Women's Interview Dress

The way we dress for an interview can ultimately be the deciding factor in whether the company chooses to hire us or not. However, because of the variety of fashion changes that are happening everyday, it is close to impossible for a women to find the perfect interview outfit. Surprisingly enough, appearance has been estimated to influence up to 70% of employment interviewers' judgments (Springbett, 1958). Sometimes I think women just wished that before the interview the company just gave you a robe so that your outfit was not part of the decision process. After the study was completed, I found the results to be quite surprising. For example, not that all men are this way, but I that they would be a lot more accepting of slightly revealing outfits in an interview. However, I guess I was wrong. The results showed that although men would enjoy the sexualized interview outfits, it would actually give them a negative feeling of how the women would perform in the office. And women on the other hand were much more accepting of more fashionable additions to the plain business suit. For example, women did not mind tweeds and other colors whereas men just wanted a simple tailored suit that did not draw much attention. 

Although I believe that these are all good points, I think that in todays work community, it is important to look at where you are going to interview. I believe that many companies want to hire an employee that is dressed in a way that represents the spirit of their company. For example, if you were applying to be a social media director for say a tattoo shop, they most likely would laugh if you wanted in with a full on pants suit. So with all of these things considered, we will never really know if our interview outfit works or not.-Kaitlin

Fashionable Interview Attire for Women

Women's job interview attire basically breaks down into appropriate versus inappropriate. The study that the textbook discusses focuses on narrowing down the categories of dress into “appropriate,” “maybe,” and “inappropriate.” Taking a closer look, gender played an important role in what was acceptable or not. Moreover, women were more accepting of slight variations from traditionally appropriate interview attire than men were. This study was conducted in 1991, as well as 2002; the findings concluded that a more conservative look was preferred in 2002, compared to 1991. The economy has much to do with the type of dress that societies prefer. The results of the study demonstrate that our interview dress is moving toward conservatism, but not as much as prior to what the state of the economy was in 1991.

I have always had a tough time deciding what type of dress was considered appropriate for an interview, and quite frankly, this article did not clear up much! I gathered that the more covered-up and plain a woman is in her interview, the more likely it is that she will land that middle-management position. I completely comprehend that, but I am confused as to where the line is drawn when it comes to interviews in the fashion industry. This study was done with jobs that do not concern the fashion industry, so it would be interesting to see if the results are the same if the focus is on those jobs. -Mallory

After reading “How Personnel Interviewers See Women’s Job Interview Dress”,  I directed my focus on what were considered inappropriate suits. In the article, a few of the characteristics that correlated with inappropriate suits were, skirts above the knee, high-contrast trim on pant legs, matching leather jacket with pants and busy textures or bold stripes. The reason I found this to be so interesting was these characteristics of inappropriate suits described what I myself would likely wear on an interview. It shows how this information pertains to the type of position a woman is applying for.  For instance, in a creative field, diverting away from the norm can actually be appropriate. It is about evaluating what the work environment entails when deciding on the right choice for interview attire.

-Rachael 

I found the article, "How Personnel Interviews See Women's Job Interview Dress: A 2002 Update", very surprisingly with the results it gave. However, I have to take into consideration that this was an update from 2002, I am sure the facts would be different now in 2012. Some of the most shocking facts to me were the Guidelines for Appropriateness. Little details such as a collared shirt vs a non collared shirt, made such a huge difference. It is almost required to wear a collared shirt to an interview, whether you are male or female, and I do not see this changing any time soon. Another fact was women's heels, there was a height requirement, which I didnt think people took seriously, but apparently a its a big deal. The height requirement of heels are 1 1/2 to 3 inches high, and closed toe. I didnt think these little details made such a huge impact, but it is something to take into consideration for your next interview. -Amanda

love&tattoos, never easy to remove

The article, Erasing love Never Easy with Tattoos by Kyle Munson discusses why lovers should never plan a date that ends in the tattoo shop. Not only are these bad boys permanent but have been seen as a love curse by the many love tattoo advocates. Many of these unfortunate heartbroken lovers, find themselves sitting in the office of a plastic surgens waiting to endure the extremely painful process of tattoo removal, which is said to be the most painful process by far. I don't know what it is about lovers and tattoos but it just would never cross my mind because at any point something can go south. And once it's in ink on your body the only way to white it out is through surgery, it's just a stupid idea. A good example of this is Tamara from the Real Housewives of Orange County. Not only did she have her ex-husband initials tattooed on her ring finger but found herself in arguments with her longterm boyfriend. She elected to have the tattoo surgically removed to make her boyfriend happy and just at last get rid of the memories she didn't want to remember. 

I think that these kinds of tattoo not only are a pain in the butt to have removed, but cause many different strains on proceeding relationships. This makes if hard for people to legitimately move on. I mean come on, no one wants to date someone who has a different guy or girls name inked on them. -Kaitlin

In the article, "Erasing Love Never Easy with Tattoos," the author conveys the notion that it is emotionally and physically painful to have the name of an ex-lover permanently inked on one's body. While I agree with this, and never plan to get the name of my significant other tattooed on myself, others believe differently. An interesting point was made in the text, "Tattoos don't break lovers' hearts...Lovers break lovers' hearts" (p 119). This is from the stance of a tattoo artist, yet some people will argue that name tattoos are a "curse." Some people believe that once couples tattoo a name on one another, the relationship is over. As the tattoo artist stated, it is not the tattoo that is going to break up a relationship, it is more dependent upon the people in the relationship. The long-term consequences should be considered before a couple decides to get a permanent symbol of love tattooed on the body. For instance, the idea of getting a tattoo on one's ring finger is similar to wearing a wedding band. If a couple decides to get a tattoo underneath a wedding band, the action seems more thought-out and long-term, much like a marriage. -Mallory

