Wall Street W Hotel Ups the Swank

USA Today: Check out these smart, tuxedo-style outfits that the W hotel chain rolled out this season for its Wall Street area hotel, the W New York - Downtown.

They could bring some pizzazz to the hotel's outdoor terrace bar, where high-flying investment banker types often meet over drinks to discuss deals.

I like them because they're a refreshing departure from the "little black dress" that's getting too much play these days. And Facebook friend and occasional traveler Cindy Breitman agrees. She wrote on my Facebook page that they look "chic and classy."

But Guido Van Den Elshout, who writes the popular Happy Hotelier blog and runs a boutique hotel near The Hague's city center, wrote on Facebeook that the outfits look a little too good.

"Seriously, I would argue this is too sexy for hospitality people," he wrote. "Hoteliers should not endanger their co-workers with such uniforms even if it is fashionable!" (The photo of the outfits sparked about a dozen comments on my Facebook page, which is why I'm posting it here on the blog.)

The designer: Lyn Devon, who's designed for Ralph Lauren before starting her first full Ready-to-Wear collection six years ago. She got the gig partly because she represents local talent that the chain likes to support; her studio is steps away from the 58-story hotel that opened last summer and her factory's in the Garment District.

Whether you like Devon's creation or not, the outfits do add to the mix of stand-out hotel staffer fashions. Last winter, Hotel Check-In noted rugged, aviator-inspired doormen jackets at the artsy-chic James in New York City and skin-tight cocktail waitress dresses at Thompson's hip, modern Donovan House and celeb-filled Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Designer outfits, however, aren't always a hit since.

The little black dress designed by Nanette Lepore for Thompson's hip hotels were nowhere to be seen at the Donovan House a couple of months ago when I attended a farewell party at its hip - and hot - rooftop pool lounge. Turns out the clinging, polyester dress became too hot to wear for the women.