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I was curious if anyone had ever seen a "dress code" in a club or goth night-- I've heard rumors of this happening, especially in larger cities that have high tourist visitation...
Some people have said it helps with preventing gawkers, while others say it might place a strain on attendance when nightlife in general seems to be struggling, where even non-goth clubs say attendance is low. The rules themselves seem to range from general ("all black") to hyper-specific (I'm thinking it might be Slimelight that had a whole list of "appropriate genres" of fashion, which I heard was never actually enforced)
I'm struggling with the idea, myself-- purely because I remember the time I had to show up to a venue in a blue sweater and raggedy sneakers... It was a super busy week for me, and I forgot that I got tickets to see my favorite band (Pink Turns Blue) that night, so I had to rush to the venue immediately after work. I would've been heartbroken if I was turned away because of a dresscode rule.
It might also complicate the perception of goth as a subculture, which is based around the music yet is entirely image/fashion-based in the mainstream perception-- leading to many people to overlook the actual music aspect. Isn't that the line we constantly parrot, "you can look like goddamn Adam Sandler and still be goth-- you just have to listen to the music"?
Then again, the defense of protecting the space from gawkers + having a coherent "vibe" to the venue, as clubs are not just the space themselves but the people within them, also sways me to that side... I think that even if there's not a formal rule, there's an implicit and unspoken rule about matching the aesthetics of the scene around you-- someone said, "at least don't take away from the space, if you're not going to add to it." It sounds a bit harsh, but I can see the logic behind it, too.
Anyways, I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with dress codes or what your thoughts behind them might be. It could likely be regional, as well.
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