Guards at Empire State Building given classic look

[skyvue]

An Occasion to Wear 'Empire State Burgundy'
By JAMES BARRON
Published: May 26, 2008

Fifteen years after the movie “Sleepless in Seattle” gave his workplace even more fame, Robert Gross finally has a uniform that is camera worthy.

Mr. Gross is a guard at the Empire State Building who is usually posted at the 86th-floor observatory. The view from there is something. The uniforms that he and his colleagues used to wear -- plain polo shirts and dark slacks -- were not.

But his on-duty look is changing. The building is getting something of a makeover inside, and the building's owners decided to extend that to custom-made uniforms that have just been delivered -- 300 uniforms, each including 3 jackets, 4 pairs of slacks and 11 shirts.

The uniforms were hand-trimmed in a workroom 10 blocks from the Empire State Building. The building commissioned a Manhattan company that makes the uniforms seen on many apartment doormen and on some staff members at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the United Nations and the Waldorf-Astoria.

“I love that they're doing this more formal look,” said Jennifer L. Busch, a vice president of the uniform company, I. Buss. “They were in polo shirts. That's not a uniform.”

I. Buss has off-the-rack styles like the Gramercy, a three-button double-breasted jacket, and the Windsor, a two-button single-breasted. But the Empire State Building wanted something special. So Ms. Busch, whose great-grandfather started the company in 1892, scoured old photographs to find a look that was in style when the Empire State Building was new.

It opened in 1931, when Art Deco designers were celebrating the Machine Age. Ms. Busch soon settled on a distinctively Art Deco look....

More here:
http://tinyurl.com/5jquyj

 

[David Conwill]

That's great, it's so nice to see something going the opposite way from the rest of society. I figured the next step after polo shirts would be something like velour tracksuits.

Also, I suspect it will give the guards some more espirit d'corps! I know I always felt more professional wearing a shirt and tie behind the desk of the hotel where I worked than I did wearing the polo shirt I was initially issued.

-Dave

 

[The Wingnut]

It warms the heart to see the guards appropriately attired and to hear that ugly drop ceilings are coming out and the ceilings the building was meant to have are being revealed after so many years.

 

[Paisley]

The guards' job is public safety. Their appearance should make them easily identified as guards, and look like they should be taken seriously. Polos and khakis don't fit the bill.

 

[David Conwill]

The guards' job is public safety. Their appearance should make them easily identified as guards, and look like they should be taken seriously. Polos and khakis don't fit the bill.

This is a good point, but I would hate to have that philosophy taken too far - BDUs and assault rifles would look just as out of place.

-Dave

 

[Paisley]

I meant that I liked the uniforms and thought they suited the job and the place. After all, it's a building, not a missile silo.

 

[CaddyKid21]

It nice to know they are making the building as it was. Those new uniforms look excellent, match perfectly with the style of the building. And by the way, what a dropped ceilings?


MS

 

[Josephine]

And by the way, what a dropped ceilings?


MS

In all ways, it is evil incarnate. It's also known as a suspended ceiling.

 

[zaika]

that's wonderful! i guess i'll have to make a trip out east, just to take a look.

 

[Foofoogal]

That's great, it's so nice to see something going the opposite way from the rest of society

Seriously cool. thanks for that.

 

[Feraud]

The ESB employees will cut a dashing figure among the flip-flopped, bathing suit wearing tourists that visit the place.

 

[RudyN]

The guards now look like guards. The uniforms are quite nice looking and go well with the building.

 

[Rachael]

The ESB employees will cut a dashing figure among the flip-flopped, bathing suit wearing tourists that visit the place.

maybe the new uniforms will inspire visitors to dress for the visit again. I know it's a vain hope but it does spring eternal.