# Bars with "No White T Shirt" policy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062 "2011-06-11T02:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/21 "2011-06-13T15:55:35Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > …it was mentioned that by dressing all the same, the bangers were hoping to make it virtually impossible for any random witnesses to make a positive identification on a particular suspect… This was an issue in NE Ohio a few years ago - same thing asserted here, too. Don’t know how true it is. Some judges instruct anyone in their courtrooms wearing a white T-shirt to go home and change. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/22 "2011-06-13T16:57:41Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Yes, there’s been some to-do about that here in Kansas City, particularly with dress codes being more rigorously enforced with black folks than with whites. Another area of concern was codes prohibiting styles popular with young blacks. My thought is, if there’s a code barring the white T-shirts but not also barring the other styles, then the intent is to keep out troublemakers rather than keep out blacks. A while back, my wife and I went to a club with a group of her friends. I was the the only white person in the group, and having come directly from work where the dress code is very casual, I was wearing my customary cargo shorts, hiking shoes and button-down shirt while the others were dressed a bit nicer. The dress code notice forbade both shorts and athletic shoes. I asked the bouncer if I could get in with my group, and after looking at me like I was nuts, waved me in. Did I get in in order to keep the business my group would bring? Due to racial politics? Or is a thirty year old nerd just too non-threatening to turn away for any reason? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/23 "2011-06-13T17:20:22Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Also, the t-shirts are long and baggy because it makes it more difficult to describe the build of the person wearing it, unless they’re obviously obese. Obese gangbangers often gravitate toward white t’s with vertical stripes, for the slimming effect. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/24 "2011-06-13T17:30:06Z")
FWIW, I’ll note that in the show the bar’s owner is black, as is a large portion of the clientele. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/25 "2011-06-13T17:34:06Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > And to presumably make it possible to carry a firearm or other weapon unnoticed. There are plenty of other shirts someone could wear to conceal a weapon. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/26 "2011-06-13T17:50:37Z")
> [@Xan](#): > > There are plenty of other shirts someone could wear to conceal a weapon. I think that Superdude is probably intelligent enough to know that rather obvious fact, and was commenting on the “baggy” part of the description, as opposed to the “white T-shirt” part. A skin-tight cycling jersey or a lycra Ballet leotard is probably not going to conceal a stolen pistol tucked into a gang-bangers waistband as well as a loose, baggy T-shirt, eh? ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/27 "2011-06-13T17:55:44Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > FWIW, I’ll note that in the show the bar’s owner is black, as is a large portion of the clientele. Which supports the notion it is to keep out trouble makers, not blacks. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062/28 "2011-06-13T17:56:24Z")
> [@caveman](#): > > A while back, my wife and I went to a club with a group of her friends. I was the the only white person in the group, and having come directly from work where the dress code is very casual, I was wearing my customary cargo shorts, hiking shoes and button-down shirt while the others were dressed a bit nicer. The dress code notice forbade both shorts and athletic shoes. I asked the bouncer if I could get in with my group, and after looking at me like I was nuts, waved me in. Did I get in in order to keep the business my group would bring? Due to racial politics? Or is a thirty year old nerd just too non-threatening to turn away for any reason? As a bouncer, I would likely allow someone who didn’t meet the dress code but was with a group of people inside. It’s a balancing act of the desire to maintain standards of dress and not turning away a large group of customers. Also, given that you asked the doorman for permission and weren’t a “punk-looking” kid no doubt influenced his decision. Most of the problems I deal with aren’t caused by 30-ish white males who fail to meet the dress code, so they’ll be cut a little more slack than other, more youthful types. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bars-with-no-white-t-shirt-policy/585062.md?page=1)