<p>I realized while straightening my closet today that I have no idea what to wear for my son's interview next week! He's set, husband is set, but I am clueless. My wardrobe weems to consist of grungy work clothes or formal wear! Guys are much easier to do dressy casual. Neither are wearing ties but son is wearing button down with a dark brown cord sports coat. (It really does suit his personality and he loves it.)</p>
<p>Gosh, I know this is an obnoxious question. Sorry.</p>
<p>Most of the mothers that I saw on interviews wore suits, dresses, nice skirts, nice pants, and similar. Some people looked more jacket and tie and others a bit less so. I thought that some people came dressed way too casually. I have no idea of whether that is meaningful to the admissions committee or not. Some of the schools have a more formal dress code, so it may be better to dress more formally in those places.</p>
<p>I am a more formal person myself so I always am on that end of the spectrum.</p>
<p>I saw a lot of Anne Taylor and Anne Taylor Loft. I bought some wool tweed dress pants and a skirt from there last year and combined them with whatever fall sweaters they had on sale. At least at St. Paul's, be prepared to walk on some pretty rough terrain and go up and down lots of stairs. I made the mistake of wearing heels to one interview and my feet were killing me. After that, I wore low heeled boots that were comfortable. Plus - the coffee from the waiting areas have lids that are not so wonderful - I lived in fear of being a klutz and spilling. Hence, the purchase of brown herringbone. My H wore nice dress pants and sportcoat variations - no suits. I agree with amom2 - some came in jeans and casual knit tops, I thought that was surprising given the importance of the day.</p>
<p>I wore a skirt, sweater, and flats. Same thing that I wear to work or to church. I didn't see any parents dressed casually. Most the dads were wearing suits and ties, most the moms were wearing skirts/dresses or dress pants. Everyone was dressed well that I saw. Better to be overdressed then underdressed I always say. Think of it like a job interview - what would you wear to that?</p>
<p>None of our interviewers had on suits. Some had sport coats, with and without ties.</p>
<p>We wore "country club casual" which seemed appropriate everywhere. Overdressing can make you stand out, too.</p>
<p>My standard is dark grey tropical wool pants. They can be combined with just about anything to dress them up or down. Pick a blouse or top that's comfy and put a jacket or sweater over it and a scarf if that's your style. Some leather flats should be fine. Wear your best understated jewelry.</p>
<p>You'll be walking a lot, perhaps on bricks or grass and up and down stairs. You'll go from inside to outside quite a bit on the tour so it's nice to have layers you can remove or add before you sweat or freeze.</p>
<p>Y'all are going to laugh, but both of us wore sweats when we interviewed at the school goaliegirl is at.</p>
<p>Seriously though, we got an adhoc invite to take a tour and went up there (a multi hour drive each way) between games at a hockey tournament where she had been scouted by the coach over Xmas break. Coach dug up the head of admissions and we had our interviews. She wasn't dressed to the nines either.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend this approach for most interviews, though! ;)</p>
<p>Thanks all! I'm going shopping tomorrow. I didn't want to show up in carpenter blues or musician blacks, which seems to be the extent of my wardrobe. Hopefully, it won't be raining.</p>
<p>goaliedad-I was hired for one of my best jobs while sporting a black eye! It was easy telling the interviewer how to recognize me in the restaurant.</p>
<p>We must not have gone to any of the same schools PrincessDad....
All of ours either had a suit or a sport coat and tie. But then, most of our schools had formal dress codes, so that might make a difference on how admissions dresses. And the day of the week - our Saturday interview was a little more casual, even though there were Saturday classes there, it was a dress down day for the students and Admissions was a little more casual than they might have been otherwise - although it was still dress pants and a tie - just no jacket anywhere in sight.</p>
<p>Back to the OP....I wore my black dress pants and a blouse or sweater. Don't worry about the rain, all admin offices have MANY umbrellas. We had several tours in the rain.</p>
<p>Linda,
We did all of ours on Sat or holidays as D had perfect attendance going and did not want to loose it. That might have made the diff.</p>
<p>Nice pair of gray trousers worn with a tone-on-tone embroidered sweater I picked up at Goodwill. I don't recommend wearing an embroidered sweater with sequins and beads! Wore a pair of ankle boots because the pants were a little too long for flats.</p>
<p>Just make sure to wear very comfortable shoes. There is a lot of walking involved.</p>
<p>We're with GoalieDad - stopped by the school after our son played in a hockey tournament -- so we were wearing whatever would keep us warm in a MA ice rink Thanksgiving weekend. (I think they were more interested in interviewing the student than what his parents were wearing.)</p>
<p>Look like comfortable old money. Good quality; nothing flashy. Comfortable shoes, but not sneakers. The focus should be on the student, not the parent.</p>
<p>I noticed a shift between info weekend and admitted student weekend and matriculated parents weekends.</p>
<p>The further into the process, the better the haircuts and clothing quality. The "blue-jeans and t-shirt' motif vanished from info sessions. Parents at BS weekends are very well groomed. Comfortable, not flashy, but definately well groom in a kind of old money way - and this was NOT a top ten school.</p>
<p>lol, Is this like a "best-dressed thread" for parents?</p>
<p>I opted for great quality/very modern fashion. (New Yorkers, grrrr!)</p>
<p>I don't do old money and resist the notion that I should consume my thoughts with "what the other moms are wearing". Like creasemonkey said, It was clear that these visits were about my son and his interview/personality and the extent to which I wholeheartedly supported his aspirations.</p>
<p>I agree with the majority, black pants, sweater or blouse and comfy shoes. You will be walking for about 1 hr, so if its snowy or rainy don't wear nice shoes.
Good luck shopping.</p>
<p>I did grey slacks and a sweater. Navy blue one time, red for the time near christmas. And something like merrils even though they aren't fancy it was snowy everywhere we walked. Noone seemed to be looking at what me and DH were wearing as long as it wasn't sweats/jeans it seemed to be fine. I didn't see any parents (male or female) in suits.</p>
<p>Ha! What a thread.</p>
<p>Chinos (no cuffs), loafers, button down shirt , Brooks tie, Brooks blazer + scarf</p>
<p>Black or brown pants, and a wool sweater. My daughter was in a skirt and and a sweater. Most of the parents all dressed in a similar, tweedy way. I was more surprised by how some of the kids dressed inappropriately. Way too casual.
ZP</p>