The imposition of dress codes has been a resurgent and irksome issue in Guyana in recent years, and on occasions there have been public complaints about the manner in which persons are denied entry to public buildings. While there have been controversies when persons visit public offices generally, the matter has come into sharp focus during performances at the National Cultural Centre, moving from the disputes between patrons and ushers out front to the laughter from satirical treatment of the subject on stage.
In all cases, what has irked persons and provoked debates is not the presence of a dress code per se, but some of the forms of clothing found objectionable and the way it has been applied. Criticism has been aimed at both the officials in authority who have set down details of what items are not allowed and the guards posted at gates and doors who refuse entry based on some ridiculous detail or their own judgment of what is ‘decent.’
Dress codes have two kinds of advantages, one based on the fact that these standards are often really a class issue. Some establishments set standards aimed at a certain elite or maintaining an appearance to give the impression of high quality. They desire perceptions of
