Edinburgh pub bans 'jobby catchers' and 'mankles' in sartorial crackdown

From flared trousers to oversized t-shirts, Edinburgh’s fashion police have been out in force for decades deciding what is and what isn’t fashionable.

For one pub in Edinburgh such crimes to the eyes which the Capital’s fashionistas decide to force on other people have led to a ban like no other.

Forget ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’, Dreadnought in Leith have put in place a flat ban on ‘jobby catchers’ and ‘mankles’.

To the less fashion obsessed, ‘jobby catchers’ are your classic two-piece tracksuit (preferably the same colour) while ‘mankles’ are the domain of the hipster with turn-up jeans twinned with a bare ankle.

The pub, on North Fort Street, put the ban in place as a reaction to those wearing tracksuits ‘infiltrating’ the pub.

Flip-flop ban?

In a post on the pub’s Facebook page, the business added that the ban might be extended to another fashion error, flip-flops.

It said: “We were accused of snobbishness last time but, frankly, they just make the place look scruffy.

“We do our best to keep the place looking reasonably smart and, if the first you see when you walk in is a group of lads wearing matching grey marl jobby catchers, we may as well have installed a beaten up bus shelter in the corner and invited folk to take a slash against it.

“Just to prove our sartorial prejudices cross all boundaries, we’re also taking a stand against this horrendous current trend of half mast jeans, bare ankles and shoes.

“If you’re going to base your fashion choices on what the staff at Urban Outfitters were wearing, there’s a place created especially for you. It’s called Brewdog.”

Mairi Beaver, who runs the successful fashion and lifestyle blog This Girl Does, said the pub deserves both praise and a word of warning for the owners.

She said: “Whilst I applaud anyone who advocates that ‘jobby catchers’ shouldn't be worn anywhere other than the gym, suggesting that a cheeky turn up is not welcome in the hipster-heartland of Leith is a bit risque.

“I love the tongue-and-cheek approach - much more preferred than the bouncers of George Street's approach.”