Peanut Gallery
Mostly talking out my butt here, but the way I see it is this, in regards to your "window dressing" (great term).
When you interview, the employer has so little to judge you on. Your resume, and how you look. Can't really fault them for that, they're only human. Since the whole panty-hose/lipliner shebang still equals superior grooming in our society, it's best to do it.
And then, show up looking normal, because they'll be forced to keep you on long enough to allow you to earn their respect without the window dressing. It isn't unethical, it's just how the game is played. Best foot forward.
Yeah, that's what others have been saying. I just feel like such a dork in a skirt now. I did try on several last summer only to take one look at myself and laugh hysterically.
It doesn't matter though because my mom told me that she just didn't like the way I said it. Because her way was so much nicer.
(FTR, I had planned on wearing makeup at least. I just know it won't last long because I wear it maybe once a year as it is.)
It depends on what you're going for. Best option, though, wear a skirted suit. Unfortunately, for most corporations, the whole makeup, coiffed hair, nice clothes thing is where it's at.
About the only place I've ever seen women get away with slacks is in academic job interviews where, as a woman, you're still allowed to be completely unfashionable -- in the conventional sense. Not saying you're unfashionable just that, seriously, coming from a non-academic environment and then to academia, I was shocked at how easy it ws for men and women to get away with wearing fashions that were ancient, courdoroys and turtlenecks to do a presentation, comfort clothes, everything just short of sweatpants.
Personally I would never consider wearing a skirt to an interview (though I do wear skirts sometimes), I don't know any other woman who would, and at all the interviews I've been to, have never seen another interviewee in a skirt. So this whole thing seems a bit bizarre to me.
I'd always had the impression that the trouser suit was the way to go, and that a skirt suit and "pretty shoes" would look either old fashioned and odd, or a bit girly and inappropriate, and would mean you were less likely to be taken seriously. But then I'm not a lawyer, so maybe that culture is different?
I never wear skirts to work any more, because my feet can't take the shoes that go with them (I miss them actually - I wear skirts on the weekends, when I can wear casual shoes).
But trouser suits are really smart and business like! How could they be inappropriate for a job interview? For this job I've just started, I wore the Armani suit to interview that I bought for myself as a going back to work present after my second child - how could anyone think that wasn't a serious professional?
(I'm not a lawyer, but have a fairly equivalent job in the financial world)
(Came here by way of Carnival of Feminists)
Don't buy a skirt! Seriously, you want to feel confident at your interview, and if wearing a skirt makes you feel like a sex object (because let's face it, it /does/ mark you as a member of the female/sex class, and having to worry about your legs and how your body looks /will/ distract you), then don't do it! You need to feel as confident, powerful and equal as possible to interview well. I work in a law firm (as staff) and the younger female lawyers alternate between slacks and skirts, but they're always very high quality (i.e. expensive). They look /extremely/ professional in slacks. When they wear a skirt, I do notice them in a more sexualized way, so I can only imagine the men do too.
Do you /really/ have to dress in a submissive, sexually available way to get them to give you a job? If not, don't. Because that's what your mother is telling you to do. My mother did the same thing, and I can't fault her for wanting to help. After all, when she was my age (in the 70's), women really did have to wear feminized clothing to hold their jobs. But it was the wrong advice for my generation. Wearing a skirt puts you on lower level than everyone else who's wearing slacks. Which, I suppose, is the point.
I did buy 2 cheap skirts at a thrift store, that way if I don't like them, I didn't spend a lot of money on them. I don't think I need a skirt to get a job, but my mom has been hounding me about it constantly. When I told her I had bought these 2 skirts, she beamed telling me that was the right thing to do. I tried having a talk with her about it, that skirts only help to reinforce the objectification women are trying to escape, and that I want to be known for my brains and capabilities, not how nice my legs look.
It went over her head.
I've got a lot of nice slacks that I wear to my job now, along with a lot of nice shirts/blouses. I'm more confident in pants and I believe I come across as more confident, too, for obvious reasons. Most everything is wash n' wear because I be broke, but it looks nice nonetheless!
Btw, I'm not going to law school anymore bc, as a single mom, I just don't want to fight that hard for it. I am going to grad school though so who knows.
Thanks for all the responsese!
Commenting by HaloScan
