Clothes Calls

Best uniforms have good looks, functionality and ease of care

By Shari Goldhagen, Special to R&I -- Restaurants & Institutions, 6/15/2004

As any server will tell you, a dress shirt that starts the day blindingly white and perfectly starched rarely looks that way at shift’s end. Whether it’s a soda spill, marinara mishap or a trail of ink spots, that crisp shirt often starts to resemble a Jackson Pollock painting.

“For five years, we had our servers wearing white button downs,” says Dawn Boulanger, vice president of marketing for the Nashville, Tenn.-based O’Charley’s restaurant chain. “But they were complaining that the shirts were too hot and showed every spill.”

Additionally, the costs of sending shirts to the cleaners after every shift quickly escalated. Servers estimated that they were spending more than $1,000 annually at the dry cleaner, according to Boulanger.

Uniforms complement the color scheme of Camille's Sidewalk Cafe's new prototype.

Despite the complaints, the mid-scale chain was hesitant to adopt fast-food fashion by switching from starched shirts.

“Our servers liked the fact that they looked professional; they felt that that was being reflected in their tips,” she says. “They thought the minute they started dressing like they worked at a burger joint, they’d get tipped like they worked at a burger joint.”

The solution? Short-sleeve cotton jerseys in an array of colors.

“We offer them in six colors, and they can chose which one they want to wear,” Boulanger says. “Servers like it because it gives them some options in their work clothes.” Boulanger points to another advantage: “They still look professional.”

Like O’Charley’s, waitstaff at Chevys Fresh Mex used to report to shifts buttoned up in button-downs, looking like they were dressed for a day at the office.

“We try to maintain a festive atmosphere, and that look was really stuffy. It didn’t go with our food or the mood,” says Darlene Hersh, director of marketing for the Emeryville, Calif.-based chain.

Chevys’ solution was to go with a black cotton T-shirt with colorful, flashy statements about their “fresh-brand” concept. The shirts are tucked into dark jeans of the employees’ choosing.

Personal Style
“Servers like the look of the shirts and the fact that they can wear their own jeans, Hersh says. “It’s like any other job, on casual Fridays, where employees are allowed to wear their own clothes, the mood can be upbeat and excited. They pass that on to customers, and that’s a big part of our concept.”

That the shirts reflect and extend the brand is a bonus. “Employees like the shirts so much that sometimes they wear them when they’re not working,” Hersh says.

Practicality also factors in their appeal. Because both shirts and jeans are dark, they don’t show every salsa spill, Hersh says, adding that they also don’t show bra straps or undershirt lines. And everyone appreciates the savings at the cleaners.

Chevys’ special events, including Cinco de Mayo, get a promotional boost from new shirts whose designs reflect the occasion.

When Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe opened a new prototype unit design in Tulsa, Okla., where it is headquartered, the look included new crew uniforms. Employees sported shirts and visors in the same apple-green hue used to brighten the décor.

Howard Curtin, vice president of sales for an East Coast-based uniform company, says that the switch to color is one filtering throughout the industry. “In a lot of casual restaurants that offer table service, they’re really getting away from the plain polo or the shirt with the company logo,” he says. “The trend has really been toward colors, multiple colors, even denim.”

Allowing servers to select a color from a palette of options can help improve servers’ mood, Curtin insists, because it takes away the feel of being issued a “prison uniform.” Even at more formal, higher-end restaurants, Curtain notes a rainbow effect.

“It allows the servers to become a part of the setting in addition to the furniture and the linen,” he says. “It’s simply one more way to set a dining room, a way to have a nice-looking upscale restaurant without being too stuffy.”

The Shoe Fits

When Ryan Schmidtberger moved to New York City and got his first job in a restaurant kitchen, he was anxious to try out the chef clogs for which he’d always heard raves. But in Schmidtberger’s situation, the shoe didn’t fit.

“The clogs were so low in the front that my pants didn’t cover a portion of my foot,” he recalls. “My first few months wearing the shoes my feet were burned, splattered, you name it.”

After getting over his clog-fantasy and being promoted to a sous-chef at Restaurant RM in Manhattan, Schmitdtberger found his own personal glass slipper: a pair of skid-proof leather shoes, cut like a gym shoe.

Available from several manufacturers, the shoes come in different styles, colors, and different materials.

“The shoes today are so much better than those made in the past,” says Norma Blanco, who handles marketing for a large uniform supplier. “The job is really taken into consideration when designing the shoe, so things like arch support and comfort are factored in.”

Shari Goldhagen is a New York City-based freelance writer.