Hooters, the granddaddy of the American “breastaurant,” has steadfastly stuck to the formula that led to its success in the 1980s, right down to its iconic uniform. Even if you’ve never set foot inside the chain, you can probably describe it: white sneakers, pantyhose, orange short shorts, and a white tank top, where a presumably horny owl’s eyes double as the Os in the chain’s name.
Hooters is closing restaurants. Is its offensive uniform to blame?
The iconic orange short shorts and low-cut tank might be the problem — but not because diners hate sexy outfits.
But that strategy — and that outfit — may not be working. Business Insider reported that the number of Hooters restaurants decreased 7 percent from 2012 until 2016. While Business Insider attributed this to Pornhub’s findings that millennials are less likely to search for breasts, there is widespread online speculation that the problem lies not with a decreased appreciation of breasts, but with the fact that the concept of the restaurant is outdated and appeals only to the most boorish of baby boomers.
How much is the uniform — an ’80s throwback, right down to the “suntan” pantyhose — to blame? Does the iconic “Hooters girl” look embody a concept that no longer has a place in the modern marketplace? Could Hooters save its brand with an aesthetic overhaul?
Hooters itself is surprisingly hush-hush about the uniform at the center of its business plan. The only company-sanctioned description available dates back to 2005, when the Smoking Gun website published an official Hooters employee manual. Its contents ruffled some feathers; employees had to sign a statement in it that they “hereby acknowledge ... the work environment is one in which joking and innuendo based on female sex appeal is commonplace.” It may have gotten a rewrite in the intervening years, but the Hooters public relations department did not respond to a request for an updated copy of the employee manual, or to questions about the origin of the Hooters aesthetic.
It’s difficult to verify the uniform’s exact requirements because women who work at Hooters are either very reluctant or unable to provide a copy of the dress code. Marisa, a former Hooters employee, never had access an up-to-date copy of the employee manual because, according to her, it didn’t exist.
The dress code “was verbally communicated,” Marisa (who asked to be identified by first name only) wrote in an email. She explained that “there were pictures of how a ‘model Hooters girl’ was supposed to look” posted in a staff-only area, “and there were posts on a bulletin board reminding us the amount of makeup we had to wear and how our hair could be done.” (It should be noted that different locations have slight variations in their dress codes.)
Marisa added, “The dress code was extremely strict. Our managers would meet with all the girls who were about to start their shift and check that our hair was done, makeup was done (at least mascara and lipstick), shirt and shorts had no stains, tights had no rips in them, and shoes were clean and white.”
“Our managers would meet with all the girls who were about to start their shift and check that our hair was done, makeup was done”
The chain has made a few tweaks in recent years, opting to get rid of the white slouch socks that were a hot athleisure trend in the ’80s. According to an Orange County news story from 2009, the original high-waisted orange shorts were designed by the popular swimwear brand Dolfin, but today women who work at Hooters can wear an updated dance-style short that sits lower on the hips. The pantyhose are still part of the requirements.
How does the modern Hooters employee feel about wearing hose? Another Hooters server, Samantha (who also asked to be identified by first name), said this part of the uniform didn’t give her any pause: “I’m also a ballerina, so I’ve worn pantyhose most of my life. I’m glad it’s part of the uniform because it holds everything in place and makes the shorts fit more flattering.”
Marisa has a different perspective on the tights: “I wasn’t a fan of those because they would rip so easily and we had to buy those almost every two days at $5 a pair.” But she also sees why Hooters wants to keep this part of the look — “I understand the aesthetic … they make you look tan and cover up any marks on your legs.”
The 2005 guidelines explain the nuances behind the “Hooters girl” aesthetic. “Hooters offers its customers the look of the ‘All American Cheerleader, Surfer, Girl Next Door.’” Why a “surfer?” Perhaps this harks back to the surf shops that line the beaches of Clearwater, Florida, where the restaurant first opened in 1983.
