4 Signs Your Restaurant Or Bar's Dress Code Might Be A Little Bit Racist

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jul 11, 2016 4:40PM

Photo via Shutterstock.

It’s been a bad month for dress codes in Chicago. First, Parlor Pizza Bar kicked someone out for wearing a pair of $300 designer wool pants because someone decided they were “athletic wear.” Then, Chance the Rapper went to town on WhirlyBall for its ridiculous dress code.

Here’s what these (and many other) dress codes have in common: They’re full of coded racial references, and they’re ambiguous enough that they’re asking for trouble when it comes to enforcement. So, because we want to help out our friends in the restaurant and bar industry, we've compiled a list of ways that your dress code might be a bit of a problem.

1. For no discernible reason, it targets very specific items of clothing.

Often, a restaurant creates a dress code because it wants to have a certain atmosphere or type of clientele. But some of these restrictions don’t make much sense; that is, unless you’re targeting a specific group. For example, a controversial dress code at Bar Louie banned “flat bill hats.” A dress code at Adobe Gilas bans “Jordans.” A dress code at Hulk Hogan’s restaurant bans “Do-Rags.”

Come on. If those aren't aimed at a specific racial group, then they certainly imply one. Also, talk about the pot banning the kettle from his restaurant: Hulk Hogan's signature bandana looks a lot like a du-rag.

2. It's worried about the fit of your clothing.

Dress codes often go after how clothes fit or how people wear them. While in very particular types of clubs these restrictions might be justified for security concerns (and, if so, they’d better be enforced on everyone equally), that's not the case at most bars and restaurants.

For example, The dress code at DrumBar bans “baggy” clothing. The controversial Whirlyball dress code insisted that pants “must be worn at the waistline with a belt tightened properly.” Lucky Strike bans “Excessively Baggy Clothing.” Adobe Gilas bans “saggy” clothes.

There’s no easily definable definition of what’s baggy. At some gay clubs I’ve been to, a shirt that Express labels as “fitted” would be mocked as oversized. Figure out a way to be more specific, if there really is a good reason patrons' clothes should fit a certain way.

3. It includes anything about what’s actually on your body, rather than what you’re wearing.

Some dress codes ban "vulgar" tattoos or tattoos on the neck, face or hands. Seriously? Someone has a tattoo of a butterfly on their neck and you’re gonna throw them out of your place? Plus, what exactly does “vulgar” mean? This is yet another example of an opportunity for inconsistent enforcement, and because it's about permanent body art, that means inconsistently applied lifetime bans on certain patrons.

4. It’s incredibly ambiguous, so who gets in up to the people at the door (and their biases).

If a restaurant says you have to wear a tie or a jacket, it’s pretty darn easy to tell whether you are complying or not. The same goes for bans on sleeveless shirts or hats. The problem comes when you ban "faded or flashy" clothing, like the old Whirlyball dresscode. Or when, like Parlor Pizza Bar, you ban “sweatshirts.” If you can write me an exact description of the difference between a long-sleeved tee, a sweatshirt, a sweater and a blouse that makes any sense, I’ll be amazed.

With ambiguous dress codes like these, violations are in the eye of the beholder, which invites door people to incorporate their biases—which might, you know, find the same outfit that was fine on a white person "flashy" on a black person.

Here’s the bottom line: eating and drinking establishments can exclude whomever they want, provided they aren't discriminating based on race, gender or another protected status. But if you want to be fair to your patrons, there’s no reason to use these sorts of codes. I suggest that everyone take a page from one of the fanciest steakhouses in Chicago, Gibson’s, which has a great dress code:

Dress code: Gibsons does not have a formal dress code except that men are not permitted to wear sleeveless shirts. Some of our customers will be in suits others will wear jeans. Most men will have coats. We ask only that you are comfortable and enjoy your time with Gibsons.

If they can do it, so can you.