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I’ll most probably going out for dinner with a couple of friends next week. It was planned to head to a club afterwards. I’ve not been to a club before and was wondering what the general dress code would be.

While it heavily depends on the club, I can give you a few pointers:

• More than anything else, know your club. Different clubs have different ways of ascertaining who is dressed properly and who is not. For obvious reasons, metal clubs are going to be fundamentally different than classy jazz club-esque places, so do your research ahead of time. While the rules I’ll be giving apply generally to most clubs, you’ll want to know your audience. One good place to start is pictures of people in the club — see what those around them are wearing.
• As a general rule, most places that cater to upscale adults tend to have a strict dress policy, and one thing they commonly look at is shoes, so wear good shoes. Don’t feel like you have to wear dress shoes, but avoid sneakers. Despite this rule, wear something that can be abused — people can and probably will step on your feet. A casual, stylish pair of oxfords, boots, or the like will probably suffice.
• As a caveat to the above, if you’re going somewhere that hipsters or 20somethings wear, the trend is now increasingly shifting to allowing gaudy “fashion sneakers”. Such clubs may be an exception, though you won’t be hurt by wearing good shoes to clubs like this.
• Lots of clubs now have anti-guido policies, so avoid guido wear. “Guido wear” nowadays usually includes but is not limited to Ed Hardy, True Religion, gaudy polo shirts, lots of man jewelry, bad tans, and the like. This is mostly an American phenomenon, but I’ve heard of overseas places banning the stuff as well. As a general rule, you should remember that as a male you are going to be more heavily scrutinized based upon your looks and behavior, so make sure you don’t give the club a reason to kick your ass out (or bar you from entry in the first place)
• If I were you, I’d also avoid wearing t-shirts, athletic gear, wifebeaters, or anything like that. Outfits like this may be popular with some guys, but if you are reasonably well dressed you will be treated better and avoid looking like a problem to bouncers.
• Wear sturdy, dark clothing if you can. Clubs can be dirty, sweaty, and messy. Wear something that won’t stain/be ruined if you sweat a little bit or otherwise have something spilled on you.

If you need a specific idea, I say wear a good pair of dark jeans (nothing nasty/stained, and ideally not heavily faded) with a black or dark-colored button-down and a good pair of black or gray shoes. If you want to wear a suit jacket or something, go for a lighter colored shirt.

Tags: club, dark clothing, dresscode, Fashion, guido, men