Finding the right suit is no small matter. It can land you a dream job, make you look serious and sophisticated, intimidate an ex-boyfriend and get you a promotion.

Black suits are timeless, sleek and, well, bo-ring. You’ll get major Shebrew admiration and bonus points if you manage to find one that’s not black. Colors to consider: charcoal grey, dark navy, very dark purple or burgundy. When buying a suit, be very critical. The sleeves must reach the spot where your thumb meets the palm of your hand – anything shorter than that will look too short when you move your arms. Button up the jacket, even if you never wear it like that – there must be no gaps between the buttons and fabric in the front should be smooth. If you’re busty, try look for the ones that button on the highest point of your bust – anything higher will make your breasts look like a shelf, anything lower will wrinkle the jacket open.

When it comes to pants there are several things you should be checking in the dressing room. Ideally you should try on pants with both flat shoes and heels. For those of us that have full time jobs and limited time to spend trying on shoes in a dressing room, try sitting down and standing up to make sure the pants never ride up too high. While a flattering fit is a true blessing, if you plan to wear the pants to work, one should not be able to tell all anatomical details of your butt in those pants. Or in any pants, for that matter.

Suits with skirts are a little trickier to wear than pantsuits. If you’re shorter than 5″5, stick to pants if you can get away with it. If you must wear a skirt, choose one that falls right at the knee and pair it up with tall boots with just a little skin showing in between. You want to keep the lines long and straight. Skirts that are too long may look frumpy. Skirts that are too short are just generally not a good idea.

What to wear under the suit

A nice button-down shirt for dressier occasions, a crewneck for every day. Try experimenting with scarves – those French women know what they’re doing. Make sure you have nice sleeveless or short-sleeved tops for warmer days.

Accessories

When you have an interview for your dream job, as a general rule, you don’t want your perspective employer to remember your earrings better than they remember you. A low-key necklace, however, is always a plus. Try small pendants, medium-size beads or small pearls. After all, as my dear friend Leah says, “every day is a day for pearls”. And she does have a point there.

You have to have at least one quality pair of black or brown shoes for every season. Keep in mind great stores like DSW and Filene’s Basement. On-line check out zappos.com – they have customer reviews for the shoes they sell, and free shipping, and great return policy!

One great bag is a must. Saving on leather (or pleather) is generally never a good idea – the gentle material demands proper handling, and the cheap ones always look, well, cheap.

And finally, one last important point:

Never, ever leave the house with chapped nail polish. When you don’t have time to do your nails take advantage of Neutrogena’s Nail Enhancer – it goes on clear, dries in a second and washes off in about 24 hours. I reapply it on my way to work and couldn’t be happier.