What a whore I am! I know full well this will up our search ratings because loads of people desperate to get into PR will look at it. Perhaps.

No matter, I have never been publicity-shy but this post is in response to many a recent incidence of sartorial indiscretion, compromise or tomfoolery, rather than with a purely commercial motivation, so I shall proceed.

It’s like this. The way people dress in PR has changed enormously in the past decade. In fact, the change really began in the mid-90s, when a few risque blokes would go to meetings without (SHOCK!) sporting a tie, following the business casual example set largely by the Silicon Valley set. For people going for an interview, making the right choice can pose something of a dilemma.

It didn’t used to be that way. Here’s a timeline of how things have changed in the world of the PR office wardrobe:

- 1980s: suits and ties for men, skirt suits with blouses or dresses and (often) killer heels for women. Just imagine eh?

- Early 1990s: men still largely as-was, apart from a dalliance with paisley prints on ties and a fashion for boldly-coloured shirts (and some suits too, though more in a that-detective-off-Midsomer-Murders way than an Ozwald Boateng way). Ladies still similar, but more evidence of trouser suits (actually this began at the back end of the 80s really)

- Mid-1990s: the transitional period. Men started to dip their toes into casual waters – often to hideous effect with offices awash with chinos, boating shoes and faded denim shirts. Women would have trouser suits or skirt suits for pitches and meetings, but mixed it up far more otherwise. Agencies would talk about having a casual dress policy and it did help in luring talent

- Late-1990s: confusion reigned. Men would typically stick on a suit and tie for pitches, but still even taking off a jacket in meetings could seem too informal. Women still had the ‘meeting suit’ left in the office (typically black or dark grey at that time, thanks a lot Ally McBeal) but would go for more daring dresses – by that I mean more eclectic/less conventionally business-like, rather than that showed your bits more

- Early 2000s: transition to a more commonly-accepted casual dress code largely completed. Jeans (shock!) began appearing on male and female legs. Less formal shoes became more common. Meetings still meant dressing up and most blokes still wore shirts, although some agencies accepted anything legal/moral

- Mid-2000s to today: most agencies accepted pretty much anything and casual became the norm, even for meetings. Even so, like going to a ‘wine bar’ in the country, some no-nos remain, such as trainers, tee-shirts and jeans aren’t always a good idea for first meetings. Equally, some more senior agency people can be too old for the things they attempt to wear to look casual, so should be mindful of that. The old rule of dress sort of like your clients does need loose interpretation, as often agencies are expected to appear more creative (although I’ve seen a few turn up looking like they worship at the altar of Sid Vicious, so common sense is always a good idea)

So there we go. A lot of change, and so a lot of confusion, and it must be tricky working out what to wear to interviews these days. I’ve seen all types in the past few years, so here are some tips on what to wear to a PR interview, at any level:

1. Find out what most people at the agency typically wear: that will give you an idea to base your wardrobe choices on. Photos of the staff on the web site can be a good indicator

2. Dress one level ‘above’ what you think you’d normally wear to work: best to be cautious, but not drift too far from the normal you

3. Focus on what’s going to make the lasting impression and do it right: jeans may be safe territory now but they won’t set you apart and neither will a shirt unless it is dazzling, but wear ‘bad’ shoes and they’ll stick out like a sore thumb, for example. Similarly with women, jewellery or accessories can be the stand-out if you’re worried that the top you were thinking of wearing might be a bit OTT

4. Yes to: smart pair of jeans, nice shirt, more casual shoes (for blokes). I appreciate if you’re entry level you aren’t going to have the money to spend on new clothes, but equally wearing a suit, shirt and tie that are obviously of the ‘my first suit, shirt and tie’ variety isn’t likely to win you brownie points any more. Suit and shirt without tie can be fine, but doesn’t really mark you out from the crowd

5. No to: trainers and tee-shirts (for first meeting at least), ladies’ suits that look too ‘librarian’

But most of all, if you remember nothing else, it it imperative not to go to a PR agency job interview looking like every other media hipster wannabe fool who hangs around Hoxton and, despite probable claims to the contrary, is utterly devoid of individuality. You might think you’ll look so edgy and alternative, but you’ll just look like all the rest of them. Bearing this in mind, here are the five things DEFINITELY not to wear to a PR agency job interview

1. Skinny hipster jeans, particularly black ones

2. Media specs

3. Black Converse high-tops (they may be classic, but you and the rest of your troupe are wearing the very same thing, so grow up and get some imagination please)

4. One of those stupid, floppy, short-backed, comb-over Hoxton haircuts

5. A scarf

At a time when PR is changing enormously, it doesn’t matter what people wear really (within reason) and more than anything else we need hard-workers with brainpower. But equally, don’t screw it up by trying to hard to look ‘media’.

And if you ride a fixie, do think twice before darkening my door.