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Restaurants with Dress Codes: Take Back The Night!

mkarim

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Originally Posted by presence
What a snobbish thread. You people make me sick.

Yes but you secretly love it and keep looking at it... :)
 

EBugatti

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Originally Posted by presence
What a snobbish thread. You people make me sick.

Are you sure you joined the right forum?
confused.gif
 

celeste_pista

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Originally Posted by hermes man
well said
devil.gif


congrats hermes man, this ^ is your first borderline intelligent post.

--------------------------------

shifting to the op...i don't care what others wear as long as they dress well. problem with this in practice is that establishments attempt to implement with categorical filters like no sneakers, no jeans, and jacket required. which is ineffective at best. only policy of that sort I support is no shirt, no shoes, no service. my $.02
 

RSS

Stylish Dinosaur
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nvm / duplicate post
see below
 

RSS

Stylish Dinosaur
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Originally Posted by presence
You guys make me look bad when I'm seated next to you and wearing my ratty old jeans.
Now, isn't that what you really meant to say.
devil.gif


As far as my dressing for dinner ... I've done it since childhood. I'm not sure how that is snobbish. I haven't changed in imitation of others ... and I don't do it to make you feel bad about yourself ... or to make you feel sick. I do it because I'm comfortable doing it. If you feel sick because of that ... that is YOUR problem.
 

The False Prophet

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I am happy to say that I wore a coat to breakfast the other day. With shorts and espadrilles, no less.

But, this aside, I like the idea that there are places you can go, and count on some degree of formality or style. This said, I'm not sure a dress code is the way to enforce it - everyone has a tie somewhere, and unstylish people looking uncomfortable in ugly ties does not a classy joint make.
 

Beaune Head

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Originally Posted by The False Prophet
But, this aside, I like the idea that there are places you can go, and count on some degree of formality or style. This said, I'm not sure a dress code is the way to enforce it - everyone has a tie somewhere, and unstylish people looking uncomfortable in ugly ties does not a classy joint make.

If you look at it a certain way, dressing well when you go to a restaurant creates a de facto dress code. Other patrons will certainly notice, and think about what they themselves are wearing and the impression they make, and maybe next time they will upgrade.
 

RSS

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Originally Posted by Beaune Head
If you look at it a certain way, dressing well when you go to a restaurant creates a de facto dress code. Other patrons will certainly notice, and think about what they themselves are wearing and the impression they make, and maybe next time they will upgrade.
No ... the dress will only continue to move in a more casual direction. This is why we now have dress codes at certain restaurants. After all, there was once a time when dress codes weren't needed ... people simply knew to dress. But there came a point in time this was no longer true.

Of course, things are much more democratic today and that is good. There was also a time that certain classes -- no matter how they were dressed -- knew they were unwelcome at most fine restaurants.
 

ktrp

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Originally Posted by The False Prophet
I am happy to say that I wore a coat to breakfast the other day. With shorts and espadrilles, no less.

But, this aside, I like the idea that there are places you can go, and count on some degree of formality or style. This said, I'm not sure a dress code is the way to enforce it - everyone has a tie somewhere, and unstylish people looking uncomfortable in ugly ties does not a classy joint make.


To be honest, I disagree. The fact that 'unstylish people look uncomfortable in ugly ties' is a recent, and pathetic phenomenon. The establishment of a dress code is intended to create a simple benchmark for dress, especially for men. The more stylish may add flourishes or details which improve the look. The wealthier may opt for higher quality fabrics, designers, etc. There was however a time when your average middle class american male was quite capable of showing up in a suit and tie. Perhaps it wasn't saville row bespoke, perhaps it wasn't a handmade 7 fold tie, but he could show up and look _respectable_.

Focusing _purely_ on style with no regard to 'appropriateness' is not democratizing, in fact I'd say it tends to lead to the opposite. Where the requirement of a 'suit' is realizable by most people, I'd say that many trendy places have now moved in a new direction - utterly any expensive outfit is deemed good. $400 jeans = no problem. I realize 'style' can be had at moderate expense by some, but for most people, we've dumped formality at the expense of pure brand whoring.
 

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Originally Posted by ktrp
Focusing _purely_ on style with no regard to 'appropriateness' is not democratizing, in fact I'd say it tends to lead to the opposite. Where the requirement of a 'suit' is realizable by most people, I'd say that many trendy places have now moved in a new direction - utterly any expensive outfit is deemed good. $400 jeans = no problem. I realize 'style' can be had at moderate expense by some, but for most people, we've dumped formality at the expense of pure brand whoring.
I'm proud to say I don't own a pair of $400 jeans ... nor $200 ... nor $100. While my suits are bespoken on Savile Row ... my jeans are of the simple variety ... intended to hold-up while laboring.

