Casuals are the New Formals

Casuals are the new formals. There might be exceptions — like news reports,earlier this month,that lamented the Calcutta Club’s insistence on a ‘colonial’ dress code — but world over the rules in clubs are now being changed to permit more comfortable dressing.

And though cities like Kolkata and Mumbai still find themselves in the midst of the typical ‘dressing up for dinner’ rules,Chandigarh is more liberal. At the Chandigarh Golf Club,for instance,the formal dress code is only compulsory in the formal lounge area and the rest of the premises often has chic dressers. “Since ours is primarily a sports club,there are appropriate dress codes for the greens,the bar and the formal lounge area,” says Dr G S Kocchar,chairman,media and publicity,Chandigarh Golf Club. So while it’s permissible to dress in shorts and sneakers when you saunter in to the bar for a glass of beer,in the formal lounge area shirts and trousers,with formal shoes,are a must. “The guests have always complied and there have been no debates so far,” notes Kochhar.

Located a few miles away from the golfing greens,Taj Chandigarh is also generous about its dress code. “We prefer smart casuals,but if an in-house guest decides to come in shorts and slippers we are not very touchy about it ,” says Saira Dhir,sales and marketing manager at Taj. Their fine dining restaurants,including The Black Lotus,Dera and the lounge bar Lava,also have no defining dress codes for guests. “If the guest is comfortable,so are we,” says Dhir. This also seems to be the unwritten rule at the newly opened JW Marriott. “There are no guidelines. We like guests to be in luxury and if wearing a pair of sneakers feels luxurious to them we have no complaints,” says the hotel’s public relations manager,Pooja Singh.

In Mumbai,posh dining places like Hakkasan and Tresbar,might insist on formal wear,but most of the Chandigarh restaurants allow the diners to decide. “For some guests dressing up for dinner is part of the entire dining experience,but there are non-believers who don’t really go by formal conventions and that is fine with us,” says Vipul Dua,owner of the The Big Ben and Peddlers pub in Sector 35.

However,there are some places where rules are chalked out and meant to be followed. At the popular Kava lounge in Sector 26,on a weekday one is allowed to dress in casuals but a board outside the lounge’s entrance lists the do’s and don’ts for the weekend. Among others,men wearing bermuda shorts and slippers is a strict no-no. So are those togged in kurta-pyjamas. “We prefer guests to be smartly dressed and these days men who come clubbing on weekends are always well-dressed,” says Kava’s public relations and marketing manager,Ayushi Mishra.

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