Dress code
 

Hi there, my better half is flying out to Vancouver next Saturday to visit recruiters and cold call companies. We noticed when we were last there, although it was mid summer last year and stonkingly hot, that very few men wear suits. Could we have your advice please? Will a pair of smart trousers, shirt and tie suffice or should he wear a suit?

I know there's still a week to go but what's the weather forecast for the week ahead please?

Thanks!

Re: Dress code
 

If it's an interview - wear a suit.

If it's just informal chats over coffee - then smart will *probably* be ok; depending on the industry.

If it's something in between those two, then use your judgement. But it's better to be a little overdressed rather than under.

Generally though, hardly anyone wears a suit to work now-a-days. When I can be arsed to go into the office, I work in the businessy burrard/hastings/pender area of town - and seeing somebody wearing a suit is relatively rare.

Re: Dress code
 

Isn't the general rule to dress like your potential boss? However, unless you are 100% sure then

is pretty sound advice.

Re: Dress code
 

Thanks chaps, other half will take suit.....I suppose it's better to look smart...he can always take the jacket off and leave it in the car if he feels too stuffy.

What's the weather doing in Vancouver at the moment chaps?

Re: Dress code
 

This is the place to look: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cabc0308
There's current forecast, plus a 14 day trend near the bottom of the page.

Re: Dress code
 

Thanks AB....I will take a look although I'm loathe to believe what the weather people say.....they've been saying it's going to rain here for days and it's still very warm and sunny. :blink:

Re: Dress code
 

lol because it's so much more accurate asking people on an internet forum :rofl:

Hope the interviews go well :thumbup:

Re: Dress code
 

I get you ;). Mind you a local might be able to see what's actually outside their window....I tend to believe what's actually out there than what the weather peops say! Thanks for your good luck wishes:)

Re: Dress code
 

www.katkam.ca will help :)

Re: Dress code
 

Right now it's warm and sunny downtown

Re: Dress code
 

Thanks el richo, that's exactly the info we wanted to hear! Sounds pretty similar to Hampshire so at least it doesn't sound like he's got to pack a multitude of clothes for different weather. :thumbsup:

Re: Dress code
 

That's really great, thanks. Ain't technology great eh?!

Re: Dress code
 

You were asking for the forecast for the week ..... oh well.

Re: Dress code
 

Oh yes, so I did...... Sorry :o

Re: Dress code
 

I'm going to go against the grain a bit here. Very few people go to work or even interviews in suits. There are exceptions, like banking / some corporate.

While in Britain you can be judged by the cut of your suit, in Vancouver I believe you can kill the deal by over-dressing. I mean this with sincerity. Vancouverites are judgemental, and if wearing a suit is the done thing, they'll be every bit as shallow about this as their British counter-parts. However it's unusual to see a majority of people in suits, even in winter. I would say smart trousers, shirt and tie is more than enough, and it's rare to find people wearing a tie who are not wearing a suit, so he could probably safely dump that. He should, however, not dress down compared with how HE would be expected to dress in the job. So if he's going to be meeting big corporate clients, a nice quality suit would probably be necessary.

I started with a trendy Canadian company in 2005 and decided to 'play it safe' by going smart. At the very first meeting, I was mistaken by the company's client (dutch company) as the boss, and I got a sense that this was pissing off the actual boss who was also present. Not really my fault but a negative consequence of over-dressing. This must have been the male equivalent of the female phenomenon of wearing the same dress at a wedding, but with quite opposite reasons. I subsequently dressed down enough to not look too different, although avoided the snowboarder style which seemed to be the 'suit' of that company.