Restaurant Requires Heels For Women, Faces Social Media Backlash

As we rub our sore feet after last night's excursions, we can only read this dress code with rage: "Ladies: No flat shoes or sandals. Must have heels. Exception will be made if injured."

Press Enterprise reports that Riverside restaurant ProAbition posted a flyer for it's grand opening this past weekend, with standard dress codes banning tennis shoes, baggy attire, sports hats, hooded sweaters, and T-shirts. For ladies, however, they banned flats or sandals.

The response has changed the management's tune, however. One Facebook commenter wrote, "The '20s were about the liberation of women and the ability to be free to be an individual, not trapped in the confines of what YOUR definition of feminine or sexy is," while another called the high-heels only policy "ignorant."

Since then, ProAbition has clarified the situation, saying that the club does have a dress code but flat shoes are allowed. "The flyer in question was posted by one of our promoters for a SPECIFIC event; scheduled on a Saturday night — after dinner hours. We should have caught the questionable wording and corrected it. 'Fashionable Cocktail Attire' should have sufficed."

The club does have a dress code, the Facebook page continues to note, but it is more strict on weekend nights than lunch hours. Press Enterprise chatted with ProAbition's assistant general manager Christopher Sylvesto, who backpedaled on the shoe policy. "As a business, we pay very close attention to our guests' feedback. We had been receiving feedback on all fronts. That's when we decided maybe we need to re-adjust this and not be so strict about this one particular item," he said. But he also notes ladies should dress to impress, which we suppose sometimes means sky-high stilettos.