Servers sport chef jackets to convey the culinary culture of Citrio Café and Catering.

“My pet peeve is when you walk into a restaurant and see poorly dressed servers,” says Stefanelli. He wants servers at Hint, an 85-seat modern-American restaurant opening this summer in Washington, D.C., to wear well-made garments that effect “a sharp look.” To ensure that the uniforms meet this goal, Stefanelli is working with Matthew Landsberg, a Washington, D.C.-based menswear designer.

Stefanelli is right to pay attention to what seems like a small detail. Uniforms are “all about confidence at the table,” says Jen Gulvik, vice president of marketing at Leawood, Kan.-based Houlihan’s.

Two years ago, Houlihan’s replaced long-sleeved T-shirts that, Gulvik says, looked too casual, with retail-inspired black polos. Servers like and feel comfortable in the new shirts, and that confidence is communicated to guests, Gulvik says.

Safety, comfort, style and brand image are key in designing and selecting uniforms. Here are a few of foodservice’s new looks and the thinking behind them.

Houlihan’s polos, adorned with bold letters and numbers, draw inspiration from retailers such as Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand. The front of the shirts feature an oversize “72,” representing the year the chain was founded, and a crest-like logo. The backs are adorned with one of four words (Chill, Taste, Quench or Lounge) printed in dramatic Gothic script. “That typography is really big right now,” Gulvik says.

Retro uniforms fit the Ruby's Diner atmosphere. Carhops will get tap pants and roller skates.

Chef jackets adorn servers as well as chefs at Citrio Café and Catering in Newton Highlands, Mass.

The menu at the casual-upscale, 26-seat cafe is chef-driven, so the jackets help market the concept, says owner Jeffrey Fournier. Citrio’s jackets—in lightweight, lime-green cotton—are emblazoned with the Citrio logo and accessorized with khaki pants and gray bistro aprons. The look “is not offensive to the eyes,” Fournier says.

Ruby’s Diner customers can’t help but notice the female servers, who wear red-and-white-striped dresses and small white caps.

That’s one of the reasons Ruby’s has used the uniforms since its founding in 1982, says Doug Cavanaugh, founder and CEO of the 50-unit chain, based in Newport Beach, Calif. In addition to making servers easy to find, the retro dresses add to the chain’s 1940s diner feeling. Male servers get that retro look by adding a black bow tie and a white cap to their white shirt and khakis.

Ruby’s plans to add red tap pants and roller skates to the server uniforms later this year, when it rolls out carhop service. In the meantime, wearing the washable, poly-cotton-blend dresses “is like putting on a costume,” says Lauren Mumma, a server at Ruby’s in Corona Del Mar, Calif. Mumma says that when she wears the uniform on her way to work, “everyone stops and tells you they love Ruby’s.”

Cocktail servers at Strip House, a 172-seat steakhouse in Las Vegas, wear lingerie-inspired mini dresses. The dresses are made of fine-ribbed black jersey, and their low backs reveal a black satin-and-tulle lace-up bra.

Lingerie designer Kiki de Montparnasse created dresses for Strip House cocktail servers.

The outfits are “sexy, sophisticated and leave a lot to the imagination,” Glazier says. Despite that, or maybe because of it, servers like them. “They’re fun to wear and comfortable,” Glazier says. “The girls have long evenings; we wanted to be sure that [the dresses] would be practical as well as look fabulous.”

What do Potbelly Sandwich Works servers wear to work? Whatever they’re in the mood for. The Chicago-based chain offers servers the choice of five T-shirts, including a bright tie-dyed shirt and a dark blue shirt that says “Get In Here Before We Both Starve” on the back.

“We take into consideration what our sandwich makers would look at and say, 'Cool,’” says Scott Zuckerman, Potbelly’s vice president of marketing. The shirts, he adds, “are fun and show a little of our personality.”

Sometimes they’re funny; sometimes they’re catchy. But the T-shirts worn by servers at Moe’s Southwest Grill always reflect a product or promotion.

The shirts “are a great way to call attention to the product,” says Sara Riggsby, director of marketing for the Atlanta-based fast-casual chain. When the chain introduced a line of seafood products in 2007, servers wore bright-blue shirts that declared “Get Hooked on Fish.”

A shirt promoting Moe’s Homewrecker Burrito as “Twenty Ounces of Pure Love,” also went over well with guests. That kind of shirt “is definitely a great way to start the conversation,” Riggsby says.