Ann Taylor Long jacket/ J.Crew drape jacket / J.Crew fitted blazer / / J.Crew pinstripe jacket / J.Crew dress pants / J.Crew pinstripe skirt / Ruffle top / J.Crew button up shirt /Banana Republic Tailored Non Iron Dot Shirt J.Crew cotton shirt /
My original plan for today's post was to write about how much my rural medicine rotation has impacted me so far or the revelations I've had recently about what specialty I should choose, but instead I'm writing about what to wear on residency interviews. We had a long session on Friday all about residency applications, interviews, Match day, etc. We also were told that we need to have a professional photo taken in a few weeks for our applications. And I realized that I don't have a suit (for medical school interviews, I picked up a blazer at Express and wore it with a black skirt that I already had). So I spent some time this weekend looking for suits online, and here's what I found:
The Suit
There are a lot of options: black vs. navy vs. grey, pinstripe vs. plain, skirt vs. pants. I think that I'm going to need two suits, since it is looking like I will be applying to two specialties (yes, I'm that indecisive) and so I'll have to go on a lot of interviews.
The options (above).
1. Ann Taylor: I've never bought anything from Ann Taylor (although I do own a few things from Loft). This grey suit was 40% off sale price this weekend, so I ordered it on a whim (and probably will be returning it, but we'll see). The grey seems like it would be very versatile.
2. J. Crew Factory: The navy pinstripe jacket and skirt (there's also pants) are available right now on their website for a decent price (with the 20% off coupon that I have). The navy pinstripe is a nice alternative to solid black, but I also think that sticking with black and grey might be a safer bet. I wore a skirt to most of my medical school interviews and I tend to have an easier time with skirts fitting right then with pants, but pants would be much more comfortable for walking around hospital campuses on the tour portion (and nylons do not last long when I wear them).
3. and 4. J. Crew: They have amazing suits but I never thought that I would shell out the $$$ for one of them. If I do go with one, I'll be watching for a promo code for 25-30% off (or one of the suits to go on sale OR ebay...but that's probably risky). I would probably go with basic black so that I could wear it forever and ever (and hopefully eventually get my money's worth). I'm not sure about the Hutton trousers vs. the 1035 trousers, or the 1035 blazer vs. the Sidney. I've heard that the 1035 trousers run small and I don't think my self-esteem can take going up a size, ha, since I'm already wearing the larger of my two pant sizes (thank you, medical school). About the blazers, I like the 3/4 sleeves on the Sidney, but the 1035 jacket might be more professional.
The Blouse
This is a potential problem since I have a notorious button-gaping problem in the chest area (and if I go one size up, I'm swimming in the shirt). I would probably do best with a blouse like the first option above, the sleeveless ruffle one from J. Crew factory. Button-up shirts seem to be the most common thing to wear though on residency interviews. I love this mint one from J. Crew or this pink one from J. Crew Factory. And last but not least, the subtle polka dots on this Banana Republic button-up are perfect (not to mention that it's supposedly 'no-iron') but are the polka dots a little crazy for residency interviews?
Suggestions? Chime in :) Linking up with Medical Mondays.
My original plan for today's post was to write about how much my rural medicine rotation has impacted me so far or the revelations I've had recently about what specialty I should choose, but instead I'm writing about what to wear on residency interviews. We had a long session on Friday all about residency applications, interviews, Match day, etc. We also were told that we need to have a professional photo taken in a few weeks for our applications. And I realized that I don't have a suit (for medical school interviews, I picked up a blazer at Express and wore it with a black skirt that I already had). So I spent some time this weekend looking for suits online, and here's what I found:
The Suit
There are a lot of options: black vs. navy vs. grey, pinstripe vs. plain, skirt vs. pants. I think that I'm going to need two suits, since it is looking like I will be applying to two specialties (yes, I'm that indecisive) and so I'll have to go on a lot of interviews.
The options (above).
1. Ann Taylor: I've never bought anything from Ann Taylor (although I do own a few things from Loft). This grey suit was 40% off sale price this weekend, so I ordered it on a whim (and probably will be returning it, but we'll see). The grey seems like it would be very versatile.
2. J. Crew Factory: The navy pinstripe jacket and skirt (there's also pants) are available right now on their website for a decent price (with the 20% off coupon that I have). The navy pinstripe is a nice alternative to solid black, but I also think that sticking with black and grey might be a safer bet. I wore a skirt to most of my medical school interviews and I tend to have an easier time with skirts fitting right then with pants, but pants would be much more comfortable for walking around hospital campuses on the tour portion (and nylons do not last long when I wear them).
3. and 4. J. Crew: They have amazing suits but I never thought that I would shell out the $$$ for one of them. If I do go with one, I'll be watching for a promo code for 25-30% off (or one of the suits to go on sale OR ebay...but that's probably risky). I would probably go with basic black so that I could wear it forever and ever (and hopefully eventually get my money's worth). I'm not sure about the Hutton trousers vs. the 1035 trousers, or the 1035 blazer vs. the Sidney. I've heard that the 1035 trousers run small and I don't think my self-esteem can take going up a size, ha, since I'm already wearing the larger of my two pant sizes (thank you, medical school). About the blazers, I like the 3/4 sleeves on the Sidney, but the 1035 jacket might be more professional.
The Blouse
This is a potential problem since I have a notorious button-gaping problem in the chest area (and if I go one size up, I'm swimming in the shirt). I would probably do best with a blouse like the first option above, the sleeveless ruffle one from J. Crew factory. Button-up shirts seem to be the most common thing to wear though on residency interviews. I love this mint one from J. Crew or this pink one from J. Crew Factory. And last but not least, the subtle polka dots on this Banana Republic button-up are perfect (not to mention that it's supposedly 'no-iron') but are the polka dots a little crazy for residency interviews?
Suggestions? Chime in :) Linking up with Medical Mondays.
