Was worried this might happen....

[JDAZ11]

I know this must have been discussed about a thousand times, but I can't seem to find any posts....

Anyway - so I have to go on an interview trip with DH in a few weeks. I'm totally fine with the tagging along part, but less excited about figuring out what to wear. If it were here, I'd know exactly what to wear to all of the various activities... But late fall on the east coast... Yuck!

I still don't know the exact itinerary, but i will at least have to go to two dinners and on a day long get to know the city type tour.

So anyway my first issue is: last night I was talking to DH about what I would wear on the city tour thing (I'm not sure why - he gives terrible fashion advice). He seemed to think jeans are not going fly. I really only own leggings and jeans (I guess I also have suit pants, but no way I'm wearing a suit). He thinks I should be dressed in the " female equivalent of business casual" the whole time - just in case something runs late and I have to go directly to meet him at dinner. (no idea where dinners will be). If it were early October I would be fine just wearing a dress and tall boots - but I think I'll freeze walking around in early November (although I don't really remember how cold November is in the north east). So is he crazy? Can I just wear dark skinny jeans and knee high boots? What have you worn on these interview trips???

My second issue is that I don't really have a great fall jacket anymore (we don't really have fall out here - and I honestly can't remember what I wore that time of year back in NY). I **think** it will probably be in the mid to high 50s during the day and hopefully 40s at night. What sort of jacket do you normally wear for cold (in my opinion) fall weather?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[JDAZ11]

Sent you a PM

[oceanchild]

Ok, first of all, get a pair of black pants. You should have a pair of black pants.

Maybe you could add some sweater tights to your dress and tall boots?

My go-to DC coat was a classic long wool coat, but it's probably not worth spending that kind of money yet. I'd go for dressier rather than a windbreaker or fleece (standard issue Colorado jackets), but that part I don't think is a huge deal.

[JDAZ11]

Ok, first of all, get a pair of black pants. You should have a pair of black pants.

Maybe you could add some sweater tights to your dress and tall boots?

My go-to DC coat was a classic long wool coat, but it's probably not worth spending that kind of money yet. I'd go for dressier rather than a windbreaker or fleece (standard issue Colorado jackets), but that part I don't think is a huge deal.

Ah - yeah I guess I really do need new standard black pants. I do actually own trouser type pants - They are just kind of old and I think the cut is either outdated or just super not flattering on my body anymore. I'm also definitely more of a pencil skirt kind of girl, and have avoided buying new work type pants the past three years - I think mainly because pants are such a pain to get altered. For the most part dark skinny jeans and a blazer were sufficient "business casual" for law school. I guess almost all of my recent jobs have been during the summer so skirts were usually fine (well except for clinics - and I usually wore a skirt suit or just didn't care that my dress pants were kind of old....).

So it sounds like you're leaning toward the business casual the whole trip? Which I guess is fine. The thing about the tour is that I honestly don't think I'll see anyone from the hospital in the outfit I'm wearing. I guess I'll have to wait for the final itinerary, but it's an independent company taking me around - so I guess I just don't see why it matters much.... But since I'll have to alter the pants, I suppose better to be prepared with a non-jean outfit....

Anyway, I will plan to go look for some grown up pants this week. I probably need new flats too - also not easy bc I have all sorts of issues with my feet (although maybe I won't actually be walking as much as I'm imagining, not going to want to be in heels all day).

I do have an amazing long (knee-ish) black wool coat. I was thinking that may be too heavy.... I guess maybe not, the weather on the east coast is so inconsistent - who really knows what the temp will be.....

Anyway - thank you for the input!!

[diggitydot]

Don't kid yourself that people aren't going to report back to the interviewers about you, too. While the candidate is the one who is "officially" being checked out, so is their SO who comes along.

We used host a shit-ton of interview/2nd look/recruiting shindigs for DH's residency/fellowship programs. Trust me, people who you don't think would have opinions that matter WILL frequently be asked what they think about you and your dude. I can't even count how many times I was asked my opinion during those years.

Oddly enough, I was the person who raised the alarm that someone was "off". One guy kept talking about working at the "clinic" of a hospital in my home town. The hospital he was talking about was a lock-down mental health facility without any clinics, although it did have an ER. I asked him if he meant the ER, and he kept insisting that he worked in that hospital's clinic. I have LOADS of friends who work in medicine in that area and asked around to see if a satellite clinic had been built that I hadn't heard about. Nope, guy was completely full of shit. The residency program later discovered other "discrepancies" with his application and he was kind of put on an unofficial "No Way in Hell Ever" list.

