Wearable Art: Uniforms Aren’t A Black-and-White Issue Anymore
--By Sandi Davis for Native American Casino, January, 2005
When you walk into a casino these days, you aren’t going to see Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin on the stage, and you aren’t going to see anyone else from the Rat Pack at the tables. You also won’t see casino employees dressing as if they were stuck in that era. Casino decors and uniform styles have changed over the years, as fashions do everywhere. Colors, fabrics and cuts evolve to match changing tastes, and the leading uniform designers and vendors are experts on the current trends.
Carrie Izsak of Mezzaluna Designs puts those trends on a timeline. “Casino uniforms have traditionally been European-style and conservative, with white tux shirts, black pants and vests, and bow ties,” she said. “But those days are long gone.”
The uniforms of the 1950s and 1960s reflected the Hollywood-inspired Rat Pack trend, when the casinos were a playground for the elegantly dressed. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, casinos began targeting families, and the styles, fabrics and colors reflected that. The focus was more wholesome fun, an in-your-face thematic style, with employees dressed as clowns or pirates. The colors were brighter and the fabric more stable, with the appearance of the 65/35 poly/cotton blend. As the millennium drew to a close, the colors were flashy and the fabrics super-shiny, with the appearance of lurex, brocade and silky-looking microfibers.
In the new century, casinos began catering to a whole new clientele. “Casinos these days are targeting the young, wealthy and hip, the 20 to 35 year olds, the L.A.-Brittany Spears-types,” Izsak said. “They are going for a Los Angeles retail style, more ‘street clothes’ than traditional uniforms. Uniform designers are copying major fashion designers like Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.”
These casino trends start, naturally, in Las Vegas, but they filter down through corporate casinos and Native American casinos, which follow trends more subtly if no less avidly. “As the Native casinos’ budgets grow, they may remodel or add new rooms,” said Dee Tennant of Santana Formal Direct. “With more money to spend, they can afford to be more creative and customized with their decor. Employees need to look as fresh and contemporary as the new rooms and updated decor.”
Tennant sees the trend in decor and uniforms, especially for Native American casinos, moving toward evoking nature. “The colors are earth-toned,” she said. “Water themes are popular in the Pacific Northwest, while the desert regions favor sandy colors.” Izsak also sees a lot of earth tones, especially soft blues and greens, wheat, and bronze.
Denise Nahman of Creative Uniforms calls these colors “more soothing and modern,” and notes their popularity in spas, which are, of course, geared toward making a patron feel at ease, and the creams, sage greens and powder blues are more serenity-inspiring than the clinical white used in the past.
Nahman notes that bright colors are also very popular, especially in Southern California. “Bright colors make people happy -- customers as well as employees,” she said. “Some casinos are even going with luminescent or fluorescent colors.” As an example, she cited the uniforms her firm recently designed for the new Morongo Casino in Palm Springs. She describes the colors as “over the top!” The hotel’s front doorman is dressed in a “Foreign Legion-style” hat and three-quarter-length coat in royal blue with bright orange details, such as the buttons and epaulettes. The valets are in military-like olive/khaki green pants, with a mandarin shirt in royal blue and orange. At the front desk, the employees are wearing brown and olive houndstooth, with cream shirts and striped ties. The bellmen have soft blue shirts and vests in designs with several shades of blue, including the royal shade that appears elsewhere. On the casino floor itself, the employees are outfitted in the more conservative shirt/vest combo, but the fabrics are modern, with department-specific colors, like orange and sand, that complement the earth-toned decor.
The uniforms at the Morongo Casino are a perfect example of the unique image a casino needs to be conspicuous. “Image is very important,” Nahman said. “There are so many casinos, and if a particular casino wants to stand out, uniforms are a good way.” This can be especially true for cocktail uniforms. “If the uniform is sexy and sassy, the men will come to see the girls!” One of her favorites is the design her company recently did for an eastern casino. “The Cigarette Girl! The waitresses wear fishnets, coats with tails and ‘bellhop’ hats, and they carry a box with candy, cigarettes, etc. It’s a hit.”
