Not Allowed to Enter at The Aviation Club in Paris because of my Shoes

[karpov]

Today I went to the aviation club and the guy at the reception didn't allow me to enter because of my shoes. My shoes are a $300 Mephisto (made in France) which are very nice and I wear proudly. Have anybody experienced something similar and so ridiculous like this in Paris?

[pismeyer]

What style were they? Leisure or City? (Not that it should matter)

I have a pair of Mephisto Air-Jet that are incredibly comfortable. Guess I can cross The Aviation Club off my list.

Edit - Teva Sandles and Vans slip-on sneakers are incredibly comfortable too, wonder if those will get past the podium?

P [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[*TT*]

Mephisto wont cut their dress code, they are a brand that some Parisians know (like a doorman) are really shoes for people who would rather be wearing sneakers. Aviation Club has this dress code to keep out the riff raff, as a former nightclub operator I know for a fact that these ridiculous dress code theorys work (even though I personally despise dress code policies, problem is its hard to find staff that can chose customers wisely without a dress code). All you had to do was go down the street and buy a pair of $200 Ballys and you would be let in - pricepoint isn't the key, they just want you to wear shoes that look like classic shoes.

[benjdr]

meh, get some berlutis.

[Don Olney]

Mephitsto( or any similar looking shoe) are not acceptable dress shoes no matter the price point for the Aviation club.

A $25 pair of dress shoes from the local flee market would have been just fine.

[andyfox]

I've experienced it here in Los Angeles. They wouldn't let my nephew come into a restaurant because of his shoes. And yet they allowed Steve Garvey to come in that night. Go figure.

My sister and brother-in-law were once in a restaurant in Paris and had asked for a non-smoking table. But it was in the middle of a smokefest. When they told the waiter they had requested a non-smoking table, the guy took the ashtray off their table and walked away.

[cardcounter0]

[ QUOTE ]
My sister and brother-in-law were once in a restaurant in Paris and had asked for a non-smoking table.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hahahahahaha! The restaurant probably didn't have budweiser either.

[RJT]

[ QUOTE ]
…When they told the waiter they had requested a non-smoking table, the guy took the ashtray off their table and walked away.

[/ QUOTE ]

To which they should have quipped “Touché”.

[frommagio]

[ QUOTE ]
Today I went to the aviation club and the guy at the reception didn't allow me to enter because of my shoes. My shoes are a $300 Mephisto (made in France) which are very nice and I wear proudly. Have anybody experienced something similar and so ridiculous like this in Paris?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, just went to mephisto.com, and those sure are some "ugly-*** shoes" (quote inspired by OJ Simpson). I'm sure that for $300 they feel great, but it's just the wrong style for an upscale place.

Think of it this way - a dump truck is a pretty expensive special-purpose vehicle, but the valet at the Four Seasons won't want to touch it!

[rageotones]

i think this is the first time i'm gonna say, you should have used the search function before you went. i think every thread about the aviation club has mentioned the shoe thing.

like others have said, it has nothing to do w/the the cost of the shoes, but the appearance. i got in w/some cheap shoes that look ok.