Dressing for job interviews in L.A.

One word: conservative. This means donning a dark, well-cut suit for guys, a skirt-suit or pantsuit for gals and black, polished dress shoes for all (and guys, skip the unflattering sneaker-loafer hybrids from brands such as Skechers and invest in a good pair of black lace-ups). The dreaded nude pantyhose would be in order for women. But a briefcase on the first interview was deemed unnecessary -- and might even come off as an affectation.

The days of dressing casually in the banking business "never were," noted McCullough, who also wears suits on the weekend out of habit.

A senior manager at a major international financial services firm in L.A., who was only permitted to comment anonymously, said anything other than a plain black suit -- for men and women -- would be inappropriate for an interview at his company. "We all wear black suits and blue shirts," he said. "It shows that you understand the corporate culture if you dress the same."

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High-level sales, marketing and real estate

Sartorial codes tend to be slightly less rigid in these pressure-cooker fields -- but not by much. Jay Luchs, executive vice president of commercial real estate and office leasing company CB Richard Ellis, said he likes to see men interview in suits -- any dark hue will do -- and women in skirts with blouses or dresses and heels.

"The Internet days changed things big time for a lot of people," he noted. "People were dressed more casually for a while. Now they're going back to realizing it might be better to show up dressed more 'business attire.' It shows you're more serious."

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Creative fields

Fashion, publishing, architecture, graphic design and lifestyle public relations firms usually boast more lax dress codes. The general rule is that the more creative the job (think fashion designer, graphic artist), the more liberties you can take when dressing for the big interview. And showing that you're in the dark regarding certain fashion nuances is more likely to count against you in these visually driven industries.

Tammy Hammond, director of recruiting for action sports brand Quiksilver -- where the top execs wear flip-flops to shareholder meetings -- said, "Professional means something else to us. If you show up in a suit, it's apparent that you don't understand the culture. And for us, cultural fit is 80% of what we're looking for. There are a lot of people who can do the job."