Uniqueness is only one part of the image casino uniforms needs to project. “If a customer is approached by someone with a neat, well-put-together appearance, it makes him or her feel comfortable,” Nahman said.
Customers are made to feel comfortable if the uniforms are not only attractive, but also serve to make employees easily identifiable in the crowd. “You can go different routes with this,” said Izsak, citing security uniforms as an example. “Some go for evoking a military presence, with a police-style uniform, while others opt for a more ‘ambassadorial’ feel, with suit jackets. This makes them appear less intimidating, more inviting and helpful. This tack is the one taken in some Canadian casinos, where their security personnel are dressed in suit jackets and mock-turtleneck sweaters, with a security patch on the sleeve. It’s obvious who they are, but they’re warmer and more approachable.”
Housekeeping and environmental service uniforms are trending away from making their personnel look like janitors and more like a part of the casino. “They are on the floor a lot, and customers would rather see a nice uniform than a janitor-type with a rag sticking out of his pocket,” Izsak said. “The employee feels better, too, more a part of the casino.”
Employee happiness is playing a larger part in modern uniform design. The reason is obvious: If an employee is pleased with a uniform, the employee will be happier in general. If the employee is happy, he or she is more productive. Higher productivity equals higher profit margins. It’s good for everybody.
Not only will a floor employee feel better in a bright and neat uniform, but the behind-the-scenes personnel can benefit from conscientious design, too. Soft-counters’ very structured jumpsuits, for example, are giving way to more comfortable ones, with elastic waists and bright colors. Add some embroidery, and the employee will feel more dressed-up, more proud of his or her appearance, and thus, more productive.
Nahman said casino management is giving employees a direct say in uniform decisions. For example, a manager will pick three out of 12 shirt designs from a vendor, show them to the employees and have them vote on the shirt style they like best.
Nahman and Izsak both mention another very smart trend in keeping with employee satisfaction: catering to different body shapes. Management is starting to realize that unisex shirts are not respectful of a woman’s shape, and a shirt that is designed to look great on a petit frame is not going to work as well on the average woman’s body. Different cuts for male and female workers, and cuts more respectful of various builds, are appearing on the casino floor.
Other practical matters being taken into consideration are sleeve-lengths and fabrics. Three-quarter sleeves on shirts offer more freedom of movement, as well as durability, because the cuffs are less likely to suffer wear and tear than long sleeves. Microfibers are very popular because they wash beautifully and require little care. They take colors vibrantly and are colorfast. They hang nicely, creating a dressier look. Though it’s not as popular, a favorite fabric of Izsak’s is a spandex-cotton blend, which is very stretchy and comfortable.
Contemporary fashions, of course, also play a part in uniform design. Mandarin or stand-up collars are completely replacing the buttoned-down variety. Following the general trend in trousers, flat-fronted pants are taking the place of the standard pleated-front pants. Cargo pockets are appearing on pants and shorts. The tendency is to move away from vests, but Izsak thinks they’ll come back. “Unless you are tall and thin, you look ‘incomplete’ with just a shirt and pants. A vest finishes it off, makes it look more professional.” Her firm recently designed brocade vests for San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in San Bernardino, Calif., incorporating department-specific colors in the pattern. She calls the San Manuel outfitting “the most beautiful program we’ve ever done. It was a departure from the usual thematic Native American-style to a generic, almost retail style blended with European traditions.”
Fashions always seem to come back around eventually. Whether casino uniform trends are moving forward or harkening back, there are many new choices out there. A thread that seems common to any of the choices is the desire to be unique. This can be achieved through the new colors, fabrics and styles, as well as through the little details, like matching trim, button-covers or ties. One thing is certain: Uniforms don’t have to be boring anymore.
Sandi Davis is an artist and freelance writer living in Seattle, Wash. You can contact her at alexbettyx@gmail.com.