The independent company is unlikely entirely independent. Someone knows someone in the program and they'll talk.

[oceanchild]

So it sounds like you're leaning toward the business casual the whole trip? Which I guess is fine. The thing about the tour is that I honestly don't think I'll see anyone from the hospital in the outfit I'm wearing. I guess I'll have to wait for the final itinerary, but it's an independent company taking me around - so I guess I just don't see why it matters much.... But since I'll have to alter the pants, I suppose better to be prepared with a non-jean outfit....

I have three biases here: 1) I hate having to change clothes during the day. We travel with my ILs a lot, and they ALWAYS change for dinner. Drives me bats. 2) When I moved to DC I learned just how casual my west coast upbringing was, and I felt like I was always trying to compensate for it. and 3) My husband is the king of casual, and if he actually thinks something is worth dressing up for, I tend to believe him. So the fact that your husband thought business casual was appropriate sort of swayed me.

That said, it sounds like classy jeans would be fine for the tour. I just thought a pair of black trousers might be easier.

I do have an amazing long (below knee) black wool coat. I was thinking that may be too heavy.... I guess maybe not, the weather on the east coast is so inconsistent - who really knows what the temp will be.....

By November in DC, I was usually in heavier coat territory. Further north I think you'd want it. But hard to say until you actually see a weather report.

[JDAZ11]

I have three biases here: 1) I hate having to change clothes during the day. We travel with my ILs a lot, and they ALWAYS change for dinner. Drives me bats. 2) When I moved to DC I learned just how casual my west coast upbringing was, and I felt like I was always trying to compensate for it. and 3) My husband is the king of casual, and if he actually thinks something is worth dressing up for, I tend to believe him. So the fact that your husband thought business casual was appropriate sort of swayed me.

That said, it sounds like classy jeans would be fine for the tour. I just thought a pair of black trousers might be easier.



By November in DC, I was usually in heavier coat territory. Further north I think you'd want it. But hard to say until you actually see a weather report.

Very valid points! So perhaps my new casual west mentality is a factor here. (i also found that jeans were usually more acceptable in nyc than in DC). I honestly think this city is probably a bit more like DC.

My DH tends to push me toward over-dressing for events etc. I've learned to ignore him for the most part - but this is kind of odd territory for me. If it were my interview I doubt I would wear jeans on the tour- although I do really think it would be fine in this situation... I guess I could also call the company to get a better idea about what the tour entails?

Also, I totally agree about the weather. Our wedding venue has a super strict dress code - def no jeans. I dragged that coat back to DC so many times last winter to go with my dresses/skirts and it almost always ended up being about 65 - even in January.


Sorry - one last question... Would a dress (either long sleeve or with a sweater/blazer) be fine for dinners? I have tons of dresses - would just be nice not to buy tons of new clothes.....

[diggitydot]

So long as it isn't a ball gown or something that you'd find in Courtney Stodden's closet, I think dresses are fine.

[JDAZ11]

So long as it isn't a ball gown or something that you'd find in Courtney Stodden's closet, I think dresses are fine.

Just had to google her - still not sure who she is, but I assure you we have divergent taste in fashion!

[MrsK]

Question: (and a little hijack) on the topic of black dress pants - where would you recommend a petite person shop for nice slim fitting black pants? Ann Taylor is just too dowdy with the fuller blouses that are now fashionable.

[Curegirl]

MrsK, I go to Banana and J. Crew for petite pants. It's a little pricier but I think well fitting pants are worth it! I also like how Nordstrom does free in house tailoring if you find something there.

[JDAZ11]

....

[JDAZ11]

I'm at jcrew now - the fits they have in the store now are exactly the same as the pants I own... I remember why I never buy dress pants! Horrible!!!

[JDAZ11]

I'm at jcrew now - the fits they have in the store now are exactly the same as the pants I own... I remember why I never buy dress pants! Horrible!!!

And maybe because it's so hot here - they only had two cuts that aren't ankle length.

[diggitydot]

Just had to google her - still not sure who she is, but I assure you we have divergent taste in fashion!

I caught her while watching some idiotic couples' therapy show on TV last night. She allegedly just turned 18 (married her 50+y/o husband when she was "16"), but I don't buy it. That girl looks like a 30 y/o long-term tweaker to me.