From awkward headgear to sexist excesses and ridiculous recreations of the past, there
are plenty of ways to design a terrible restaurant uniform.
Twin Peaks is an example of a breastaurant, in which the skimpy dress code for female
servers would be better suited for a nightclub rather than a dining establishment.
A woodsy mountain lodge theme is present throughout the interior.
But as the name implies, most of the male patrons are here to ogle the waitresses.
Female servers are expected to don a red and black checked bralette shirt that resembles
lumberjack workwear.
Navel-baring mini shorts, a belt, and fur-trimmed winter boots complete the outfit.
It's troubling enough that the women working at Twin Peaks are generally expected to be
young and fulfill a certain body type that's not exactly inclusive.
But then there are even themes like "Lingerie Week" that require even more revealing outfits,
like a bra and panties.
This has even resulted in some servers being handed citations for indecent exposure from
local law enforcement.
"This temple of wood, stone, and sports is more than just a lifestyle.
It's a Man-tality."
The Heart Attack Grill in downtown Las Vegas parodies the omnipresence of diet culture
by promoting obesity and an overall unhealthy lifestyle.
Patrons, or "patients," slip on hospital gowns, while they're tended to by waitresses wearing
sexy red and white nurse dresses.
With a catchphrase of "Fighting Anorexia since 2005," it's hardly surprising that these waitresses
are also tasked with paddling the backsides of diners who can't finish all of their food.
Nurses are also encouraged to kiss the faces and sit on the laps of morbidly obese patients,
and they don't get to dress as doctors the way that the male employees do.
Instead, they serve menu items like the Octuple Bypass Burger, a nearly 20,000-calorie meal
that consists of eight half-pound hamburger patties and 40 slices of bacon.
If you finish it, your nurse will transport you out of the restaurant in a wheelchair.
The worst part is that some nurses were reportedly told by management to record cell phone footage
of customers having real-life cardiac emergencies so that they could be leaked to the press
for publicity.
Bors Hede Inne, located on the property of the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation,
Washington, requires employees to fully undergo old-world immersion during their shifts.
That means that the waitstaff have to wear traditional medieval garb.
For women, this consists of a white cloth head covering, an apron, and a drab ankle-length
shift dress.
And the men don't get off easily either, as they have to don a long-sleeved belted tunic
topped off by a hooded capelet.
Headgear includes an ivory bonnet with the strings worn loose as well as a felt cap.
We appreciate the dedication that Bors Hede Inne has to authenticity, so it's understandable
that the uniforms are going to be a little out there.
But we can't help but be concerned about how hot it must get in the summer months under
all those layers, especially when performing a cooking demonstration in front of an open
hearth.
At a quick glance, the uniforms at Culver's don't seem all that terrible, but it's still
a look that tests employees' self-confidence.
Have you ever gotten dressed in the morning and thought that strapping a visor across
your forehead would really tie your outfit together?
Well, if you're part of Culver's "True Blue Crew," you'll need to get comfortable with
this divisive accessory.
What makes uniforms like Culver's truly awful is that they don't resemble anything most
people would want to wear on their own time.
Fast food outfits often skew toward the goofy side, but Culver's makes the unusual mistake
of being too buttoned up.
Casual dining uniforms that include a necktie can feel dated, and at fast-food restaurants,
they just seem out of place.
The good news is that it appears that some locations have realized that the uniform is
too stiff and now allow employees to wear a polo or a Culver's t-shirt instead.
"From Wisconsin with love-"
"Welcome to delicious!"
Those visor-sporting Culver's employees can at least be grateful that they're not working
at Hot Dog on a Stick, where workers have to wear an upside-down pail on their heads.
Women once again draw the short end of the stick here, as the men and boys instead get
to sport a run-of-the-mill, solid blue baseball cap.
East Coast residents may not be terribly familiar with Hot Dog on a Stick.
Founded in Santa Monica, California back in 1946, its influence on the hot dog business
has spread far and wide partly thanks to its memorable uniform.
Older incarnations utilized polka-dots rather than stripes, and the patterned smock dress
and floppy beret-style hat certainly suited the mod style of the 1960s.
When the uniform shifted to a more gender-neutral look, the now iconic pail hat made its workers
instantly recognizable.
The uniform has frequently been referenced in pop culture in films like Charlie's Angels
and when it was the Halloween costume of Kourtney Kardashian, who completed the look with an
official Hot Dog on a Stick fanny pack.
"Hot Dog on a Stick."
"I've never had a hot dog.
I don't even know what that-"
"What?!"
The Tilted Kilt is yet another chain that flirts a little too closely with misogyny.
Its slogan of "A Cold Beer Never Looked So Good" is guaranteed to induce an infinite
amount of eyerolls.
This popular pub basically sets feminism back about 50 years with statements on its website
like:
"Beautiful and ever so friendly, everyone is eager to put a smile on your face and an
ice cold beer in your hand."
Then there's the uniform.
Tilted Kilt's direct competition includes the likes of Hooters and Twin Peaks, and their
daily dress code might be the most ridiculous of all of them.
The tartan midriff top with a plunging neckline that ties at the front is pretty similar to
Twin Peaks.
Rather than sporting tiny shorts, Tilted Kilt girls are obligated to work in a pleated micro
mini that looks like the bottom half of a sexy schoolgirl costume rather than an actual
kilt.
