Shirt, tie, and shoes will have to be more on the formal side if a new suit is out of the question right now. Actually, a light-colored suit can be very dress-up with the right accessories. My DH has a tan suit and with a blue or white shirt, a subdued tie, and brown dress shoes (preferrably tie shoes not loafer-type shoes) he looks just fine for almost any occasion. If your DH's suit is really light-colored, maybe a subdued stripe shirt might also be nice.

But Kim, if he's going into management, maybe next time he'd better buy a nice dark grey suit! Much easier to live with, I think.

The shirt and tie will make the difference. And lace up shoes, if possible.

hmmmm can you handle a good sport coat now? Navy should go well with those suit pants. I underlined "good" because less than good usually looks as if the coat belonged to someone else. Especially around the shoulders.

I'm going to disagree with pidge about a grey suit. (sorry pidge!) Grey is a funny color and can look dreadful with some complexions. But a navy sport coat and grey slacks would look great. My husband gets by and always looks well dressed in any situation with only two sport coats, a navy and dark hunter green. He has a suit, but it's been so long since he put it on, that I couldn't tell you what it looks like.

You're right tht grey won't work for everyone, Agnes, but for most any dark color is still the best bet for formal occasions. I also thought sport coat, and I think that would work fine for a business meeting or even a job interview as well as most social gatherings. But for weddings or funerals (I know, that's not what we're talking about here), that look is way too casual. I was just at a wedding last Friday, and there was only one guy in a sport coat and he looked out of place. I must admit that I've known this guy for years and he has about as much style savvy as my cat and his clothes are never "good." Even so, he would have looked more appropriately dressed had he been in a suit. BTW, his wife was in an ordinary royal blue (!) suit with "sensible" shoes, so I didn't think she was appropropiately dressed, either, in a crowd sporting plenty of "bling."
I know that all these decisions depend on one's lifestyle or manner of living and working, so what works for me won't necessarily work for others. And now I will get out of the way.

You can rent suits - just as you can tuxedos. That's what I'd do, rent a nice navy blue suit.

I have a fsrmer friend who does that - he doesn't own a suit and never will, but from time to time he does have to dress up a bit (he had dinner with Prince Charles last year). The suits always seem to fit very nicely.

Does the suit he has fit him well? I ask because if it doesn't, he's better off going a different route than looking out of place in it.

If it fits him well, have your husband put the suit coat on with a casual shirt and a pair of jeans... to go shopping for a dress shirt and tie --- not for the interview itself. Hold dress shirts up to the suit coats to see how they work with the jacket's color and your husband's color. Don't be afraid to try the unconventional. (My husband has several suits, and my favorite ensemble on him (and the one for which he receives the most compliments) is his nearly-black grey suit with a pale lavender shirt and lavender and grey striped tie. Looks good with his coloring and "salty" hair. It's his "go to" power combo for his most important meetings.)

Wait a sec... OK, I went up to my husband's closet and pulled out his sand / champagne suit and quickly pulled together what I think he'd pair it with:
{{gwi:186825}}

Personally, I like the unopened shirt and the tie on the left, because I think he looks a little washed out without color close to his face. Your mileage may vary.

For "power dressing" the shirt should always be lighter in tone than the jacket. You can never go wrong with white. And if he is not gifted with a fabulous color sense, don't risk getting the wrong beige or cream to go with the sand colored suit.
And never ever wear a sport coat with suit pants...it looks mis-matched because the suit pants will be cut differently.
Does he own a sport coat? That might be better "suited" ( pun intended) for a job interview than a very light colored suit...I am picturing something very light, almost vanilla ice cream...is that so?
Depending on the cut of the jacket, he might be better wearing the suit jacket with a nice pair of dark grey dress slacks.
But I think a very very light colored suit in the middle of September is going to look a lot like a wedding. If he is seriously working his way up the ladder, he should consider dressing the part. A dark suit is very basic, goes anywhere and fits in.
Linda C

I agree with almost everyone else. Accessories can make or break a basic suit. Yes, you can also rent good suits even here in podunk. They can be found the same place one would rent a tux.

