Looking your best on shift: Preparing your uniform
If you’re a temporary worker in hospitality, or you’re looking at picking up a few extra shifts through an agency, you might want to a prepare yourself with a few wardrobe essentials to get you through.
It’s worth noting that as every venue can be different there will often be a variation of expectations — but here’s a few pointers to get you started and ready for work in most basic terms.
Waiting staff
Long sleeve shirt
For both females and males, a long sleeve shirt is one of the most important wardrobe items for Front of House staff. It’s best to own them in white and black as venues can prefer either colour. Also best to own multiple of them as well so that you don’t have to do some quick washing between shifts.
You can buy a good quality ladies shirt here and men’s shirt here.
Waistcoat
Usually in black, a well-fitting waistcoat sits nicely on top of a white long sleeve shirt for a slick, smart look. It also helps to get one that is machine washable rather than hand wash only to save yourself time.
You can buy a ladies waistcoat here and men’s waistcoat here.
Smart trousers
Washable, comfortable, non-fashion trousers in black are key for both males and females. If you’re not sure if you’ll be having an apron on shift, it’s a good idea to get some with pockets so you can access your pen, bottle opener etc. with ease when needed.
You can buy machine washable ladies trousers here and men’s trousers here.
Closed shoes with good soles
With all the walking you’ll be doing on-shift it pays to spend more money than you usually would on a decent pair of shoes. The ideal shoes will be leather (easy to clean and keep tidy), with good rubber soles (to protect your feet and prevent slipping on greasy floors) and be enclosed (for optimum safety in the workplace). Ladies, I know this doesn’t sound like the most attractive of shoes — but comfort and practicality wins hands down here.
You can buy a good leather shoe for ladies here and for men here.
Hostess
There are some additional items of clothing a hostess may want to purchase to give flexibility and look even smarter. As the hostess is often the first person people interact with, it helps to appear smart and professional.
Little black dress
An optional addition, but a little black dress (yes, LBD!) is a welcome addition to the wardrobe of a hostess. The balance between smart and of adequate length must be maintained.
I personally would check out ASOS for a little black dress. You may need to filter through the pages to find something suitable in length and professional looking though.
Low black heels
Heels of a couple of inches high work well with the LBD. You want shoes that look good, but are equally comfortable and practical for the workplace. Most venues won’t allow heels above 2 inches for safety reasons.
I would check out court shoes at Debenhams for these.
Chef
It goes without saying really, but Chef’s and kitchen staff need the most practical clothing of all for their job…
Chef whites
Chef whites are the most common attire in the kitchen. Being white, they are designed to keep the chef cool in a hot kitchen and display cleanliness.
You can find chef jackets here and trousers here.
Grooming
Clothing is not all you need to know. Most venues will assume a certain level of personal grooming and hygiene from workers.
Neat hair
For those with longer hair (shoulder length or longer) you should keep your hair neat by putting it up into a pony tail or bun. Besides looking more respectable, it helps with avoiding getting your hair in food when serving guests and it sticking to your face (because of your makeup!)
Short nails (no fakes!)
Keep your finger nails as short as possible. Shorter nails means it is less likely that you harbour germs under them — and it looks better when you serve guests as well. While fake nails enhance your appearance, they are generally banned from venues for health and safety purposes. Sadly, there have been occasions where fakes nails have fell into soup…
Additional Items
We’re nearly there, there’s just a few more things to consider to make your shift (and life) easier.
Waiter’s friend
A waiter’s friend is the most popular corkscrew — they are usually fairly lightweight but strong, often fold-able too so they fit in your pocket or apron. Having your own one of these helps so that you don’t need to ask someone else for one on shift — just keep yours safe!
You can buy a waiter’s friend here.
A good pen
Often overlooked, but when you’re taking orders or remembering tasks it helps to have a good pen handy. While normal ballpoint pens will do, you could opt to buy something fancier (like a Parker pen) as your signature pen.
You can browse the range of Parker pens here.
Do you have ideas for another item that people should remember to buy? Or did this list help you when starting a hospitality job? Let us know!