A coin purse worn around the waist, white knee-high socks, and low-heeled mary jane
shoes round it all out in a tasteless approximation of Celtic customs.
Pulling on a form-fitting national costume on a near-daily basis certainly isn't for
everyone.
Unless you take a job at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, that
is.
Waitresses here must embrace the longstanding uniform of a red or blue corset-like top laced
over a ruffle-trimmed white blouse, a mid-length skirt, and a coordinating apron.
Al Johnson's has been in business since 1949 and prides itself on treating guests to an
authentic experience.
This means that the waitresses are always dressed for midsommar, and you may hear the
rapping of goat hooves overhead as they frolic on the restaurant's sod roof.
This outfit doesn't look the most comfortable, and it's probably incredibly difficult to
keep clean during a busy shift.
Challenges aside, if you're looking for a work uniform that can take you from the dining
room to the Maypole dance, Al Johnson's certainly fits the bill.
(bleating)
It appears that a lot of things are amiss at Borderless, a Singapore-themed restaurant
located in Beijing, China.
The decision to outfit waitresses in a replica of the stewardess uniform made famous by Singapore
Air is certainly weird.
For those who aren't familiar, the company's "Singapore Girl" has been part of its image
since the 1970s.
The Singapore Girl wears a traditional garment called a sarong kebaya, a colorful two-piece
ensemble with a floral batik pattern.
The unique stewardess attire is easily identifiable, especially to Asian travelers, and diners
at Borderless seem amused to see the waitresses playing the part.
Between the uniforms and baffling English translations of dishes like "Lion city throw
bread," plenty of people get a kick out of these gimmicks.
But not everyone has been amused.
Shortly after images of Borderless waitresses began circulating around the internet in April
2022, Singapore Air contacted the restaurant and insisted that they stop copying its trademark
uniform.
And suddenly, patrons were stripped of the joys of sneaky infringement.
The first Hooters opened in Clearwater, Florida back in 1983, and it soon became a worldwide
phenomenon.
The establishment is known for popularizing chicken wings in sport bars, but its real
claim to fame has to be those revealing uniforms.
A white logo tank top that has evolved into a tight tee with a deep v-neck, orange brief-like
shorts, pantyhose, white socks, and white sneakers make up the classic look that is
exclusively associated with the Hooters brand.
The restaurant's atmosphere of beer-swilling men with one eye on the game and the other
on the waitresses' assets has led to that notorious term: "breastaurant."
The double entendre of "Hooters" leaves little to the imagination, just like the uniform
itself.
The waitresses are often stereotyped as having large breasts, but a busty chest technically
isn't a job requirement there.
Rather, dress code requirements for female wait staff include always having their hair
and makeup done and keeping what little clothes they do wear spotless.
A copy of an undated employee manual released by the website The Smoking Gun unflinchingly
states,
"The essence of the Hooters Concept is entertainment through female sex appeal."
Newer breastaurants have offered their own spins on the Hooters aesthetic, but recent
polls have shown that younger crowds aren't really into sports bars or staring at women's
breasts while they eat.
"You're gonna love what you'll see on the inside.”
Being a server at the Cheesecake Factory is a serious gig, and if you worked there years
ago, an all-white uniform with a necktie was required.
Considering that the menu is the size of an arithmetic book and that there are many servers
working the busy dinner service every night, suiting up in bright whites isn't exactly
a practical choice.
Not only that, but former Cheesecake Factory employees have said that management expected
them to keep their uniforms clean at all times.
The Cheesecake Factory eventually saw the error of its ways, and by the mid-2010s they
did away with white pants and went with black instead.
The changes didn't stop there.
Nowadays, servers play it safe with a completely black, necktie-less uniform, so the food stains
that are often inevitable during peak dining hours aren't nearly as glaring.
If the term "maid cafe" is new to you, the phenomenon originated in Japan and everything
about it is over the top, including the frilly, childlike uniforms.
Take, for example, @home cafe, where the dainty maids look like precious dolls in their short
dresses and decorative aprons, while referring to guests as "master."
@home is one of the most successful Japanese maid cafes, with locations in Tokyo and Osaka,
and the uniform is just one piece of the cosplay influence.
The young women who work there speak in shrill, girlish voices and giggle a lot, much like
a child in an anime.
They also sing and dance on stages that are a fixture in the cafes' interiors.
For an extra charge, a maid will even play a game with you and pretend to be your friend.
Themed eateries exist to play up the whimsical, but we can't help but feel that the infantile
costumes of @home cafe err a little too far on the creepy side of make-believe.
The Bubble Room on Florida's Captiva Island is one of those storied places that's been
around for decades.
With a theme like "It's always Christmas at The Bubble Room," you'd think that the staff
would be decked out in red and green, but they actually go in another direction entirely.
For whatever reason, the designated workwear for The Bubble Room servers is a khaki scout
uniform embellished with patches and accented by a zany headpiece of the server's choice.
Obviously, there's no direct correlation between scouting and Christmas, while the connection
between a scout uniform and a funny hat is also nonexistent.
The heavily decorated time-warp aesthetic inside The Bubble Room makes the place seem
like a world of its own.
The bizarre uniform feels like just another part of this curated environment, along with
the bunny ears, Spartan helmets, and even a shout-out to Pikachu.
"Pika, pika!"