What is appropriate dress?

[Kass]

Hubby and I are coming to NO in August. He will bring only shorts, although nice shorts and shirts, no cut-off jeans and tank tops! It is, after all, a vacation, and he refuses to bring dress shirts, pants, jacket, etc. What restaurants do we need to avoid due to dress code?
Thanks for any help.

[café au lait]

Although I notice that dress codes have lightened up a bit, upscale places, especially those where men must wear jackets would be out for you: Galatoire's, Antoine's, Arnaud's - the list is too long to list them all - anywhere fancy obviously. Otherwise, you should be good to go. You will see people who are not appropriately dressed, even for casual places, but I guess that happens everywhere now.

Welcome and have a great time when you get here!

[Admin]

It has always seemed that N.O. is a place you can get away with dressing more casually than you would in comparable establishments elsewhere in the country. A nice oxford shirt, khakis, & loafers w/o socks would get you in even more places than you'd imagine without so much as a raised eyebrow.

[dragongrrl]

Especially at lunch.

[café au lait]

A nice oxford shirt, khakis, & loafers w/o socks would get you in even more places than you'd imagine without so much as a raised eyebrow.

Good point Admin. I was answering based on her point that her husband would be bringing ONLY shorts. I agree with Admin in that if you'd like to go to any of the nicest restaurants, pack a pair of khakis and shirt.

[jodyrah]

Don't plan on dining at any of our finer restaurants in shorts. Definitely pack some khakis and if not an oxford, then a nice collared polo. Although it is pretty casual here, it's not the beach. Thanks for coming and enjoy!

[bam bam]

And as we all know, men look nothing short of fabulous in a tuxedo.

[edible complex]

many sightings of men in shorts at One R&L last night.

[Pelican Six]

Those are the phone calls I dread - "what's the dress code?" Because it always seems to be couched in terms of "How sloppy can I dress?"

What I tell people is that dress is Business Casual. Invariably, I have to explain that it means coat and tie are not required. Also invariably, I am asked if shorts are okay, with the kicker that they are "nice" shorts.

Look, if you are headed to any restaurant where you place your order at a counter, or at which the majority of the proteins on the menu are fried, come with a side of french fries, or consist of ground meat, wear whatever you want.

NOW, HAVING SAID THAT... I realize that the current trend is to treat every occasion the same in terms of dress. As a child, wearing shorts to Mass would have been unthinkable. And yet, you see it all the time today. It's hard to turn people away for improper dress at the door, especially when you need the business. Usually I rush them to their table as quickly as possible so their legs are under the tablecloth.:)

It's only happened once, but I recently had a man find me at the bar and apologize for his dress and say that he was really embarassed. I wanted to pick him up and spin him around. But I didn't.

I realize it's as hot as Satan's arse in New Orleans in the summer. During the day, I also dress like Ernest P. Dufflebag. But put on some pants and a decent shirt for dinner - if the place is nice enough to require them, they'll have air conditioning. I keep the place at 73 degrees - I don't like to sweat, either!

[edible complex]

It's hard to turn people away for improper dress at the door, especially when you need the business. Usually I rush them to their table as quickly as possible so their legs are under the tablecloth.:)


at least you are not putting decades old spongy jackets on men folks without coats!

[Hadacol]

I pretty much fall into the category of "just because they'll let you in, begrudingly, dressed like you should be standing in line at Cafe du Monde with a stroller" doesn't mean that the other diners, many of whom are having special occasions, etc., are going to like it or think that it's right.

It's pretty easy to dress acceptably in almost any situation with a minimum of packing. I travel more or less for a living, alot anyway, and while what I do doesn't call for wearing business suits, I often need a decent jacket at night for dinner or parties or whatever. I don't like to pack alot, and so if I have to take one, I might as well take one that I can wear with anything and that is relatively bulletproof, in terms of cleaning (it goes in the washer-really) I have a number of them, but in the summer, if I am traveling anywhere warm, I have a couple of versions of this. It doesn't increase the size of my carryon luggage as I like to wear it when I fly because there are LOTS of pockets and it makes moving through airports and not digging in bags much easier. Anyway, I am a big fan of these things (http://www.travelsmith.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1607&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C251%2C356&iProductID=1607&sortBy=0).
Also, if you have to pack the thing, it will straighten out as soon as you shake out the wrinkles.

Anyway, people going into places where they are supposed to dress up should at least try to look decent. Remember those great jackets at Commander's that they used to make people wear when they showed up without one. What lovely plaid!

[Pelican Six]

After at least minutes of thought, I have decided to go in another direction. Those showing up in inappropriate attire will be given the choice of returning at another time dressed properly, or they can don the Beige Unitard of Shame...

http://www.pinkgodzillagames.com/news/Tron.Guy.jpg

[bam bam]

There were two guys in plaid sports coats at MiLa on Saturday. These jackets are so loud, that I heard them parking my car on Carondelet St.

[Schuarta]

Please, when dining (I said dining, not gobbling a hot dog or such) leave the baseball cap or John Deere cap back in your hotel room! :D

[PNG]

If you use opentable.com, they usually have the restaurant dress code posted on the information page. I enjoy dressing up to dine, but I also enjoy not dressing up to dine. I usually follow the rules of courtesy in regards to this, though my Sweetie gave me the evil eye all night for wearing shorts to La Crepe Nanou once. Personnally, I do not care what other people wear to dine. My only annoyance with dining in a jacket is during the winter in NYC where the thermostats at many fine dining restaurants are set at 283 degrees and there I sit with undershirt, shirt, jacket and tie on sweating like crazy!