      After reading "Erasing Love Never Easy with Tattoos", my first reaction was that the article had a bias undertone which was that, getting your lovers name tattooed is probably a bad idea. I do not believe the issue is so much getting a tattoo; it is about WHO is getting the tattoo and for what reasons. Because a tattoo is technically permanent, one must be confident in their decision making progress. Knowing that life can change at any moment, more specifically, people can change, creating a permanent reminder of a single person will always have cautionary elements. Tattoos can be a powerful way of expressing ones creativity, likes, passions, but as with many things, if it’s not thought-out or done with authenticity, a tattoo can be an unfortunate mistake reminder. Love is powerful, which is why a tattoo can be the perfect medium to express it. However, confidence must be incorporated with a lovers tattoo; confidence in the person who’s name is now upon your body but also confidence that change may require an alteration to the permanent art that lies upon your skin.

-Rachael

In the article "Erasing Love Never Easy with Tattoos" there are a series of both tattoo artists, and people who do tattoo removals who speak on this touchy subject of people getting their significant other at the time, tattooed onto their bodies. However, this could been seen as a curse in which shortens the relationship, occurrences always happen that change feelings. A question that is brought up is that if it is okay to do this in the case that your loved one has passed away, and you are madly in love with that individual. In this case, I see it as okay to do because that person can never hurt you and if you have a deep connection and love for them, that can never be changed or replaced. It is always hard to move on, when you regret getting a person who is not important in your life anymore, permanently tattooed on you, therefore, you should think twice before doing this.  -Amanda

xoxo

the mark.it team

What About the Greek Life?

California sorority

Southern sorority

As one sorority member said, "I think a lot of it (dress and appearance expectations) is regional. Being that my little sister just pledged to be an Alpha Phi at Chapman University, I've heard nothing but nonstop stories about the parties, girls, events etc. I think that sororities especially are one of the cliquest aspects of going to college, that is if you get involved with one. Because these interviews were conducted in 1993, I thought that most of data was false or rigged.
So I thought I would explain some friends of mine and how I agree with the statement above that dress is completely regional. An old roommate of mine who used to attend Southern Mississippi State would always tell me how different people dressed for school in California. I always thought this was a joke till I actually asked her why she thought this. She followed to tell me that in Mississippi, all the girls in college wore Nike running shorts, oversized Ralph Lauren tshirts, running shoes and baseball caps to everything. I thought this was hilarious and at first thought she was joking. She wasn't because she gave me pictures to prove it. And even the boys wore their above the knee khakis, bright colored polos, loafers and baseball caps.
Yet after seeing my sister and hearing stories from friends in sororities in California, I came to the conclusion that they couldn't be more polar opposite. Here is California sorority girls especially make sure that they look in tip-top shape for classes, meetings, parties and more. And the boys just dress to always be, "playing it cool."It's almost like these people lived on different planets. -Kaitlin

Sorority Members: Physically Comfortable

Sorority Members: Mentally Comfortable

Part of the article, "It's All Greek to Me: Sorority Members and Identity Talk," explains that sorority girls do care a great deal about comfort. While in one instance, the comfort refers to physical comfort in dress, other reports discuss psychological comfort. One girl states, "...I can't understand why somebody would get up at seven in the morning every day to make themselves look like that. I guess that is more of a lifestyle choice. I prefer sleeping" (86). This sorority member has been termed "granola" because she would rather be physically comfortable than take extra time to wear clothing, accessories, or make-up that she deems uncomfortable. On the other hand, the text describes situations in which girls would rather feel more mentally comfortable. For example, one girl claims, "I feel, in classes, the nicer I look, the better I feel" (86). I would have to agree with this statement. I always feel great when I look great, because then I am more comfortable with speaking and having attention on myself. When it is the opposite and I think I don't look my best, I often feel uncomfortable or apprehensive; moreover, this is all psychological comfort, and the way it plays a part in dress. There is a movie, The House Bunny, that somewhat describes the difference in physical and mental comfort by portraying a transformation in appearance for a group of sorority girls. They are physically comfortable, but missing any sort of psychological ease until their appearances get made over. This depicts a few differences in comfort.  -Mallory

While sorority members can have individual tastes when it come to expressing themselves within their organization, the article "It's All Greek to Me" shows one commonality is that of proper hygiene. When evaluating hygiene, it wasn’t an issue of having high expectations; simply it was an understanding that there should be basic standards. Such standards were clean hair and nails, fresh breath and non-offensive body odor. The article briefly examines cultural difference in hygiene expectations. One sorority member was quoted "I know people will say that other people from foreign countries smell bad, but this is just part of our culture. More than 95% of the people are opposed to body odor and that has become a symbol of uncleanliness" (pg 85). It's as though the interviewee is stating that American culture expects non-offensive body odor and one should adapt to that fact. Interestingly, when discussing clothing expectations, sorority members explained that it was o.k. to dress down or be more casual as long as the basic hygiene standards were met. -Rachael

In the article, "It's All Greek to Me", they also point out the "legitimacy" of the "ideal" way to dress which is considered "presentable". The question is, "Who's to say what is presentable?". According to different people and social groups, the "ideal" way to dress can be different. For example, one of the interviewees points out that it depends on your personality. It will be different for someone who likes to dress preppy compared to someone who likes to wear all black. Another factor that plays into this, is culture. The ideal here in American, is different compared to Europeans. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that there is no universal "ideal" we can all compare ourselves to, we need to take into considerations the factors of personality and culture.  -Amanda

xoxo

the mark.it team