Whatever happened to "coat and tie required"?

[Matt Crunk]

Do any restaurants still have dress codes any more?

I remember as a young kid going out with my folks to restaurants, and a good many of them were "coat and tie required" places. Now days we're lucky to find "shirt and shoes required"

I enjoy causal dining as much as the next guy, but it sort of lessens the experience of having a $40 steak, when seated at the next table are people in t-shirts, flip-flops, and a ball cap (which they don't even bother to remove during the meal), and it's all viewed a perfectly acceptable - which it may be at a beach-side burger joint. But I'm talking four star restaurants here.

I eat at some pretty fancy (read expensive) places, and none that I know of enforce a dress code beyond "shirt and shoes required". What has society come to?

 

[Nick D]

No coat and tie places where I grew up. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island requires a suit in the evening.

 

[Shangas]

No places that I've been to ever had any kind of dress-code. If they did, the closest I ever saw was "smart casual". Which translates to - "no jeans, no shorts, no flipflops, no T-shirts and nothing with logos on it".

Even the most expensive hotels and restaurants in town don't have them...dress-codes, I mean. I think its closely related to the fact that these days, you'd be lucky to find the average man wearing a suit in everyday life.

 

[dhermann1]

The Atheneum Hotel

Even the old Atheneum Hotel in Chautauqua Institution (1882) no longer requires jackets and ties from gentlemen. I will never not wear a jacket and tie there, ever ever ever.

 

[Cricket]

There are no strict dress codes where I live. However, when my husband and I go to eat at a nice restaurant we tend to dress nice. It adds to the experience, and I agree, If I am paying for a nice meal, I plan to look the part.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Depend where I go, but, yes.

 

[Foofoogal]

http://www.grandhotel.com/maindiningroom.html
http://www.grandhotel.com/

Gentlemen still have to dress here. The one hotel I want to go to one day though the one you post dhermann1 is gorgeous also.

The Grand Hotel is the one Jane Seymour pranced around in Somewhere in Time.

Evening Attire

The Grand Hotel experience includes dressing for dinner. Evening wear is required in all areas of the hotel: coat and tie for gentlemen, and dresses or pantsuits for ladies.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Town clubs still have dress codes. You'll have to join one, I guess. [huh]


.

 

[avedwards]

I'm guessing the Ritz Hotel in London has a smart dress code (if you can afford it).

And at Lords Cricket Ground to enter the Pavillion a tie and jacket are required. My father was denied entrance once for only having a shirt and tie with no jacket. Not a restaurant, but at least it has a proper dress code.

 

[Paisley]

Town clubs still have dress codes. You'll have to join one, I guess. [huh]


.

I think the University Club in Denver requires a coat and tie. You have to be a member or a guest, though.

 

[PADDY]

Even Claridges in London...

When I met Edward for cocktails in the Cigar Bar of Claridges, there were people milling about in open shirts and jeans [huh]

I honestly thought that 'Claridges' of all places would have a strict dress code, but then again, it's the colour of your money they want to see, not the cut of your suit and tie (anymore..alas).

But, as Marc C. pointed out, many of the Gentleman's Clubs still have a jacket and tie code and the one I go to when I'm in my home town definitely does - long may it continue.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I think the University Club in Denver requires a coat and tie. You have to be a member or a guest, though.

Good point. You don't have to become a member -- you can just make friends with members who will invite you to lunch or dinner at the club.

.

 

[Matt Crunk]

the closest I ever saw was "smart casual". Which translates to - "no jeans, no shorts, no flipflops, no T-shirts and nothing with logos on it".

Someone of authority on here should post a concise primer on the different levels of American dress code: casual, semi-casual, smart casual, business casual, business informal, informal, semi-formal, formal, etc. It'd be an interesting read, and would make a great sticky.

(if this has been covered before, please point me to it)

 

[Paisley]

The only problem is that it varies from place to place and with socioeconomic levels. If you want to fit in, the best thing to do is ask the host or restaurant manager what most people wear.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Someone of authority on here should post a concise primer on the different levels of American dress code: casual, semi-casual, smart casual, business casual, business informal, informal, semi-formal, formal, etc. It'd be an interesting read, and would make a great sticky.

(if this has been covered before, please point me to it)

No small request, that.


Below is the (2005) dress code of the Jonathan Club, one of Los Angeles's most prestigious business/town clubs.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

When I met Edward for cocktails in the Cigar Bar of Claridges, there were people milling about in open shirts and jeans [huh]

I honestly thought that 'Claridges' of all places would have a strict dress code, but then again, it's the colour of your money they want to see, not the cut of your suit and tie (anymore..alas).

Well when I took my boyfriend to Claridge's for Afternoon Tea last week, he did, I admit, wear jeans and an open shirt. But A. this was tea not dinner and b. in his very well cut clothes he always looks impeccably smart. However, halfway through our tea, he discovered extremely fresh gum stuck to his leg, from underneath the table. IMO, that speaks volumes more about the bad-mannered people that go to these sorts of places now than people's choce of outfit.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I'm fairly certain Le Cirque here in NYC still requires gentlemen to wear jackets.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

For example the '21' Club is very explicit:

Attire/Dress Code

Bar Room, Upstairs at '21', Cocktail Lounge & Wine Cellar: Jeans and sneakers are not permitted. Jackets are necessary for gentlemen with ties preferred at dinner.

It truly enhances the experience. The ambiance and the way you are treated. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

I cook all the time at home so... don't like to eat out much at all.. I feel another empanada attack coming, in fact

A dress code makes it all worth it.

 

[Feraud]

At least the sign doesn't say "coat and tie prohibited".

 

[dhermann1]

Speaking of gum (OT)

Well when I took my boyfriend to Claridge's for Afternoon Tea last week, he did, I admit, wear jeans and an open shirt. But A. this was tea not dinner and b. in his very well cut clothes he always looks impeccably smart. However, halfway through our tea, he discovered extremely fresh gum stuck to his leg, from underneath the table. IMO, that speaks volumes more about the bad-mannered people that go to these sorts of places now than people's choce of outfit.

My mother acquired a pair of seats from the old Metropolitan Opera House when it was torn down in 1966. When she received them, she discovered a wad of gum, (it looked like Dentine), stuck to the bottom of the seat. This was 43 years ago, and it was a Metropolitan Opera House seat. [huh]
Shows to go you.