Clubbing's undercover dress code

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