Oh, it’s just something I do when I break people’s quotes into blocks. If you don’t include a name it doesn’t italicize the quote and it bothers me for some reason so I just type something in. I can’t remember his full username but when I quote the guy with Martini-something I quote him as Mr Martini. Wasn’t my intention to bother you.
The content of my response stands, however.
That’s $200 for four people. Not sure if that’s before taxes or tips, but it’s hardly outrageous.
This is one of those situations that is likely much harder for males. I can – and did – get away with the same dress at the aforementioned Bernardin (worth every penny, and I would have been mortified had I dressed down) and at a short-lived but very hot LES restaurant. I realized at the latter that turning away scruffy people wasn’t an option – too many turned out to be celebrities, under the baseball caps and beards.
Just curious. No big deal.
I don’t think it’s all that black and white. True, the restaurant is allowing the diners to dress down. But I reckon in a better economy, they’d turn away some diners they’re now letting in. Like the guy at the restaurant I went to recently for a friend’s surprise birthday- the 20-or-so invitees all dressed appropriately without guidance- guys in blazers and/or sweaters, women in skirts/dresses/slacks, no jeans among the group. Most other diners not associated with the party were dressed similarly. At the next table, however, was a group that were dressed appropriately for McDonald’s- two guys in baseball caps (which they didn’t remove), two girls in tank tops, all four in jeans.
I guess I recognize the restaurant’s need to keep the customer, but I think I’m justified in taking issue with the general mindset among many restaurant-goers that sloppy/casual is the default, and they’ll only dress up if absolutely necessary. Why do so many people insist on looking sloppy?
I also understand the need for comfortable clothing- traveling, for example. But are slacks and a blazer such a burden in a restaurant environment?
There will always be businesses around to cater to the rich.
90% of places have no dress code so that might explain why casual is the default.
Why would you do that? What will the grieving widow wear then?
ROLMAO
I honestly don’t get why people care about this sort of thing. As a child, I was taught to dress nicely for certain occasions. I was also taught not to worry about what other people were wearing. Standards were there for our own benefit, and were not there to judge other people.
Really, the only time I’d worry about it would be if there was too much skin showing, and that’s really more because of cultural mores regarding sexuality that I have, and that I acknowledge are entrenched in our society. But, really, I don’t see the difference between wearing a dress to a restaurant, wearing a blouse and khakis, or wearing a nice t-shirt and jeans combo. I mean, really, they all accomplish the same thing–I’m covered and clean.
That being said, if I go somewhere niceish, I’ll throw a long skirt on over the jeans, and I’ll wear a turtleneck instead of a t-shirt. I think it’s fucking stupid, but if I want to eat there, I’d rather not have my evening ruined by a bunch of class Nazis who care way the hell too much about what I’m wearing.
I once had 14 items and there were long lines (with very full carts) at all of the lanes except the “12 items and under” one, which was empty. I asked the checkout lady if I could come through her line and she said no. Bitch.
How would they ruin your evening? Does their caring somehow disrupt your dining experience?
Wow. Believe it or not, I’m going there tomorrow for dinner.
I shall report back.
MMM
I meant more that, if I’m going to a restaurant where that’s the rule, then I’ll follow it, because it’s easier than trying to create a ruckus just because I think it’s a stupid and pointless rule. Getting turned down for a table would ruin my evening pretty effectively 
And some people who aren’t even remotely rich enjoy dressing up on occasion.
It’s that pesky sense of shame. Funny how when you’re doing something vulgar sometimes you feel like people are judging you for being crass.
I love dressing up! Hell I wish there were Applebee’s-priced restaurants that required a jacket just so I’d be able to do it more often without looking out of place 
The majority of restaurants have decided that they’d rather not bother enforcing dress codes. It’s over. Society has changed. Move on. It’s time to stop basing your personal happiness on what other people wear.
Yes, it’s too hard for me to put on a blazer, because I don’t own a blazer, and I’m not going to go out and buy one if the place I’m going doesn’t require it.
If you want to exist in a world in which you can control the dress or race of everyone around you, go form your own private club with a strict dress code. (I suspect that even then you’re not going to find enough interest to make it a viable operation.)
But that world in which people “dress for dinner” except in a handful of super-exclusive expensive establishments? It’s long gone, dead, gone to meet its maker, joined the choir invisible. Get over it. If my jeans and sneakers bother you, then keep your eyes on your own soup. It’s none of your goddamn business what I’m wearing.
I believe country clubs still have a dress code but to join them you have to be pretty well off.
Threads like these are always a bit of a culture shock to me. I’ve lived most of my life in California and our standards of dress are probably a lot more casual than the rest of the states while our prices are a bit higher. Given these differences, it’s always really hard for me to understand the outrage over people not dressing up to your standards (they do seem to be meeting the restaurant’s standards).
My favorite local restaurant is a charming chef-owned place that charges about $20-30 a plate for dinner. Hardly anybody dresses up except for special prix-fixe meals during Valentine’s and Christmas and that’s because they’re on a date. For $50 a person, I would expect most places around here to be pretty casual about their dress code. Detroit might be another story though.
I do dress up a bit when I’m going to an “event” dinner since it’s fun and the atmosphere will be a bit classier but I can’t say that I would even notice other people who aren’t dressed up nor would it diminish my enjoyment of the event. Honestly, anyone who did care would probably have an aneurysm here since the rich seems to be just as sloppy* as the rest of us.
*sloppy here meaning clean jeans and t-shirt.
I assume that your intention here is to insinuate that people who would prefer that you make yourself presentable for the occasion must also be racist? Cute.
Especially because I’ve noticed that African-Americans are less likely to dress like slobs than white folks.