Consider this: You arrive at the job interview of your dreams only to be greeted with the words, "Don't call us, we'll call you." Your skin-tight button-up shirt, dust-covered dress shoes and borrowed pair of khaki pants had landed the position for someone else before you could even open your mouth.
If only you had attended Project Real World -- Tim Gunn's Guide to Transitioning Your Closet -- the evening of Feb. 19, you would have known that one horrible fashion decision could overshadow a lifetime of work experience.
Fashion guru Tim Gunn discussed how graduating students can make their college wardrobes suitable for the professional world. Gunn, contestant-panel liaison of Bravo's television series Project Runway, was asked to speak at U.Va. by his niece Allie Moore, a fourth-year student at the University.
"A fashion faux pas at the interview could cost you the job," Gunn said. "Am I saying you need to drink the fashion Kool-Aid? Well, maybe I am."
He advised students to "dress up, up, up at the interview."
"It's better to be overdressed than underdressed," Gunn said. "Continue in that mode for your first few days of work and assess what people are wearing, what's acceptable and what isn't."
He warned students that although some jobs "may involve wearing a costume of sorts," if they want the job "they're going to have to get with the culture." Students can be themselves on the weekend, Gunn joked.
While Gunn insisted he had no hard and fast rules about fashion or styling, he did provide some tips to students. As chair of Parsons The New School for Design, a New York fashion design school, chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne and the host of his own makeover series on Bravo, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," Gunn was well-qualified to share stories and advice about a range of topics including budgeting, shopping, trends, footwear, color choices and prints.
"My mantra is: silhouette, proportion and fit," he said.
Gunn encouraged students to accentuate their silhouettes by wearing clothes that show the natural curvature of their bodies.
"So look at your size and your shape and then look at proportions. Are you high-waisted? Are you short-waisted? How broad are your shoulders in relation to your hips?" Gunn asked. "It's all about accentuating your great attributes and mitigating the things you're not so pleased about."
To clarify his point, Gunn used the example of Hillary Clinton.
"Does she really understand her gender?" Gunn asked the audience jokingly. "Use your gender, don't try to disguise it."
Gunn said the biggest fashion faux pas made by college students is fit.
"They tend to want to go for comfort, and that means that their clothes are frankly too big," Gunn said. "They will look much more professional, much more ready for the world if they're polished, tailored and sophisticated in how they look."
When asked what item of a college student's wardrobe he would throw away if given the chance, Gunn said Uggs and Crocs.
"Those two dreaded examples of footwear -- I flatter them by calling them footwear," he said. "If you want to dress to feel like you've never got out of bed, don't get out of bed."
Gunn said students must look professional to gain the confidence of their co-workers. Though he acknowledged that a leading cause of fashion mistakes is the limited budgets of many college students, Gunn insisted that "more fashion mistakes are made with a lot of money than with little."
Gunn said he loves shopping on a budget, noting, "why I love a budget so much is that people are forced to be thoughtful and strategic in their buying because it needs to fit in with their wardrobe."
Incoming members of the workforce must take a serious look at themselves and their clothes, Gunn said.
"Mirrors are not necessarily our friends," he said. "Clothes can only be evaluated on a person ... It has to be a look."
Gunn said a complete look often requires the combination of trendy items with staple pieces, ones that have a "long shelf and closet life."
When it comes to color selection, he said darker-skinned people have an advantage in their choices, while lighter-skinned people must be careful that certain colors do not make them look washed-out or do not dominate their appearances.
Students also must consider the scale and proportion of the pattern before wearing it, according to Gunn.
"The print should not be wearing you," he said. "You should be wearing the print."
Although Gunn said prints rarely make a person look smaller, they are an easy way to instill personal style into the corporate wardrobe.
"You need to be accepted, but it's still important to be who you are," he said, "Own your own look."
His words inspired attendees such as first-year College student Brittany Renica, who said, "I liked the concept of embracing your own style, being who your are."
Casey Wagner, a Charlottesville resident who attended the event said the evening was enjoyable.
"He's just an awesome, chill guy, and he's really non-judgmental about fashion, not like a hardline," Wagner said.
Though his advice was simple, Gunn told students they could use fashion to gain an edge in the workplace. A well-polished look will instill confidence in co-workers and bosses, and according to Gunn, students who are dressed to impress are ultimately more likely to get and keep a job. The right wardrobe might help students hear the words "When can you start?" instead of "We'll be in touch"
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | 6 days agoWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | January 6, 2025What the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
