NYC doormen reveal things you should never wear to the club

There are plenty of dos and don’ts when it comes to going out in New York City.

Part of that comes down to what you’re wearing.

Doormen and bouncers are constantly trying to cultivate the right vibe inside the club, and to do so, they’re going to judge you based on appearance.

“There are so many NPCs,” Jonah Almost, the doorman at Silencio (and sometimes Inferno), told NYLON. “I have to ask, ‘What are you contributing to this space?’ It’s about building up the culture here one way or another.”

“NPC” is an abbreviation for “non-player character”: any virtual character in a video game that is not controlled or manipulated by a player and is instead a static, pre-programmed fixture. In Gen Z terms, “NPC” is used as an insult for someone who is boring or lacks independent thinking.

Some doormen at NYC clubs revealed to NYLON what they absolutely don’t want to see people wearing when trying to enter a club.

White sneakers

Everyone loves white sneakers — except for bouncers.

“They’re a lack of imagination,” Cameron, the doorman at Paul’s Casablanca, said. “They instantly tell me you are no fun on the dance floor.”

To Almost, the white sneaker is “boring” — it’s “the standard young, straight-guy aesthetic in New York.”

“It depends on the night,” he clarified, “but if the club is pumping, it’s just not enough.”

Meanwhile, Frankie Carattini, the doorman at Laissez Faire, will allow sneakers past the velvet ropes — “just no more Air Force 1s, please.”

Golden Goose shoes

Golden Goose shoes — the shoes that are purposefully designed to look scuffed and dirty — are making a comeback, but doormen at NYC clubs don’t want to see them.

While the dirty-looking shoes had their moment with millennials, they started gaining attraction among Gen Z last summer and really took off in 2024.

Carattini has seen so many people wearing them that “it’s just lemming behavior.”

Crocs

This one should go without saying, though Donté McGuine, a partner at Outer Heaven who also runs the door, said he’d make an exception for Balenciaga Crocs.

Loro Piana slippers

If you want to break out your Loro Piana slippers, beware, because Cameron claims they “give me nausea.”

“Individuality and personal style are highly rewarded,” he clarified.

“At least bring some Advil with your transatlantic circus.”

Shorts

“I don’t want to see your kneecaps ever,” Carattini declared.

McGuine echoed Carattini’s sentiment, but added that there’s always an exception if they’re, “like, Miu Miu or Prada shorts.”

Vineyard Vines

Leave the preppy clothes where they belong — “in the Hamptons,” McGuine quipped.

And if you’re going to go the Vineyard Vines route, at least put some thought into it.

“Vineyard Vines would fall under preppiness, but it’s not intentional or thoughtful preppiness to just pull on a polo,” Almost says. “It’s cool to wear preppy clothes, but style it out.”