Clothes for the Job Interview – Avoid Visible Sweat Marks

Short answer: Visible perspiration marks at a job interview are best avoided with a moisture moving layer next to the skin. A bamboo vest or T-shirt under the shirt takes up and spreads the moisture before it reaches the outer layer, so you can concentrate on the conversation instead of your armpits.

Why do you perspire more at an interview?

Nerves activate the body's perspiration, especially in the palms and the armpits. You cannot think your way out of that, but you can dress for it. The answer is layering with the right materials, and it works better than any attempt to relax on command.

The innermost layer makes the difference

Bamboo viscose can take up large amounts of moisture and lead it away from the skin. A close fitting bamboo vest for men or bamboo vest for women under the shirt catches perspiration before it comes through and spreads it over a larger area so it can evaporate.

Choose the right colours

Very pale and very dark colours hide moisture best, while grey and pale blue reveal the most. A grey shirt is the worst choice for an interview, because wet grey fabric turns almost black. White is safe as long as it is clean, and navy is safe all day.

Avoid dense synthetic fabrics

A dense synthetic outer layer traps heat and makes the problem worse, because the moisture cannot escape. A breathable bamboo T-shirt for men or a bamboo shirt for men is the safer choice, and the difference shows after twenty minutes in a closed meeting room.

Dress for the room, not the weather

The interview happens indoors, often in a small room with several people. Dress for the temperature of the room rather than the weather outside, and let the jacket be the layer you can take off. A jacket that has to stay on throughout is a poor choice whatever the fabric.

Arrive in good time

The body needs ten to fifteen minutes to cool down after a walk or a bike ride. Arrive early enough to sit still for a quarter of an hour. That does more against perspiration marks than any deodorant, and it costs only an earlier departure from home.

Bring a spare layer

Put a clean vest in your bag. If there is time, it can be changed in a toilet just before the interview, and then you start dry. It is the same solution used on long working days, and the rest of the wardrobe is under bamboo for men.

After the interview

Wash the vest and the shirt the same day, while the perspiration still sits loosely in the fibres. Deodorant and perspiration left to dry in turn into yellow marks over a few weeks. It is not the quality of the shirt that decides this, but how quickly it is washed. See also bamboo and temperature regulation.