Speaking of colors and job applications and interviews...
In the mid-1970s, I took a graduate-level course in career transition offered at the Pentagon targeting the men about to retire from the military and seeking a new career in the corporate world. The class was about 400 people that took place in an auditorium and I was one of the three students that were not in the military. Nearly every session featured a guest teacher with a highly accomplished career in the private sector.
The class explaining how and why to dress a particular way for a job interview was taught by the CEO of a local, well-known men's clothing store that sold only very high-end clothing. He explained that a person's first impression of another person is visual; we see people before we ever hear them speak or see them do anything. He also explained that the first impression for most people really is a lasting impression that is difficult to overcome and that, for all of those reasons, it is really important to wear ideal clothing anytime we're trying to impress someone, make a presentation, etc., etc.
The teacher was wearing a navy blue suit, white shirt and red tie ( just like all the IBM male executives and salespeople wore at the time and maybe still do). He explained that that was the ideal interview clothing for men. That's because in most people's minds a dark suit establishes that the person is an authority in his area of expertise; the white shirt establishes credibility and honesty; and the red tie establishes assertiveness. The murmurs and scoffing throughout the auditorium strongly indicated that the students, of whom 99% of them were wearing military uniforms, didn't buy a word of it.
Once that night's class was about halfway done, everyone took the usual 15-minute break and returned to their seats. When the teacher appeared on the stage again, much to everyone's surprise, he was no longer wearing the same suit. Though he was again wearing perfectly tailored clothing, this time the suit was beige with a shirt and tie that impeccably complemented the outfit. The silence in the auditorium was deafening. That's because everyone realized the teacher no longer looked like an authority on his subject and no longer looked impressive.
