What to wear to an interview
Dress one step above what people wear in that job every day, keep it clean and simple, and pick colors that keep the eye on your face. Below: what to wear for each type of job, what to avoid, and the base and accent colors for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
The short answer
- Find out what people wear at the company: look at its website and social media, or ask the recruiter.
- Dress one step above that.
- Build the outfit on a dark base color: navy, charcoal, gray, dark brown or black.
- Add one color near your face, in a shirt, a blouse or a tie.
- Try the whole outfit on the day before, and check the fit sitting down.
What to wear for each type of job
| Job | What to wear |
|---|---|
| Corporate: finance, law, consulting | A suit in navy, charcoal or gray, a plain shirt or blouse, and polished shoes. |
| Business casual: most offices | Trousers or a skirt with a blazer and a shirt or blouse. A tie is not needed. |
| Casual: startups, creative jobs | Smart trousers or dark jeans with a clean shirt or a fine knit. |
| Hands-on: trades, retail, restaurants | Clean, neat clothes one step above the work uniform. |
| Video interview | A solid color on top. Fine stripes and small checks can flicker on camera. |
What color to wear to an interview
Navy, charcoal and gray are the most common interview colors because they are plain and go with everything. They also suit most people. The color that matters most is the one right under your face, in the shirt, the blouse or the tie: it is the one the interviewer looks at for an hour. Pick it from your own palette. For a suit, see what color tie to wear with a navy suit.
Leave out loud prints, very bright colors in large areas, wrinkled clothes and anything you keep adjusting. Keep perfume light.
Base and accent colors for your color season
A base color for the suit or trousers and one color for near your face, from each season's own palette.
Suit or base color
- Soft denim navy#5C6B8A
- Light taupe#9E8C74
One color near the face
- Coral#FF8A6B
- Cornflower#5FAEDB
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Warm denim#4E6E82
- Warm mushroom#A1887F
One color near the face
- Salmon coral#FF8A5C
- Leaf green#43A047
Skip: bright tangerine, golden yellow, terracotta.
Suit or base color
- Dark warm brown#3E2723
- Warm cocoa#8D6E63
One color near the face
- Clear pink#FF80AB
- Vivid blue#00B0FF
Skip: bright violet, vivid orchid, bright orange.
Suit or base color
- Soft navy#4A5C78
- Soft plum#8E7C9E
One color near the face
- Soft raspberry#C2739A
- Soft denim#6C97BF
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Cool navy#2F4058
- Blue gray#5A6B7C
One color near the face
- Cool lavender#9575CD
- Dusty pink#C97B9B
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Soft navy#3F4A57
- Muted aubergine#6B5E70
- Soft charcoal#6F6C68
One color near the face
- Soft berry#A5677A
- Dusty rose#C08497
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Soft olive brown#57503F
- Slate blue#5F7386
- Muted forest#5E7A6B
One color near the face
- Muted rust#B5654A
- Soft gold#C4A76A
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Coffee#5A4632
- Deep olive#4A5340
One color near the face
- Olive#808000
- Sienna#A0522D
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Dark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Deep olive#2F3325
- Dark moss#3B4A3F
One color near the face
- Tomato red#A93226
- Dark mustard#9A7D0A
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- True black#1C1C1C
- Midnight navy#12243D
- Blue charcoal#263238
One color near the face
- Deep crimson#A4133C
- Deep cobalt#01579B
Skip: indigo.
Suit or base color
- True black#000000
- Charcoal#37474F
One color near the face
- Bright sapphire#0091EA
- Cool emerald#00BFA5
Skip: vivid purple, royal violet, cobalt.
Suit or base color
- True black#212121
- Cool slate#607D8B
One color near the face
- Bright sapphire#00B0FF
- Icy lilac#E1BEE7
Skip: bright violet, electric purple, vivid orchid.
Court asks for the same quiet, dark colors: see what to wear to court and what to wear to jury duty.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle. A shade is on the card when it is for the suit or base: deep neutrals (L* under 55, C* under 20), darkest first. A season with fewer than two gets its darkest shades with C* under 25. For the one color: a clear mid color (L* 35 to 70, C* 25 to 60) for a shirt, blouse or tie, 35° of hue apart. When fewer than two shades fall in that range, the card adds the shades of the same chroma closest to it in lightness.
The skip line lists up to three of the strongest colors of the palette (C* 75 or more), which pull the eye from what you say. Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season, so two cards can be compared.
What this page cannot do
This page lists base and accent colors from each season's palette. It cannot tell you which season you are, and it cannot know the dress code of a company: the recruiter can. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser, and gives you your own palette.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
What color is best for an interview?
Navy, charcoal or gray for the base, because they are plain and go with everything, plus one color from your own palette near your face.
Is black OK for an interview?
Yes. If black looks harsh on you, navy or charcoal does the same job.
Can I wear jeans to an interview?
Only if people at the company wear jeans every day. Then wear dark, clean jeans with a smart top.
What should I wear to an interview for my season?
For example, a True Winter can build on true black with bright sapphire near the face, and a Soft Autumn on soft olive brown with muted rust. This page lists a base and an accent for all 12 seasons.
What you can do on this page
This page explains what to wear to a job interview: dress one step above the company's daily dress code, on a dark base color with one color near the face, with a table by type of job and notes for video interviews. It then lists, for each of the 12 color seasons, base colors for a suit or trousers and accent colors for a shirt, blouse or tie, from that season's palette with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.