The "Right Look" Candidate

I’ve had countless friends approach me and inquire about “the right look” before walking into a BB interview. To me, a Brooks Brothers shirt, shiny tie, and wingtips are somewhere along the lines of boring and ubiquitous.

I hate to draw more attention to the name, but a dire hiring market sometimes calls for extreme measures. It was indeed Eddie Baverman who said, “You can’t be casual. You can’t look like a car salesman. You have to have the suit, the red tie, and your nails have to be right.”

The right look is not one size fits all. Now, a proper suit is fitted at the shoulders and pants certainly do not ever bunch together at the top of the ankle. But besides the givens, here are some quick notes...

• Forget Dad’s Hermes tie, and keep that Burberry plaid with the rest of your high school prom attire.

• If you think it takes a little money to make a whole lot more, invest in a handmade tie from Drakes London. A dimpled knot in a raw silk tie adds a little je ne sais quoi of finesse without having to say it.

• While we are on the topic of ties, remember, there are only two knots: four in hand and the half Windsor. Anything else and it will appear as if Japanese origami dangles from your throat.

• Although there is a time and place for them, please, no pocket square nor other flairs and accents.

• Nails. No enamel. Buffed once or twice. Clean eyebrows are equally important.

Now buff those nails, tie that dimple, and fucking kill that behavioral question.