This Is the Best Color to Wear to a Job Interview

I don’t remember what I wore to my first job interview (I shudder to imagine it), but I do recall the outfit I wore to interview for this job: a camel-colored leather pencil skirt, skinny black turtleneck, a vintage black sleeveless dress that buttons all the way up, worn as a longish vest, and oxblood heels. The vintage part wouldn’t have gotten me the gig at, say, Vogue (vintage doesn’t work for an interview there), but it worked here. Turns out, it probably wasn’t the pencil skirt or heels that did it. It was my color choice: Lots of black.

A British t-shirt company surveyed 1,000 people to find out their perceptions of color. The results: 56 percent of participants perceived black to be the color that “most inspires confidence.” 

There might be some truth to it: There is such a thing as color psychology, and black is known to telegraph seriousness, sophistication and, most of all, leadership and authority. This makes it a perfect choice for interviews for management positions. For most interviews, however, some experts find that blue is actually the best color to wear, as it conveys trustworthiness.

But there’s one color that all experts seem to agree is a bad choice: orange. So save citrus for later (celebratory job offer cocktails?), stock up on black pieces and polish your resume. That dream job is yours.