SO i was out drinking with some friends yesterday. Three of us, two guys and a girl, wanted a few more so we headed to a lively bar we all like.... We are all asked for i.d. by the doorman. We all had it no problem, but then one of them spots my friends trainers and says 'i cant let you in anyway with those on...'. ..my friend had his nike air max on. It seemed kind of daft not to let us in as the place was emtpy, it was still pretty early. And we were fairly smart otherwise, i had my grey keds on and our girlfriend some smart boots. But they were having none of it. I said 'we could take our shoes off!....' ...they were not amused!! Fair enough I suppose, a dress code is a dress code.... Over the years, have seen the general trend for london seems to be.... Men: smart shoes, no trainers. Women: no trainers, but anything else goes. Not sure about bare feet, never seen anyone, men or women, queing for somewhere in barefeet, but have seen plenty women take shoes off and go barefoot once inside somewhere. Never seen men do this and never have myself (except for one crazy night in ibiza when I was barefoot the whole time but thats a different story!)...... But my point is yet another night cut short, because of footwear! We want to spend money in a bar (and during a recession, i keep hearing the bars and clubs are struggling...) and we cant, all because of what someone is wearing, or is not wearing, on their feet. Daft! Got me to thinking what would they have said if we all showed up barefoot? a definite no-way? What if it was the middle of summer in a heatwave - would the answer have been the same? And what if you got in and later, decided to take your shoes off - what then? Has anyone had similar issues with footwear or bare feet in bars / nightclubs?
I think its very much a cultural thing, and an individual company policy (how enforcable it is I dont know). Here in New Zealand in our local area, we have a number of restaurants, clubs and pubs and I go to all of them barefoot without any hassle. I know some women try to hide their feet by wearing long skirts or whatever, but I have chosen never to do that. Often go for family meals at local pubs, and my bf and I, along with our children are all barefoot - it simply has never been an issue here. Maybe its a kiwi thing?:love:
From what ive read in your posts sm, def sounds like NZ is simply not bothered by bare feet at all, and i can very well imagine that goes for bars and nightclubs too - lucky you!! Dress code has ALWAYS been an issue here in london for clubs for as long as i can remember and partcularly footwear! If someone has been refused entry somewhere, 9/10 times its because of shoes... So with all that fuss over shoes im sure if you tried to get into a night club barefoot it would cause no end of hassles!
:love:Yep, in fact just walked in (its 3 pm Saturday), from having a drink and lunch with my mum and two boys, at a local garden bar attached to a shopping centre (Botany Town Centre if any NZer's are on line). Purposely looked for any dress policy, couldn't find one, after seeing the original posting. I was naturally barefoot, as were my boys. Had a short denim skirt on and a top, the bartender could clearly see I had nothing on my feet, and I made no attempt to hide my feet from his view. But absolutely no comment at all. My boys happily ran round the bar in barefeet, no issues or stupid fucking dress code shit here! We just dont get hung up on stupid stuff here!
I had the same thing happen in 1980 at a club in San Antonio, Texas. I was home on leave while in the Air Force from Germany. A friend and I went out and the door man said the same thing, I could not enter because I had tennis shoes on. They were nice, but no deal. WTF, "I traveled all the way from Germany to visit and I get this crap??" The door man said sorry and he appreciated my service to my country but rules are rules and he can't make an exception.
Yeah, I know a lot of clubs in the states here have a strict no tennis shoes/sneakers policy. Especially for girls. Bars though, I guess it depends on how classy the bar is. You can find a very many where it doesn't matter if you look like a complete slob. Anyway, I understand girls taking off their shoes. Typically most girls wear heels, which get uncomfortable. I know most buildings though have 'no shoes no service' policy, technically. Man, I wish I lived in NZ. Seems so laid back and nice there.
You say the club was still empty-exactly. It's like having a conversation in a crowd, nobody will know or care. Have it on an empty street, and it will be heard, for lack of interference and distraction for anyone who might be listening. If you have a hundred people in a room, nobody will see your shoes. If you have ten, everyone will.
i've been telling this story like a dozen times now, but since you ask, yes i was urged 2 haul my ass off a night club for being barefoot. the rent-a-pig watching the door didn't realize i was barefoot but someone inside did, so half an hour later i was grabbed and rammed out together with my friends by a herd of stampeding, morbidly overweight private cops. i think it felt like running the Pamplona encierro , only without horns. someone would find that irritating but they only managed to permanently lose a paying patron. i've met barefoot dancers hanging around unharassed but usually it was half naked gals in nightclubs next to the sea. on the other side country clubs are barefoot tolerant places in my exp.
Maybe but not so sure.... generally the more full the bar round here the less likely you are to get in..
That is way harsh J - just because you were barefoot! What a big fuss about nothing if you ask me! and yes i agree, beach bars and bars/clubs in seaside towns and holiday resorts are definitely more barefoot friendly but i guess just because it goes with the territory better...
Ive gone into a few random bars and no one said anything to me before. In texas we used to go to a bunch of biker and beach bars and when we were in Galveston and he wasn't barefoot but i, of course was and no one has ever told me anything but there weren't any dress codes either :cheers2:
Clubs are the one place here in the Netherlands of which I often hear a dress code is enforced, I've heard from friends that they weren't let in for wearing sneakers or other dress code violations. But it's usually guys who are refused, just like women can get away with spaghetti straps where guys are required to wear a jacket... I've never cared to try it out, I'm not the kind of person to visit clubs. Rarely, very rarely (once a yr or less) I end up going to a bar with friends, usually after some daytime event, and that's never been a problem barefoot. But a club/dancing I've never visited, either in my years of going barefoot or before.
thx 4 the support Free bro , the fun thing was, they ousted all of us, bf and shod together, not just me. my unshod presence was seen as such an utterly outrageous offence to become kind of infectious , i guess.
