The best interview suit color is the one that helps you make your best first impression, resonates with your personality, and gives you the confidence that comes from knowing you’re dressed correctly for the situation. When you broaden your horizons beyond the standard smattering of off-the-rack choices, you’ll discover a variety of suit colors—and styles, fabrics, and patterns—that would work well for interviews. Even if you opt to stay within the traditional interview suit color range of navy, grey, black, or brown, you have more options than you may realize. Discover the colors that send the right message to your prospective employer and help you present the best possible version of yourself to the world.
Explore Your Interview Suit Color Options
First, some basic advice about dressing for an interview: Standard job-hunting guidelines suggest dressing one level higher for an interview than what you’d wear for a typical day at that job. If you’re interviewing at a low-key startup where jeans and t-shirts are commonplace, wear a casual suit or a tailored blazer and chinos; if you’re meeting with a recruiter for a Fortune 500 company, wear the best suit you own.
One way to make a strong visual impression at an interview is to wear a suit in an unexpected hue. If the company culture at your prospective place of employment is creative and irreverent, the entire world is open to you in terms of color options. If that’s the case, a striking blazer in maroon tweed may be just the thing to earn you some positive notice. Green is a surprisingly versatile color, which has been historically underused in menswear; to grab positive attention at an interview, show up in a green suit patterned in glen plaid. If a nontraditional suit color looks good on you, and if you’re interviewing for a position within a creative industry such as entertainment, publishing, design, or marketing, feel free to go for it.
Dressing in Traditional Interview Suit Colors
However, if you’re interviewing for a position at an office with a more conservative company culture—careers in finance, law, insurance, and government often fall into this category—you may be best served by staying within the conventional grey, black, brown, or navy suit spectrum. Take heart: When you enter the world of custom-made clothing, you’ll discover nearly unlimited variations within those classic colors.
Let’s say you’ve decided to wear a navy suit for your interview. It’s a good choice: Blue is a flattering color on most people, and navy is a universally accepted and uncontroversial suit color. If you visit a high-end department store, you’ll probably find a decent assortment of navy suits hanging on the racks. One of them might be fine for your interview. If not, well, you can move on to your options in grey. Even if you don’t find an ideal suit, you’ll probably find an adequate one.
There’s no need to settle for adequacy, however, especially when you’re searching for a suit meant to impress prospective employers at an interview. When you enter the realm of custom-made suiting, your choices expand exponentially. Bespoke suit designers have access to thousands of fabrics—here at Knot Standard, we have over seven thousand fabrics from the world’s finest mills from which you can choose your perfect suit material. Even within the same color category, fabric makes a world of difference: A Zegna navy suit in 100% Superfine Australian Wool will look very different from a navy suit in Vitale Barberis Canonico Wool. Even if you’re limited by necessity to a few traditional suit color choices, you have plenty of options.
Considerations Beyond Color
While color is one of the most instantly noticeable elements of a good suit, fabric plays a significant role in how a suit fits, looks, and feels. Here are a few important elements to keep in mind when choosing the fabric for your interview suit:
Weight
Keep the temperature and season in mind when choosing your suit. Fabric weight refers to how densely the threads are woven and is measured in grams per meter (g/m). Summer-weight linen suits are generally in the range of 200g/m, whereas cool-weather garments will need to be closer to 300g/m. Pay attention to these numbers: You’d swelter in a heavyweight wool suit at an interview in the middle of July—and you’d probably look out of place. Prevent discomfort by selecting your interview suit based on the season and the fabric weight that works best for that time of year.
- Drape
Consider the level of formality of your interview and of your prospective employer. If the executives mostly wear traditional suits, you’ll want to select fabrics with a bit more body and stiffness to them. Workers in casual offices are more likely to sport unlined trousers and deconstructed jackets cut in a slimmer, trendier manner, which means you’re free to choose lighter fabrics with more movement. If you haven’t considered the concept of drape before, don’t worry—a premier custom clothier will know which fabrics will drape best for your purposes.
- Texture and Patterns
The company culture of your prospective employer also comes into consideration when choosing textures and patterns for your interview suit. A bold plaid suit in blue and violet might impress your interviewer in a creative and contemporary office, but could raise a disapproving eyebrow at a more old-fashioned company. In general, it’s a good idea to choose a suiting fabric that incorporates a bit of texture, which could be as subtle as soft variants in threading and as striking as contrasting chalk stripes. Textured fabrics lend detail, interest, and uniqueness to your look and help you stand out in the minds of your interviewers.
The Most Important Element of an Interview Suit
Whether you’re dressed in classic navy or in boundary-pushing green, your interviewer will take note of one key aspect of your suit: How well it fits. A well-fitted suit gives you a polished look, shows you take pride in your appearance, and reveals your attention to detail. Nothing feels better than knowing you look good when you walk into your interview.
The suits you purchase off the rack—or already have hanging in your closet—are likely to fit a little less than perfectly. Maybe the sleeves are just a hair too long, or maybe the trousers don’t taper exactly right, or maybe the jacket is too tight around the middle. Fit flaws in off-the-rack clothing are commonplace. That’s not the case with custom-made clothing. When a suit is patterned, cut, and sewn together based on your exact measurements, the fit will be flawless.
Finding Your Best Interview Suit
The Knot Standard approach to suiting involves taking meticulous measurements and crafting clothing from a pattern that’s specific to you. Our suits come in only one size—yours—and are guaranteed to be the best-fitting garments you’ve ever worn.
If you’re looking for an interview suit in a color that flatters you, suits your personal style, and is appropriate for the position you seek, custom menswear is your best bet. At Knot Standard, we offer all of this, wrapped up with premium personalized service. Choose a Knot Standard showroom close to you and schedule an appointment today to connect with your personal stylist. We can’t wait to help you ace that big interview—and look great while doing it.