In my dream world — the one where there are lots of academic jobs and a position at your ideal institution opens up right as you’re finishing your degree — I can imagine myself applying to at least two different kinds of college teaching jobs. I would be interested in teaching art history at an art school, and I would be interested in teaching at a small (likely faith-based) liberal arts college. Were I to land on-campus interviews in either of these scenarios, the type of school itself would certainly play a role in what I might choose to wear, with definite adjustments for the season, the geographic location, the “feel” of the school, etc.
As always, the usual caveats apply. This is meant to generate ideas, not offer didactic advice. Bodies are not neutral, so how your body is perceived socially will certainly impact how the clothes you put on them are received. And confidence is the best accessory, so if wearing a really sharp, tailored suit is what makes you feel polished and accomplished…then I say go for it. As I’ve already mentioned, I will most likely go suit shopping — at the very least for great, professional separates — if and when I go on the traditional job market.
But let’s indulge in a little make-believe and pretend that a) my dissertation has magically written itself; b) I suddenly have two interviews and I want to wear something besides the traditional pants suit; and 3) the hiring cycle fits with out current season. Let’s say that School #1 is an art school in the Midwest and School #2 is an evangelical liberal arts school on the East Coast.
For School #1 I might wear something like this:
Knit Blazer and Trousers, originally uploaded by academichic.
This is not a suit. It is, however, a professional-looking ensemble that is also eminently movable. While trapeze jackets might not be on-trend right now, I think they have a classic quality about them that plays nicely against the more structured trousers and fine gauge sweater. And, importantly, because it’s a ponte knit, it passes the arm swing test with flying colors. I imagine that this could be important since I definitely lecture with wild gesticulations. I like that this has some of the components of a pants suit, but there’s a little twist on proportions, shapes, and color that personalizes the outfit without being distracting.
Polished Garnet Necklace Detail, originally uploaded by academichic.
Speaking of colors, I love that the eggplant jacket and amber necklace warm up the otherwise harsh black. I kind of feel like a Rothko painting, and that seems appropriate for an art school setting without being (I hope) cliche. (On a more practical note, currently these pants are hemmed for sizable heels, but for a real on-campus interview, I would wear pants hemmed to wear with a lower black heel or wedge.)
For School #2 I might wear something like this:
Skirt and Blazer, originally uploaded by academichic.
Honestly, I would prefer to wear a skirt suit to an institution like this one, but a similar feeling can be created by wearing a blazer over a sheath dress. A benefit to this is that there are less pieces to mess with and no tucking issues to fret over. Despite my previously articulated misgivings about this blazer, I think it works out okay in this iteration since I’m visually raising my waist anyway with the dress. It’s a relatively classic — rather than trendy — cut, and it also adds some textural interest to the outfit overall. I kept my jewelry simpler: diamond studs and a jade ring worn as a pendant for a teeny little pop of color that is more in tune with my aesthetic than the brooches or scarves many advice columns suggest. And yes, I did roll up my sleeves. I think some of you will tell me this is a no-no, but I feel so much more like me and so much less liable to fidget. Hey, I know my weaknesses. (These shoes are not one of them. I’ve walked a mile straight in them without issue.) Overall, I feel really powerful in a great fitting dress and jacket, and a bold shoe only cements that confidence.
Knockout, originally uploaded by academichic.
Neither of these outfits are going to go down in the annals of Academichic as E.’s Best Look EVER. They aren’t fashion Statements with a capital S. But an interview outfit should make me the star, not my clothes, and I think that both of these remain true to my personal style while also being appropriate for their respective scenarios. After all, no one’s going to hire my closet.
Can I ask if this dream scenario involves conference or on campus interviews? Because you may want to consider that during a campus interview you are likely to be treking around campus between meetings all day long. Are those beautiful blue pumps able to handle a day of spending 12 hours walking around and on your feet?
A friend of mine wore a pair of heeled boots to a campus interview and received several snide comments from faculty about whether or not she’d be able to make it up the hill. Hopefully, those kinds of instances are rare, but considering some of the conversations I’ve been privy to and the comments on that Chronicle article, I tend to think they are more frequent than we’d like.
