What Do You Do If You're Not Sure What to Wear to an Investigation?

Natalie Lynch is your credentialed investigator and licensed attorney, not a vlogger.

What do you do if you're not sure what to wear to an investigation?

So, there are some practical things you need to consider. We used to do a lot of work in foundries, and we had to wear steel-toed shoes, which don't go well with business suits all that often. And so we kind of had to accommodate that. In that same environment, we had to wear cotton and cotton blends. And so again, a polyester suit doesn't go well with that. And so we had to make some accommodations. 

But, generally speaking, the rule I grew up with was: wear three pieces. So pants or a skirt, a jacket, a vest, something – as long as you had three pieces to it. So maybe a nice shirt and a scarf with a pair of pants would be three. That was the rule I grew up with.

We always looked like the FBI when we were showing up. So it's certainly not “Show up with curly hair like this!” I think some of that has become relaxed as the workplace overall has become more relaxed. I don't know if I'd wear a purple jacket to an interview. 

It probably depended on the employer. If I'm going to a tech startup, this is going to be the most conservative thing in the building. And so maybe that is okay. If I'm going into a bank, I'm definitely wearing black. It's just how it is. 

I think you want to always be physically conservative. So I'm not going to show a lot of skin. You do need to think about the fact that you'll be leaning over to write. And so, women, take care not to show too much with your shirt. That becomes an issue with investigations. And other than that, I think you dress conservative, and you just try to not be the thing to talk about in the office.

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