Cover up or Leave – The Nightclub’s Dress Code That Excludes Shorts

It has happened again. A woman who has turned up in seemingly appropriate clothing has been told to cover up or leave due to failing a dress code.

Yvette Comeaux was keen to spend a Sunday evening dancing and drinking at a popular nightclub but was denied entry due to the length of her shorts.

She opted for a pair of white tailored shorts, dressy top and sandals for her late afternoon gathering with friends but apparently her shorts were too short for Whiskey River, a “dance and nightclub” in Henderson, Louisiana.

What do you think?

It is very hot in Louisiana right now, and the establishment is defined as a nightclub on their Facebook page. So it is understandable that Yvette was suitably outraged at her treatment which, while every business has the right to exclude patrons that don’t abide by their dress codes, does seem unfair.

Yvette took to Facebook to ask her friends what their opinions were, and to no doubt have a bit of a rant about her treatment.

“I left there ashamed and embarrassed because I was critiqued,” Comeaux says of the experience. When she decided to post the photo, she said, “I was just venting.”

Fair enough, we’ve all done that at some point. It’s since gone viral though, and the whiskey bar in question has hit back — hard. They completely refute the entire story and have released a statement standing by their decision.

Ms Comeaux sees nothing wrong with her attire. Whiskey River claim that her shorts were shorter when she turned up minutes before the picture was taken. Ms Comeaux did not whip out a second, slightly longer pair of tailored white shorts to wear for the photo but Whiskey River are standing by their decision, as is their right.

A staff member from the popular bar posted a picture of their dress code on Ms Comeaux’s Facebook post:

Now, as it turns out, Whiskey River have been having a bit of a problem with a particular patron who enjoys dressing in fluro crop tops and booty shorts when he goes out. And instead of embracing this popular local character’s personal brand of flair, they’ve banned him too, by upping their dress code to specifically exclude all short shorts and midriff-baring tops, from both men and women alike. In other words, this man’s entire wardrobe:

This gentleman enjoys attending local bars and music festivals and has become something of a cult hero. Hey, the dude likes to dance.

“He dances, people take pictures with him,” Lacey Bergeron, another patron, tells Yahoo Style of the man some have dubbed the Rhinestone Cowboy. “It’s almost like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ now. People post pictures of him — ‘He’s here!’ ‘Spotted him here.’ I don’t think anyone’s ever been offended by him locally.”

Except for the good people of Whiskey River, obviously. As per their statement:

“Our dress code was implemented so as not to discriminate because of gender. We had issues with a male customer who insisted on his right to enter due to the fact that females were allowed to dress in scanty clothes and he felt he was being discriminated against. The dress code was implemented by the owners (not the staff) in an effort to be fair to all customers.”

Now again, every business has the right to enforce a dress code. It’s completely within the law and they are very much allowed to restrict entry to people whom they feel aren’t dressing appropriately.

But I can see an agenda here, as clearly as I can see the Rhinestone Cowboy’s hi-vis sleeveless crop top.

Whiskey River is claiming to support gender equality by making this dress code applicable to everyone. Will they ban women from wearing dresses because they don’t want men wearing them too? It doesn’t make sense.

Instead of embracing the differences that make the world (and southern whiskey bars, usually) a vibrant and interesting place to enjoy, this nightclub has opted to enforce a dress code to exclude patrons that do not dress “properly” by their standards.

Once again, it’s completely their right to do that.

But I, for one, wouldn’t want to go to a nightclub that enforces their own moral standards on their paying customers. I’d be at the nightclub that cheers on the Rhinestone Cowboy and women dressed like Yvette.