Hooters “isn’t even a nickname for breasts anymore”
Back then, Hooters didn’t have to deal with a slew of mediocre online reviews, piled on top of viral Twitter tirades about how Hooters should staff women who could double as therapists. On Yelp, the complaints typically ignore the cleavage and instead focus on cold food, watered-down drinks, and unsatisfactorily small chicken wings.
When reviewers do mention the servers’ looks, they often complain that Hooters isn’t offering its customers the level of titillation that customers expect. One reviewer in Towson, Maryland, said, “If you go because the girls are scantily clad, you would be better off going to the Tilted Kilt” (one of Hooters’ newer competitors in the breastaurant scene).
John M. was similarly frustrated: “Is this a Hooters? I thought it said so on the door, but when I walked in, I didn’t see any Hooters. These are some of the least endowed and ‘heavier around the waist’ Hooters Girls I’ve ever seen.”
Even unhappier is Michael P., who reports, “Girls are overweight, bitter and ugly. Yup it’s superficial but why the heck else do you go there??? Boobies and butts!!! Duh!!!!”
So it doesn’t seem that customers are clamoring for less sexualized uniforms.
Joseph Szala, a restaurant branding expert for Vigor marketing, has helped restaurants overhaul their look to appeal to younger, hipper audiences. For Hooters to revitalize its flagging appeal, he explains that the chain would need a radical overhaul. “It’s a scenario where you have to rethink the whole thing,” he says, starting with the name. Hooters “isn’t even a nickname for breasts anymore.”
But again, it’s not the revealing nature of the uniform that’s the issue. Szala points to Tilted Kilt, which opened in 2003. There, the waitresses dress like school girls, à la Britney Spears in the “Baby One More Time” music video.
“If you look at Tilted Kilt, it’s a rather modern interpretation of a sexualized woman, whereas Hooters maintains a 1990s Florida beach look,” he said. The newer chain also capitalizes on innuendo and scantily clad servers but has (until very recently) enjoyed steady growth.
Another racy fast-casual chain, Twin Peaks, has a similar story — its outfits might be the most suggestive of all the breastaurants, which Szala describes as “an outdoorsy girl ... gone sexy.” Despite the recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints filed by former servers, the chain enjoyed healthy growth in 2017.
Szala points to Hooters’ menu as an issue. Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks offer menus that are more in tune with casual restaurant trends. Tilted Kilt has vaguely Irish-themed “pub fare,” including items like “pub nachos”; Twin Peaks boasts a freshly prepared, “from scratch” menu. “Hooters was created for one purpose: to get dangerously close to showing people naughty places,” Szala says. That’s a service we can get elsewhere, and at restaurants that serve more interesting food.
Szala has a few other ideas for how Hooters could refresh its look. For one, it could come up with a style that’s “a bit more aligned with what is truly the girl next door.” And that means playing down the uniformity of the uniform. “Let women have the option of length of shorts, as well as style of tops,” he says. “As a brand in general, if they let the women that they hire express themselves in a way that’s more comfortable, the experience feels less forced.”
It’s not unusual for businesses to update their uniforms — Szala points out that airlines change their uniforms every few years in order to keep up with changing fashions.
Interesting he should mention airlines. Hooters had its own airline from 2003 to 2006, which ended up losing the company $40 million. What happened to Hooters’ willingness to take risks?
Hooters has experimented with revising its business model, but with none of the boldness that brought us Hooters Air. 2017 saw the opening of Hoots, a pared-down version of Hooters that offers only the most popular menu items. Sex appeal isn’t part of the package; male and female employees wear standard fast-food uniforms of khakis and orange polos.
Jean S. said in a Yelp review of the new Hoots in Cicero, Illinois, “the young women get to keep their dignity and aren’t revealing any skin.” Matthew Torres X has a more ambiguous take: “It’s like you get to enjoy your wings without the inconvenience of beautiful women all over the place.”
Hoots’ dull approach to uniforms underlines what the chain has in common with so many from the baby boomer era: Like a dad who trades in his zany ’80s sweaters for a North Face jacket, Hooters’ response to change has so far been to become a blander version of itself. If its “1980s Florida girl next door” look doesn’t fly anymore, it seems Hooters would rather not have a look at all.
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