If you are planning on working in the food service industry, you can expect that you'll be required to wear some variety of restaurant uniforms. While some of the more casual style eating places; like a bar or coffee shop, may be more relaxed in the type of uniform you are required to wear, other eateries can be more strict- particularly a more upscale eatery. For example, many bar or diner owners may allow their employees to purchase and wear their own clothing, but may require that their bartenders and servers wear certain colors.
A typical restaurant uniform for diner employees consists of black slacks and a white blouse, although you'll see many variations of this depending on the style and theme of the eatery. A diner that is sporting a 50's theme might ask their servers to dress in poodle skirts and blouses to help create the atmosphere! On the other hand, if you work in a franchised doughnut shop or cafeteria location, you will most likely be provided a standard uniform to wear to work, complete with pants, shirt, and hat or visor. In some cases, if you're lucky, you'll even be provided with laundry service to keep your restaurant uniforms clean, which can result in considerable savings over individuals who have to purchase specific attire to wear to work, and then maintain it in the laundry after each shift.
Restaurant uniforms are typically not considered very fashionable, although there are some exceptions to this rule depending on the bar or diner that you work in. There is an increased availability in the variety and styles of uniforms available to restaurant owners, with many uniform vendors existing on the internet for fast and easy browsing and purchasing, and some business owners may take the time to select a more fashionable style to help the employees feel more comfortable when working, and to portray a certain image to their customers.
A standard shirt for a coffee shop or doughnut shop consists of a short sleeved, button down polo-style shirt, or a plain tee shirt. Most companies will imprint their logo or name on the pocket or sleeve, and the colors will vary based on the eatery you work in. While some restaurants allow employees to wear their own pants; there are some eating places that will provide these as part of the uniform as well. Chefs may be required to wear standard, pull on cotton pants- but some diners and café owners are getting a little creative and purchasing these uniform pants with fun prints on them!
Many vendors exist online who sell restaurant uniforms. Owners and managers of various diners, bars, doughnut shops and other eating places can simply run a search from any search engine to find a multitude of vendors who offer many styles, materials and colors of restaurant uniforms. They can choose to have their eatery name imprinted on the shirts for an additional fee usually, and select the look they want their customers to see when dining in their establishment.
