It's barely been open a wet week, but new Merchant City nightclub The Shimmy Club is already in hot water. Complaints have been made to both Glasgow City Council and local Police over a two-way mirror in the ladies' bathroom. Similar to the kind of glass used for interrogations and line-ups in cop movies, the mirrors at the sinks in the loo, are in fact windows into a private function room on the other side. Punters in the private room can see girls at the sinks, doing what girls do at the sinks (lippie check/VPL check/gossip).
Both the Police and the local licencing department are investigating the complaints, though the Shimmy Club have said the mirror was created as just a bit of fun and many girls have knowingly posed for pictures for the folks on the other side. They said they have made existing signs bigger to explain the mirrors' voyeuristic nature and that there is also a separate basin area for those reluctant to be watched while they wash. However, according to the Evening Times, local politicians are calling for the mirror to be covered over entirely.
The Shimmy Club is a new Merchant City club that opened earlier this month
The story has gone a tad viral, having been picked up in both national, and some international media, but The Shimmy Club say the whole mirrorgate saga (yes we love a good Gate Saga here at DesignMyNight!) has been blown out of proportion. A fun-poking statement on their Facebook page says, "It's clear that those who are negatively commenting on line may not have been lucky enough to get past the door staff yet and viewed the area as they would have seen that the sight line is very limited and allows for glimpses into the wash up area only of the ladies loos." The statement went on to add, that they would listen to their customers if they wanted the mirror removed, but ended on an upbeat/crass/you decide note, "God help us when they find out that we have buried vibrators into sections of the dancefloor..."
Oh my. It's all going on in Glasgow. So let us know, what do you make of The Shimmy Club's mirror debacle? Cool club quirk, or creepy peeper feature? One genius PR move or one shameless publicity stunt? But hey, all publicity is good publicity, right? We want to hear your thoughts.
