Dress Code Shocker: Ties No Longer Required at the 21 Club
Shockwaves swept the nation's fine dining aficionados when they learned that the venerable 21 Club will no longer require gentlemen to wear a tie to dine at the restaurant.
THE earth held firm in its orbit. The continents did not founder. Martial law was not imposed. This, despite the fact that the "21" Club has loosened its tie for the first time since it opened at 21 West 52d Street 79 years ago.
The power-dining oasis, where Manhattan's surviving masters of the universe daily attempt critical mass, announced last Thursday that the restaurant, virtually the last in town with a neckwear rule, had abandoned its tie requirement at dinner in its two dining rooms, the Bar Room and Upstairs at 21.
Ties are "preferred," it said -- indeed, "greatly appreciated." And mind you, gentlemen, your jackets must stay on.
Actually, 21 instituted the policy "after Labor Day, a soft opening if you will," said Bryan McGuire, the manager for the last, yes, 21 years. "We wanted to be on a more level playing field with our competitors," he said, adding, "We didn't think it was that big a deal." Especially since, during lunch, the tie policy was ixnayed in 1996, he said.
The restaurants publicist, Diana Biederman, said she issued the release so people could "know about the policy in these challenging times."
Mr. McGuire, though, insisted that the decision was not recession-driven.
But he allowed that the policy "could help the restaurant greatly in a time of difficulty." Revenue, $18.5 million last year, is off by "double digits," he said.
The restaurant has made other concessions to the economy, including free parking for all dinner patrons.
(For the record, he noted, ties are required in the 20-seat private dining room, the Wine Cellar.)
So, is this a good thing or is it another example of what some commenters call the slobificaton of America? Good or bad, dress codes have been relaxing across all sections of American society. And now that President Obama has instituted a Business Casual dress code for staffers who work weekends in the West Wing (one even showed up to work in jeans, which horrified many in Washington when they heard about it), look for more dress code relaxation in the future.
As for the White House and Obama's new, jacketless style in the Oval Office, we sense that if the president can get the economy fixed Americans will be so happy that they won't care what he wears to work -- even if he were to institute a strict policy of Hawaiian Shirt/Bermuda Shorts/Aretha Hat Thursdays.
Shockwaves swept the nation's fine dining aficionados when they learned that the venerable 21 Club will 
