One of the models, James Sawabini (a 21-year-old sophomore at Duke University), looked like he was on his way to meet the commodore of the Greenwich Yacht Club, as opposed to, say, the dean of admissions at nearby Fairfield University. He was dressed in navy-and-white seersucker shorts, a yellow polo shirt with a “royal mending accent on the collar,” a cream-colored, zip-up cardigan sweater and moccasins with no socks. (The price tag at Rugby: over $250.)
Shannon Duff is an independent college admissions consultant in Greenwich, Conn., who charges families “in the range of ” $15,000 for the full breadth of her advice about the application process.
But on Wednesday night at the Rugby by Ralph Lauren Polo store on Greenwich Avenue, Ms. Duff staged a mini-fashion show, free of charge, showcasing “looks” that she and the store manager were recommending for on-campus interviews.
I’d like to be able to tell readers of The Choice that this presentation was done with tongue somewhat in cheek, but that was not the case. Before the show, I’d asked Ms. Duff, 31, who has both a bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. from Yale, for any “do’s and don’t’s” regarding dressing for an interview. She was emphatic, for example, that jeans were “a no-no,” and that appearing “neat” and “not sloppy,” while still showing a flash of “your own style,” was key.
After the show, I suggested to Ms. Duff that nearly every outfit — not least Mr. Sawabini’s shorts — had seemed in violation of at least one of her guidelines, the one about the skin. No, Ms. Duff insisted, many of these outfits were appropriate for summer on-campus interviews — whether with an admissions officer, or, as is often the case, a student working in the admissions office.