[peychaud]

There were two guys in plaid sports coats at MiLa on Saturday. These jackets are so loud, that I heard them parking my car on Carondelet St.

Were you there for lunch or dinner? I think at least one of the plaid sports coat guys at dinner was affiliated with Tales of the Cocktail, so it might have had something to do with that.

[bam bam]

Dinner. I don't know but at first I thought it was former University of Houston Basketball Coach Guy Lewis.

[Turbodog]

Dinner. I don't know but at first I thought it was former University of Houston Basketball Coach Guy Lewis.


Was he with C.M. Newton?

[BTG]

Those are the phone calls I dread - "what's the dress code?" Because it always seems to be couched in terms of "How sloppy can I dress?"

What I tell people is that dress is Business Casual. Invariably, I have to explain that it means coat and tie are not required. Also invariably, I am asked if shorts are okay, with the kicker that they are "nice" shorts.

Look, if you are headed to any restaurant where you place your order at a counter, or at which the majority of the proteins on the menu are fried, come with a side of french fries, or consist of ground meat, wear whatever you want.

NOW, HAVING SAID THAT... I realize that the current trend is to treat every occasion the same in terms of dress. As a child, wearing shorts to Mass would have been unthinkable. And yet, you see it all the time today. It's hard to turn people away for improper dress at the door, especially when you need the business. Usually I rush them to their table as quickly as possible so their legs are under the tablecloth.:)

It's only happened once, but I recently had a man find me at the bar and apologize for his dress and say that he was really embarassed. I wanted to pick him up and spin him around. But I didn't.

I realize it's as hot as Satan's arse in New Orleans in the summer. During the day, I also dress like Ernest P. Dufflebag. But put on some pants and a decent shirt for dinner - if the place is nice enough to require them, they'll have air conditioning. I keep the place at 73 degrees - I don't like to sweat, either!


Hope I did not offend with our first visit there last month. I called and asked the girl who answered the phone if jeans and nice shirts would be fine and she said sure no problem.

I was dying to get to your restaurant, but my wife had been through a rough day at the office and wanted to get into some jeans so she could relax. It was at that point she was going to be happy going to II Tony's or the mexican joint by the house. I convinced her that we needed to go to a nice restaurant and she relented with the stipulation that she could wear jeans.
It was a week night and the weather was bad, so I figured what the heck.

Knowing what I know now about how nice your place is, I probably would not go that route again.

[edible complex]

Hope I did not offend with our first visit there last month. I called and asked the girl who answered the phone if jeans and nice shirts would be fine and she said sure no problem.

I was dying to get to your restaurant, but my wife had been through a rough day at the office and wanted to get into some jeans so she could relax. It was at that point she was going to be happy going to II Tony's or the mexican joint by the house. I convinced her that we needed to go to a nice restaurant and she relented with the stipulation that she could wear jeans.
It was a week night and the weather was bad, so I figured what the heck.

Knowing what I know now about how nice your place is, I probably would not go that route again.
I too wore jeans as did my 2 compadres...but we looked good from the waist up!

[Jerry]

Please, when dining (I said dining, not gobbling a hot dog or such) leave the baseball cap or John Deere cap back in your hotel room! :D

One of my favorite lines by Tony Soprano to a young man with baseball cap in his friend's Italian restaurant:
"They took the bleachers out of here last year and quit selling hot dogs 6 months ago.....lose the hat."

[Pelican Six]

Hope I did not offend with our first visit there last month. I called and asked the girl who answered the phone if jeans and nice shirts would be fine and she said sure no problem.

I was dying to get to your restaurant, but my wife had been through a rough day at the office and wanted to get into some jeans so she could relax. It was at that point she was going to be happy going to II Tony's or the mexican joint by the house. I convinced her that we needed to go to a nice restaurant and she relented with the stipulation that she could wear jeans.
It was a week night and the weather was bad, so I figured what the heck.

Knowing what I know now about how nice your place is, I probably would not go that route again.

I remember meeting you and your wife and your apparel did not make an impression on me at all. So you must have been dressed pretty nicely. Now, the gal who came in micro-shorts, racking out and wore a tablecloth as a shawl - HER I remember.:covri:

[gumbo lover]

I'm in the minority in that I don't really care what other people are wearing to dine in a restaurant, unless they smell or they are revealing "better left to the imagination" body parts. I'm much more interested in my food and the service. I do enjoy people watching, but attire is not a part of that. Other people's clothing generally has no effect at all on my overall dining experience, unless the wait staff is smelly, dirty or has one of those nasty tongue piercings. Those do affect my appetite, somewhat. They should be brushed or something, at least, like teeth.

[Pelican Six]

unless the wait staff is smelly, dirty or has one of those nasty tongue piercings. Those do affect my appetite, somewhat. They should be brushed or something, at least, like teeth.


Or they should wear buttons that say, "Ask me about my Hepatitis!"

[gumbo lover]

More like "ask me for my certificate of proof that I don't have hep".

[café au lait]

unless the wait staff is smelly, dirty or has one of those nasty tongue piercings. Those do affect my appetite

The very reason I don't go to Juan's Flying Burrito, Magazine St. location. Between the piercings, tatoos, nasty looking clothing, and the wadded up hair (whatever they call that rat's nest style), I'm too afraid of something getting in my food.