"We talk to students who say, `I like to wear six earrings, is that okay?'" Wright-Swadel says. "The answer is, `Sure, that's okay, but you have to understand that's going to make an impression to employers.' You have to understand that it might have consequences that you don't agree with."

Darling agrees that adjusting one's wardrobe to fit accepted standards is a given.

"Employers, before they even have the chance to decide if you're an intelligent person, have a chance to decide if you're serious about the impression that you'll make," Darling says.

Concerning the impact appearance can make on a potential employer, local business clothiers emphasized planning ahead.

"It's the most important thing," says Denis E. Black, manager at J. Press, a store which derives much business from outfitting Harvard corporate hopefuls. "The very first contact you have with a person is visual."

Black estimates that mannerisms, cleanliness and good taste in clothing accounts for 30 percent of interviewers' assessment of student candidates.

But will the dress code persist once an offer is made? Those in synch with the corporate world say stubborn dress codes in the recruiting process definitely reflect what will be expected even after the deciding handshake.

"When I look around in our business environment, most women wear suits or dresses," says Natasha Wolber, a market analyst at BMW of North America. Wolber notes that the dress code is not entirely voluntary, but more a product of corporate culture at-large.

"I think we're giving in to something society has created," she says, "It's an unspoken rule."

However, Wright-Swadel cautions that not all working environments require stuffy starched collars, and that part of finding the right job is finding the right work atmosphere.

"One of the things that is a misperception about appearance is that there is a single appearance that one must fit," he says. "If you're dressed in a three-piece business suit, and you walk into a day care center, you're probably not dressed for success in that environment."

Wright-Swadel concedes that few employers are looking for wildly eccentric dressers, but notes that developing interview outfits dramatically different from one's everyday attire may not help much in the long run.

"I think most employers are middle-of-the-road, conventional, because most of their business is such," he says. "If you really don't think you can dress the culture, then I think to go make something up and get the job isn't going to work."

Jeffrey J. Kagy, a staffing consultant at John Hancock, agrees.

"If there are two equally skilled employees, I would bet you that the one who is more conformist to what would be considered normal would get the job," he says.