A work dinner to celebrate a retiring colleague turned into an unexpectedly tense evening when one employee’s choice of footwear got them turned away at the door.

What followed was a meltdown, a mass coworker backlash, and a boss with no patience for hole-y excuses.

Read on for the story.

AITA for not going home and changing my shoes for a restaurant’s dress code?

I (F29) was recently invited to a work dinner, as one of my colleagues is retiring.

It was being held at a little barbecue restaurant in town.

I was told that the dress code was “smart casual.”

For context, I wore a nice skirt and button-up, and a pair of crocs.

I live in a hot climate and lots of people such as myself wear sandals/crocs/flip flops everywhere.

When we got to the restaurant, it turned out they had a dress code, and the hostess loudly told me I couldn’t come in wearing crocs.

Well, I’m not sure hole-y shoes identify as “smart casual.”

It was extremely embarrassing in front of my coworkers.

I don’t really understand the problem because there were people wearing sneakers, converse, etc, and that’s fine but crocs aren’t?

It wasn’t even a fancy restaurant so I really wasn’t expecting this.

Anyway, one of my coworkers urged me to go home and change my shoes and come back.

I was so distraught I ended up just going home and not coming back.

I suffer with anxiety and the whole experience just made me meltdown.

Oof.

My coworkers are now collectively angry at me for leaving and not coming back.

My boss told me the event wasn’t about me and I should’ve sucked it up.

Was I an a jerk for leaving?

Dress codes are a minefield, and this one blew up in front of the whole office.

But between the embarrassment, the anxiety spiral, and the crocs ban, it’s clear that this wasn’t just about shoes—it was a recipe for disaster.

Reddit, I mean the fashion police, had a lot to say…

This person has a lot of questions.

This person suggests attempting to be more professional.

And this person just really hates Crocs in general.

Honestly, Crocs may be casual, but they are definitely not smart.

Most people realize this.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.