Creative costume and uniform ideas for your restaurant, bar or resort business
Everywhere we look, we see businesses such as restaurants, bars, resorts, and casinos, theming their uniform style to match the atmosphere of their business. That’s all well and good, but sometimes you might think the uniform styles are a bit homogenized. Of course, it is understandable that you want to maintain a professional image at all times. But you can also feel more creative, like you want to break out of the mold and reinvent the concept of the restaurant uniform.
Example: If you’ve seen the movie “Pulp Fiction,” there’s a restaurant Vincent and Mia go to at the beginning of the movie that seems like a fun place to go. It’s inspired by the ‘rockabilly’ era of the 1950s, and if you look closely at this scene, you’ll see an amazing uniform cast in this fictional restaurant. Would you have thought of having Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe as waiters and waitresses? Or how about the dwarf in the red bellboy uniform seating the couple? Hint: It’s inspired by an old Phillip Morris commercial, as you can hear him yelling his line as he walks out of the scene: “Call Phillip Morris!” Now that’s a creative theme!
For those who want to make a much deeper impression than the average fashion statement, let’s try thinking experimentally. Here is a list of ideas that many will find bold, edgy, or even too edgy. But they are very original. We don’t highly recommend them, or you can take them and tweak them; maybe one of these will be inspiring!
So some very wacky ideas for a hospitality business uniform theme:
Goth: Whether you like the style or not, the youth goth movement is here to stay. It’s actually a heritage from the punk rock era, but with a moody, Victorian-era flair. Think black a lot, very edgy, and search the web to get an idea. The fact is that young people tend to go where they feel understood and welcome. If that’s the type of target market you have in mind, dressing your staff a bit gothic will help tie your brand identity to the culture these people currently live in. Remember, one day they will be middle-aged adults with a career and a house in the suburbs, and by then you will have great customer loyalty!
Superheroes: OK, you cringed a bit at first. But I bet a minute later, you saw what I mean: now what would you expect from a staff member who was a superhero? You would expect excellent service, courteous demeanor, perfect honor and trust… hey! We have super employees, they are already like superheroes! This isn’t as hard to do as you might think – take your standard uniform and add a short cape and a “utility belt” or medallion or some other trick and you’re done. It would work well for a family-themed venue like a pizzeria or a place that caters especially to young children.
Cosplays – “Cosplay” is a word that is a portmanteau (a word that combines two other words) of “costume” and “game.” This is a Japanese subculture based on dressing up as characters from manga (Asian comics) and anime (Asian cartoons). Even less often, topics like Japanese live-action TV shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands are also fair game.
The word has been popularly associated with dressing restaurant employees as French maids. This idea may sound silly to you, but it’s currently all the rage in China and Japan, as reported on culture-tracking sites like boingboing. Take a look in a search engine at some of the creative topics they have come up with to get some ideas. Interestingly, these are not aimed at children but at adults, in a culture where comics and cartoons are not seen as juvenile at all. This would be a huge hit in a modern, up-to-date environment like a college town or a tech-heavy place like Silicon Valley, as its popularity is spreading largely over the internet.
Sci-Fi: If you’ve been to Las Vegas, a casino has a Star Trek-themed attraction and an attached restaurant called “Quark’s Bar and Restaurant.” Sure enough, the whole place makes you feel like you’re living in the Star Trek universe, right down to the staff uniforms! It may be clever, but a whole generation of Star Trek fans have grown up and even passed down the culture to their children – this place makes a lot of money.
If you take a look at the Star Trek uniforms, they are actually very useful. Now apply this idea to other sci-fi and fantasy franchises with huge followings: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or anything with its own ‘cult’ following. Or just go for something futuristic, without pinning it on any particular work of fiction. This might work well in places like an Internet cafe, because computer geeks and sci-fi geeks tend to go together.
Period Costumes – These are more in the “it’s been done before” range. Pirates, cowboys, gypsies, ancient Egyptians, etc. Surely you’ve come across a seafood restaurant with a pirate theme or a Western bar and grill in Texas with the staff dressed as if they lived in the days of the wild frontier. Still, it’s an idea to keep in mind: period costumes can add a fun theme to your setting, but they also can’t be too over the top so you can keep a serious attitude.
That’s it – maybe you’ll come up with different ideas of your own from these inspirations!