Dress codes do NOT equal well-dressed

Does this sound familiar? You walk up to a bar, restaurant or club dressed in pretty damn decent clothing. You're looking good, dressed to impress and having a good time with your friends. But then you're told that the establishment has a strict dress code which requires shoes - proper shoes, and your good looking sneakers, sandals or Havaiana's just aren't going to cut it.

Then comes along a customer dressed in an ill-fitting suit.  Maybe he's even wearing a Micky Mouse tie.  But because he has those tasseled loafers on, he's getting in. Or how about when the establishment "does you a favor" by lending you a pair of oversized shoes? This has happened to me twice in the past few months.  Once at Shangri-La Kota Kinabalu (who brings proper shoes to a family friendly resort destination), which gave us Crocs to wear with our sundresses, and the second time at Banyan Tree's Vertigo bar in Bangkok, which gave me size 38 loafers I begrudgingly dragged across the roof deck until I reached my seat and kicked them off. I'm a size 33/34.

If you're going to enforce a dress code to keep people well dressed, then arm your door with a fashionista, not a bouncer with spare Crocs.