Pub defends ‘Eshay’ clothing ban
A Queensland pub has defended its decision to implement a restrictive dress code, saying the Eshay-style clothing was synonymous with troublemakers.
Falvey’s Hotel Yamanto caused a stir online after an eagle-eyed customer noticed a list of clothing items that “may restrict” entry to the Ipswich venue.
The banned items included hooded jumpers or tops, bum bags, Nike TN shoes and solid red clothing, leading some to speculate the restrictions were targeted at eshays.
Eshay is a slang expression associated with an Australian urban youth subculture, characterised by anti-social behaviour.
Commentators took to social media, joking the hotel should have just banned eshays.
“So just a ban on all eshays? Just say that, covers the whole list,” one person joked.
“Bloody eshays have completely ruined the colour red. I have to find a new fav colour,” another wrote on a viral post about the pub’s decision.
But some were in favour of Falvey’s dress code, saying the restrictions “sounds like it (the pub) should have a decent crowd then”.
“I don’t see a problem with businesses setting dress rules. It is your option to go or not.”
Social media posts from the venue show the ban has been in place since at least November 2020, with Falvey’s Hotel posting online it seemed to have “caused a bit of a stir”.
The full list of clothing restrictions is featured on the hotel’s website for its nightclub The Playroom.
Falvey’s Hotel manager Michael Falvey defended the pub’s decision, saying the style items were the “common denominator” of troublemakers.
“It’s just the common denominator of the people we saw were causing this trouble and it just happens to get the ehsays at the same time,” he told channel nine’s Today program on Thursday morning.
“The only person who wears a satchel and looks cool is Indiana Jones.
“We couldn’t ban the mullet because here in Ipswich people have had the mullet since it was cool the first time.”
“We don’t see any eshays, so it’s working in that sense,” he added to 7News.
“It’s a uniform — if you see cowboy boots and a hat, you think cowboy. If I see TNs and a bum bag, I think d*** head.”
The popular venue, which contains a restaurant, beer garden, nightclub and gaming area, also bans steel cap boots and hi-vis work wear after 7pm, alongside offensive, gang-related or derogatory tattoos.
Last year, Perth nightclub Bar 1 hit the headlines after explicitly banning red shoes from February 1 in an attempt to filter out partygoers with a “bad attitude”.
Venue owner Malcolm Pages said the ban would only apply to a “certain style of person”.