Love both outfits, and I also love Calvin Collage (small, faith-based liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, MI). I was an art history major there – maybe someday they’ll have an opening for you :)
I am loving that first outfit!!! I would hire you:)
http://www.afashionfixation.blogspot.com
I WOULD hire your closet, given the chance. Lookin’ good!
Our department had a few open positions last year, and I got to see all of the applicants that made it to the campus interview stage. We’re an east coast R1 English Dept, not a small liberal arts school, but your second outfit definitely “works” for our context. I think the danger of wearing a completely bland outfit for an interview is that the interviewer might be less likely to remember you– but I think the personal details of the necklace, rolled sleeves, and colored shoes add enough oomph to this look to make it memorable without making it “stand out.”
I wish I could have seen what everyone wore to the MLA interview stage!
If you figure out how to make that dissertation write itself, let me know!! : )
I think the first look is totally appropriate for your scenario but, I love the second one! Maybe it’s because I’m from the east coast…
I absolutely love love love these alternatives to suits! So chic and appropriate, yet not too stuffy. And those pumps are super cute.
Thanks for this series! I’m a grad student in the social sciences. From what I’ve seen at conferences (where we don’t really do interviews) and prospective applicants visiting our campus for faculty/post-doc jobs, people my age tend to dress more like your first look. I don’t know if it’s the location (midwest) or age or field, but I’ve never seen an interviewee wear a suit! It’s interesting to see what’s standard or expected in other fields.
And I also want to second the comment above about walking shoes! We always try to take visitors to our campus (whether they’re applicants or invited speakers or whatever) to lunch somewhere close to our building, but still a good 10 minute walk. I always feel for the people who are wearing fancy-but-painful shoes!
I like both looks, and both of them project confidence, which is important. I think I would actually add some funky colored shoes to the first look as well, since right now it seems to be a little too much black – I think the shorter jacket makes the expanse of black below it seem very long, which does make you appear really tall and leggy (which is good in my book) but I think I would prefer something to break up all the black.
I agree that trapeze jackets have that certain classic quality that works well in an interview. Both of these would be great interview outfits, for precisely that point you make about you being the talent on the market, not your style.
Watch for skirt length. The second outfit is great but how high does that skirt hike when you are sitting, possibly across from a Dean who may or not be a member of the clergy? I think a skirt that can be smoothed over the knees when sitting, or pants, or very opaque tights at the least, are perhaps safer options for a campus visit. And definitely for the MLA where you might be sitting on the corner of someone’s bed in a hotel room.
I love both of these outfits and hearing why you would wear each one. Love the purple jacket and the dress/blazer combo is one I’d love to try. Just need to find the right blazer and shift dress. I also like that you’re taking a spin on the usual suit. I think that alone would make you stand out, and of course those blue shoes.
I like both outfits, but the first is my favorite. I adore trapeze jackets, and the rich purple looks fantastic with the amber and black. DM’s point about the skirt length is an excellent one, too. I love skirts, but I always get nervous about where they hit when I sit down (or if I have to pick something up off the floor!). I suspect that the one you’re wearing in the pic would be fine, though, E. :)
I love both these outfits and think that you could use both if you had a 2-day interview. The skirt + jacket when you give your job talk and the trousers + jacket + fab necklace when you tour and have dinners, etc.
I remember meeting a (now) faculty member when she was finishing her PhD and gave a job talk. She’s young and stylish, but the day I met her she was wearing a navy blue suit and I remember thinking “That looks strange on her–am I going to HAVE to do that to get a job?” Now that I’ve seen a good amount of job talks, I know the importance of a jacket/blazer, but not necessarily a suit–at least if you’re in certain departments/fields.
I particularly like the top outfit. I’m also seeing it’s potential for one of your packing specials– “how to pack for your campus interviews.” You could wear the jacket with skinnies and a t-shirt on the plane. Mix the pants with a different blouse for day two, etc.
These are both fabulous interview options, and I think that last paragraph really nailed what people should be going for when dressing for an interview.
And definitely for the MLA where you might be sitting on the corner of someone’s bed in a hotel room.
This is officiallly against MLA rules now. Not saying there’s no chance it ever happens any more… but it shouldn’t.
