on Where to buy business casuals for women are firstly, determining your price point or budget. Second, evaluating what your wardrobe currently consists of and what you are missing. Third, to avoid wasting time on shopping for everything all at once, make a list of stores and decide which items you would be looking for in the course of a day. My opinion would be to mix and match items from various stores to achieve a diversified and inexpensive look.

Figure 1.  Spring-Summer 08-CASUAL. [Photograph] by Doris Pooser, 2008,

Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexik/159045499/

The below Top 5 forms of Business casuals for women reflects pairings you can experiment with, these pairings can be mixed and matched in accordance to your taste and preferences.

1) Pencil skirt with pointed toe or wedge shoes and a contrasting top. This look has a sharp and edgy feel to it, it can also be spiced up with a casual sweater vest, a trendy bolero or a blazer.

2) White business pants with a blue / pink blouse and a statement necklace. White has a very subtle and elegant feel to it, you can pair white with practically any color as it falls in the neutral colors category. A statement necklace can help pull your look together and make you appear more organized and put together.

3) Black business pants with a dark shade blouse. Black being a neutral color is capable of pairings with any dark or light shade top. You can even throw on a printed scarf to put this look together.

4) Casual Business dress with a long trench / waistcoat and pointed toe shoes. This look has been a favorite of women since ages as it helps elongate your legs and give you a classy and sophisticated feel.

5) If your office environment is more laid back and relaxed, you can throw on a floral printed business casual dress with a jacket and a belt for those summer months.

What I find is that classy yet affordable Business casual tops for women can be much harder to find than those expensive business dresses / trench coats available abundantly at Le chateau or Zara stores. Would you like to share your insight on stores offering a wide range of Business casual tops for women?

What business casuals do you find to be good choices, join our discussion http://bizfashionpros.blogspot.ca/2013/05/what-business-casual-looks-for-women.html

How to choose the right Internship interview attire?

Are you a graduate or co-op student who has been selected for an internship interview, but are completely unaware of how to choose the right College interview attire?

After days of job hunting and failures, you have now successfully landed an interview with a company you wish to work at. College students commonly make the mistake of assuming that getting an interview is a job well done and a pat on the back is just a few minutes away. However, the truth is that you are not done until the interview process is over.

Here is the part where the potential employer is going to analyze your credentials, ability to speak and act under pressure from the moment you walk in through those doors. Moreover, the very first give away of your professionalism is simply your interview attire.

It can be hard to find the Best attire for job interview when you are a day away from the interview date and stressing in all directions. My tips would be to do the following:

Figure 1.  College Interview. [Photograph] University college, 2012,
Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ucolmedia/8142306392/

·         Calm down and focus on the solution instead of the problem itself.

·         Make a list of stores you wish to visit and items you wish to purchase in the course of a day.

·         A well-tailored suit can do you wonders, remember that this job can give you 1000s of dollars for your skills and hard-work, ensure that you do not let this opportunity slip by even if you have to go to a branded store to purchase a professional business suit.

·         Consider investing in professional business skirts and blazers.

·         Stay away from strong perfumes and deodorants that may make the interviewer gasp for air.

·         When looking for interview attire ask yourself whether this reflects who you are. 

Follow these tips to help you on your search for the best Internship interview attire.

Graduate school interview attire can be slightly more professional than regular co-op interview attire, as you are now a young professional who has participated in the real race to the top. Any suggestions as to how one can choose appropriate Graduate school interview attire?