Here is also an outrageous suggestion. I have been in situations where my career wardrobe was totally unacceptable for a short term job or occasion and I didn't have the cash to invest in really good outfits. I have always believed that it's better to own a couple quality outfits than a whole closet full of boxstore "stuff". So, if I need one and can't afford one, I go to a good consignment shop or secondhand store. I know when my father died, he had four or five beautiful suits he had tailored just for himself in Singapore. Having nobody in our family whom they'd fit, they ended up in Goodwill. Somebody could have gotten several four hundred dollar suits, updated with just minor alterations for a couple of dollars each.

What colors suit your husband? That's a big piece for choosing shirt and tie colors.

Calliope's suggestion isn't at all outrageous. Since I work in administration with the equivalent of middle- to upper-level management, I asked 3 of my bosses what they would do in that situation, and one suggested renting while the other two suggested a high-quality thrift shop for a sport jacket to go with good slacks. Actually one of the latter told me that he *still* buys his jackets at the thrift shop! Navy was first choice for color, with medium to dark grey given as a distant second choice. (These guys may be ultra-conservative, so lighter colors may be acceptable in other businesses.) They all mentioned that a smile, clean breath, good haircut, careful shave, and shined shoes were of high importance in the impression given. Interestingly, every one pointed to both himself and another similarly dressed gentleman as wearing acceptable clothing for interviews, 4 sport coated and 2 suits.

Well,you sure have a lot of answers Kim. My only advice would be that if is going to wear his tan colored suit,definitely go with a white shirt and possibly a striped or patterned tie in some shades of brown and white..something subdued at any rate.Let us know what he decided to do. I know this suit isn't the right color but you can see how classy it looks with the right shirt.

{{gwi:186827}}

Since he is not used to wearing a coat, it will look better unbuttoned as he will probably forget to unbutton it when he sits down. It looks dorky when a man sits down with his suit coat or sport jacket buttoned. It takes a little practice to do it naturally......it's the same thing as women wearing high heels. They look odd if they aren't used to it.

Don't forget a nice looking belt.

And good luck!

I too was going to suggest a thrift shop. I knew someone who dressed very well in designer Good Will stuff. And not to leave a bad taste but a lot of communities have a thrift shop run by volunteers for the American Cancer society. And often when people die, boxes and boxes of good clothing are donated.
The trouble with renting a suit is it's often the same quality as a rental tux. Not the best.
Linda C

Good luck, good advice here from all.

If you lived close and he were Neil's size, he could
go through Neil's closet.

If he gets the job and starts his climb, make a list of
some things he will need for the future and add to his
closet, just the basics mind you. He will need a
good business suit, a sport coat, navy is best, some slacks
and a couple of dress shirts and ties, a nice pair of dress shoes.

Jan, I was going to say the same thing. All of DH's suits (and all of them were of the power variety because he wore them to court) just hang in the closet waiting for a wedding or a funeral.

Kim, youve gotten some good advice. I'd be sort of leery of the thrift shop, but would certainly investigate the rental option. You can't go wrong with a good navy or charcoal gray suit.

Thank you all. Up until now, all he's needed for work were Dockers - style slacks and the typical white business shirt for the times when he was doing substitute managing. Since that's what all the managers typically wear at work, we hadn't given a thought to the fact that more formal attire would be needed for meetings, etc.

The only reason he has a suit at all is because we got married last month and he needed a suit for the wedding. The sole consideration at that point was how well it coordinated with my dress. It was tailored to a perfect fit, though, and we pretty much outfitted him from the skin out, including socks, shoes, belt, shirt and tie. For the wedding, we went for a monochromatic look, but the white shirt is available, and we can manage to buy a new tie. (I was off on disability for 6 weeks before the wedding and still haven't received any of the payments due, so things are extremely tight here right now.) Now I have a better idea of what to look for when we go to get one.

Once we're back on our financial feet, I think an IBM power suit ought to be next on the wardrobe agenda. Our first shopping stops will be the Goodwill and Salvation Army shops as well as the consignment stores. I really appreciate all your help!