Adore both looks. Yes, they’re both a bit more muted than what I might wear in a conference setting, or teaching, or department review. But, both are stylish without being overly trendy, fit your body well, and show that you can be both professional and current. And LOVE the blue pumps (I was chairing Fulbright Scholarship committees today, and I had on a pair of bright orange pumps a lot like them!).
The only thing I might add, actually to both looks, are bracelets. Especially since you note that you gesticulate a lot, bracelets can be a fun way to show some personality in a relatively small package. I’m envisioning a big cuff for the first look and a delicate chain or small bangle for the second (alternately, the second would look great with a bold ring).
Fun!
Both of these are lovely. The second really wows me though.
Might you add some kind of legwear (tights / nylons) to the second look? It may depend on the season, but bare legs in (even imaginary) New England don’t fly October – April.
Love the trapzee jacket – how fun!
Might you add some kind of legwear (tights / nylons) to the second look? It may depend on the season, but bare legs in (even imaginary) New England don’t fly October – April.
Love the trapeze jacket – how fun!
Love the purple jacket!!
I would hire you, and your closet!
Well, hey, if you get a job at Biola University (an evangelical liberal arts college on the west coast) I might have to hire your closet. I loved both outfits but I am definitely coveting (how un-evangelical of me!) the trapeze jacket in your first outfit. Love that!
I love your first outfit and think you’re right on for the faith-based liberal arts school. That is my current context. I’m in my first semester as a prof so I just went through the interview process last year. I bought two pants suits from jcrew when I went on the market. I wish I had bought a skirt suit in retrospect but at the time I was more comfortable in trousers. (something I am working on) I too have a long torso but jcrew’s jackets work for me although I had to get both taken-in in the back and waist. One of the suits had some stretch in it and it was far more comfortable for the long interview day.
E, do you EVER look poorly dressed? These outfits are great. My idea of ‘corporate. Not overly matching or contrived, but conservative enough to make an impression. Well done! Confess I haven’t read post, just looked at pics.
I ADORE the color combination in the second outfit photos…the grey, black, and cobalt blue heels. Fabulous! I never would have thought to put those colors together myself, but they are beautiful.
The first outfit is great, too, but the second is simply stunning. Love it!
I just wanted to say that I am LOVING these interview outfit posts! I tried on suits today and felt stuffy. But I got perfect-fitting pants and a black (non-matching) jacket. I am going to have the sleeves shortened to 3/4. But I’m going with the black pants, black heeled boots, a silk top, and a tie-back cardigan sweater for my interview tomorrow :)THANKS!
I like both outfits, but I concur with an earlier commenter that the first one needs something to either break up or counter the black. I think if you subbed navy pants for the black ones, they’d complement the purple, give your outfit a nice palette, without being too demonstrative.
Also, I’ve ran into problems with wearing a trapeze jacket to an interview before. Since they look more like outdoor jackets than your typical suit jacket, a few people asked me if I’d like to remove my jacket.
LOVE LOVE the first one. The combination of the shorter trapeze jacket with the long, solid color underneath makes you look even longer and leaner than you already are. Professional and with a bit of style, too.
I recently went for an interview in the deep south in July and wore a sheath with a jacket and rolled up the sleeves, mostly out of fear that as a northerner I would die of heatstroke! Everything was all black, so I ended up wearing a slightly different, yet still classic (one of their recent pearl combination looks!) bracelet. I agree with the commenter about the bracelets, especially with the rolled up sleeves.
I like both of the looks, but something about the second look didn’t sit right with me initially. I obviously like the idea of the dress with the jacket, so that wasn’t it. And I love the shoes! I thought about it and then realized that it was the buttoned up jacket. I get the conservative point, but I find the buttoned up jacket to be almost too conservative and give off a sort of staid, “I’m a slightly tightly wound” impression. Maybe that’s the impression you want to give? (It’s not like I know you personally, nor do I do academic interviews, so maybe that’s expected in that arena? Please don’t take any of this personally!)
Have you thought about unbuttoning the jacket and maybe putting a skinny belt on underneath? That would still look classic and professional, without giving up that nipped in, tailored sort of feel.
oh, btw the bracelet was J. Crew. I absolutely ADORE their jewerly, lately. So fresh and fabulous without being too far out of the box.
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