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In 1969, Some NYC Restaurants Were Banning Women In Pants
By
Jen Carlson
Published May 12, 2014
Modified May 12, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published May 12, 2014
Modified May 12, 2014
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It's currently around April of 1969 on Mad Men, and you may have noticed that some of the women on the show have traded in their dresses for pants. Around this time the pant suit was starting to come into fashion—in February of that year the NY Times reported that sales were "brisk in pants for women," noting "four-piece pant suits," "three-piece weekender suits," and "flare leg pants in cotton prints" were selling well. While women were buying into the trend, restaurateurs were most definitely not.
In April of 1969, the Times reported on some of the restaurants that were still banning ladies in pants. La Cote Basque on East 55th Street told them: "Pants look very nice on some women but they do not belong in a restaurant like La Cote Basque any more than swimming suits. We will continue our policy: no pants." Lafayette on East 50th was also banning them (along with turtlenecks), declaring: "Ladies should be dressed as ladies." Restaurant Laurent on East 56th simply said, "We don't think they are something nice to wear in dining rooms."
Meanwhile, others were slowly caving, including the Algonquin, where Don Draper's been having some meetings lately. They told the paper: "We use a certain amount of discretion. It depends on the look of the woman." The Plaza, Spanish Pavilion, the St Regis-Sheraton Hotel all had similar rules in place. And 21 Club had this policy: "No pant suits at lunch. Attractive and flowing evening pants at night if they look like a gown." [h/t Bowery Boys]
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1960s
1969
fashion
flashback
history
pant suit
pants
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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