What is brand whoring? If one has no designer labels in his wardrobe ... does that mean he is free of this charge?
 

sellahi22

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Originally Posted by sw20
Who are the world's wealthiest guys and what's their daily office attire?

Neither tech kings in SiliconValley (even elderly guys like Jobs or Ellison) nor most <50yo hedge fund kings in MidtownManhattan or Greenwich or SF (or London) ever wear ties to office, let alone to dinner...ties are for low-income Luddites mired in 20th century attire....even jackets are largely ornamental as wealthy traders or engineers don't wear jackets while at their desk nor while driving self to office/dinner in own Mercedes 65 (not via dumpy S550 or cab or mass transit or walking)

At Daniel/Per Se, etc those wearing ties are almost always codgers and/or lower-income salesguys of some sort (i.e., investment bankers, CEOs, lawyers, media execs, etc)


^^ great poster. a little autistic and one-dimensional, maybe, but he usually says the truth.

Hardly any of the jackets-only restaurants in NYC are very interesting to me except as places to take my parents/relatives or on a generic special occasion (per se is an exception). With friends I strongly prefer to go to places with a more modern, creative, lively vibe. I like wearing jacket/tie and, all things equal, I would prefer that everyone else wear a jacket/tie, but I think that if my favorite restaurants started imposing a policy, they would soon become as stuffy/boring/geriatric as le cirque, la grenouille, four seasons, etc.
 

wfwalsh

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I recently saw an ad from the Prime Rib in D.C. promoting its new jacket-not-required policy. It's kind of sad.
 

Fred H.

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Originally Posted by sellahi22
^^ great poster. a little autistic and one-dimensional, maybe, but he usually says the truth.
I suspect that some SF members with autistic family members would take offense at this particular comment. I'm one of the least PC guys you'll ever meet, but I know from firsthand experience that autism is one of the saddest lifelong conditions on the planet.
 

Metlin

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I was with a client at one of the nicer restaurants in Dallas tonight for dinner -- Abacus. Nothing outrageous, but definitely one of the better ones in town. Anyway, out of curiosity (remembering this thread), I looked around the crowd and noticed that at least 60% of the men around me were in jackets, and most of them in ties. The women were equally well attired. Curiously, I was in dark "dressy" jeans, OCBD shirt and an argyle sweater with some brogues, and even the big poobah partner there was in jeans and a dress shirt (we were with a client whose dress code is extremely casual). I also realized that of those who did not have a jacket on, most of the rest were similarly attired as us (30%, maybe). Weirdly enough, even the ones in "casual" outfits were well put together. No sneakers, no ill fitting polo shirts etc. Although there were some obvious (and fake) bleach blondes, but I'll let that pass since this was the South (and because that's neither here nor there). Anyway, the food, the wine, and the wait staff at Abacus were clearly designed to serve a different audience, and it was telling. This was in contrast with my lunch experience today at another relatively nice restaurant called Patrizio's -- it's a decent place, but nothing outstanding. However, everything from the food to the wine to the demeanor of the wait staff were a couple of notches below Abacus, and this was clearly reflected in the dress code. And ironically, we saw a gentleman pull up in an Aston Martin DB9 to the valet, and let's just say that the wait staff was better dressed than him. Something to think about.
 

TheWraith

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Originally Posted by Metlin
I was with a client at one of the nicer restaurants in Dallas tonight for dinner -- Abacus. Nothing outrageous, but definitely one of the better ones in town.

Anyway, out of curiosity (remembering this thread), I looked around the crowd and noticed that at least 60% of the men around me were in jackets, and most of them in ties. The women were equally well attired.

Curiously, I was in dark "dressy" jeans, OCBD shirt and an argyle sweater with some brogues, and even the big poobah partner there was in jeans and a dress shirt (we were with a client whose dress code is extremely casual). I also realized that of those who did not have a jacket on, most of the rest were similarly attired as us (30%, maybe).

Weirdly enough, even the ones in "casual" outfits were well put together. No sneakers, no ill fitting polo shirts etc. Although there were some obvious (and fake) bleach blondes, but I'll let that pass since this was the South (and because that's neither here nor there).

Anyway, the food, the wine, and the wait staff at Abacus were clearly designed to serve a different audience, and it was telling.

This was in contrast with my lunch experience today at another relatively nice restaurant called Patrizio's -- it's a decent place, but nothing outstanding. However, everything from the food to the wine to the demeanor of the wait staff were a couple of notches below Abacus, and this was clearly reflected in the dress code.

And ironically, we saw a gentleman pull up in an Aston Martin DB9 to the valet, and let's just say that the wait staff was better dressed than him.

Something to think about.


Not really. Style/sartorial standards etc. have dropped in recent times, and most restaurants reflect that as much as any other part of society does. Nothing to think about, just the way it is.
 

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