A “bikini barista” coffee shop that was forced to change its dress code due to a local ordinance has fought back against the ruling – and won.
Now, a US federal court has ruled it’s a constitutional right for staff to sell coffee while wearing the cafe’s skimpy dress code.
The trouble began brewing in 2017 at Hillbilly Espresso in Everett, Washington, 50km north of Seattle, when the local government tried to establish a city ordinance preventing the cafe staff from wearing their “uniforms,” which include bikinis, harnesses, and bras, The US Sun reported.
But staff known locally as the “Hillbilly Hotties” wanted to keep their “uniforms”, HeraldNet reported.
Now, Judge Ricardo S Martinez has ruled in the cafe’s favour, saying the ordinance encouraged a “humiliating, intrusive, and demoralising search on women, disempowering them and stripping them of their freedom”.
One barista, who uses the name Emma Dilemma while at work, said she feels safer thanks to the ruling.
Under the ordinance, she said, her body could have been under scrutiny from law enforcement at work.
“Who’s approving my outfit? Is it my female boss or some random dude cop that I don’t know?” she asked.
Another barista, who goes by the name Ivy, said the original ordinance was an unfair judgment against the female employees.
“We all have lives outside of this,” she said. “Some of us are mothers, some of us go to college besides this, we’re all just working and hustling like everybody else.”
“Bikini baristas” are a common concept across the US and originated in Seattle in the early 2000s. While they are found in various parts of the country, they are most common in the area around Seattle.
Customers of Hillbilly Espresso also expressed their delight at the court ruling.
One man, Alexander Hubbard, told Fox 13 Seattle the city ordinance had been “unacceptable and unconstitutional”.
“There’s nothing wrong with what the baristas are wearing,” he said. “They can wear whatever they want. It’s a bikini stand.”
Jovanna Edge, owner of XO Espresso, another bikini barista stand, said that the companies will challenge the City of Everett if the local government appeals.
“If they do, what am I going to do about it? Fight again,” Ms Edge told Fox 13. “Our [lawyers] are in for the long haul.”
This story originally appeared on The US Sun and reproduced with permission
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