Clubbing's undercover dress code
JAKARTA (JP): Jenny took a deep breath while standing in a never-ending queue. She thought that the idea of going to the hottest dance club located in a five-star hotel in Jakarta on Friday night was the silliest thing she had ever done. If it was not for her dear friend Jade. She just gave birth to her first child the previous month. As a fellow female, Jenny knows exactly how it feels to be stuck in a house -- though pampered by every body like a fragile sweet little thing (yikes!) -- away from any clubbing, dancing or boozing temptations.
Half an hour later, when Jenny's legs were unbearably throbbing and suffering from the worst pins and needles -- thanks to her three-inch high-heeled shoes -- they reached the entrance. Two huge male bodyguards dressed in the hotel's black uniforms, blocked their way. One of the guys approached Jenny and whispered.
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you in. The new regulation says that every one who wishes to enter this club has to be properly dressed," he said in low voice.
It was too late for the bodyguard to realize that he had picked the wrong person to mess around with. It took Jenny merely seconds to digest what she had heard before she exploded in anger.
"Not properly dressed? Are you blind or what? I can't be more decently dressed than this!" yelled Jenny, she glanced at her long pants and pink Guess top (OK, it was sleeveless).
"It's not you, Miss -- it's her," he replied nervously, pointing at Jade. Jenny looked at her friend. Like her, Jade was in long blue jeans with a creamy color top. It must have been the extra cleavage she had gained from breast-feeding her newborn baby, her neckline possibly looked a little too low. Not that any normal person would call it improper anyway! At that stage, Jenny felt like screaming: "Can't a mommy have some fun?" into the bodyguard's ear. Instead, she gathered her coolness and said sternly.
"I'm not wasting my time with you. What's your name again? I'll make sure that your GM, whom I know very well, is informed about how you treat his frequent customers. In fact, I'll call him right now," Jenny said calmly while her hand was busy punching numbers on her cell phone.
Jenny and her friends were given permission to enter the club in no time. Obviously, her intimidation worked really well. The club wasn't quite packed yet since it was only 9 p.m. The crowds usually filled the room over the next half-hour and keep flowing until the unbearable.
The girls positioned themselves in the far corner of the bar and glanced around to find that they were probably the sexiest dressed ladies in the place. But it wasn't for long. A few minutes later the bar was swarmed by girls of all ages -- some of them donned in something slightly more apt than bikinis. Puzzled, Jenny looked at her friends who lifted their shoulders in reply.
Having her toes curled up after listening to the feminist ballad I Will Survive for the fifth time, Jenny excused herself to have a quick trip to the ladies. In the rest room, she looked around to find that the walls were covered with peculiar decorations. Sheer long sleeved tops, long pants, long skirts -- they were hung on the toilet's doors, wall, sinks, everywhere. Then everything seemed so clear to her.
Since a lot of dance clubs in town have temporarily closed down -- due to irresponsible ransacking or simply workers' strikes -- a massive number of light-skirted girls have been using Jenny's favorite place to hunt for clients.
A week prior to Jenny's arrival at the club, the management apparently had issued a new regulation, which included dress code screening. But it seemed those girls have outsmarted them by wearing shockingly revealing clothes beneath their modest attire. This explained the mysterious bathroom decorations Jenny had seen.
Why not ID and credit card screening? It is a more effective and polite way to protect nightclubs from being entered by social pariahs (if that's what they're afraid of).
On their way out, one of the bodyguards whispered to Jade, "We wouldn't have forbidden you to enter if you were with a bule guy." She laughed almost hysterically all the way to the lobby. She had thought it was purely sexist, but now it seemed that it involved racism as well! How could anybody tolerate this? Please Jakarta, grow up!
-- Aida Greenbury