Two women dressed in black boots were denied entry from Molly’s Irish Grille and Sports Pub in Bethlehem last week without further reasoning beyond breaking the dress code. “No wife beaters, white tees, hats, boots, jerseys or bandanas,” the dress code on a sign now reads.
Enacted in the past few weeks, this nightly dress code has been applied inconsistently and arbitrarily. Some students are allowed entry wearing boots and others are being turned away at the door.
There are certainly valid reasons a bar would enact a codified dress policy, whether it’s safety concerns, creating a specific image of ambience or encouraging a certain clientele. But at a sports bar does it really make sense to ban jerseys?
For those who were issued warnings in school because shorts didn’t go past the length of our fingertips or tank tops didn’t fully cover shoulders, it poses a broader question of why we are still telling people what they can and cannot wear in 2025.
As early as 1969, the Supreme Court ruled against public school officials being able to limit student expression in the case Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District after a group of students wore black armbands to school, showing support for a truce in the Vietnam War.
While this could be considered a win for proponents of uncensored speech, the case left an important caveat, with the court writing, “The problem posed by the present case does not relate to regulation of the length of skirts or the type of clothing, to hair style or deportment.”
This, followed by former President Bill Clinton endorsing dress codes and uniforms in 1996, led to school districts across the country enacting mandated uniform policies.
Although many of these dress codes were cited to improve test performance and education quality by limiting distractions, as stated in the 2001 case of Canady vs. Bossier Parish School Board, policies also raised debates of whether certain standards targeted particular racial or minority groups. This was illustrated by Bivens by Green v. Albuquerque Public Schools where the judge questioned whether a student wearing sagging pants conveyed a message about a particular racial or cultural group.
And beyond the fact that the National Library of Medicine found students required to adhere to dress codes did not exhibit better social skills or school attendance, these policies still largely impact women and people of color.
A report by The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that not only are school dress codes not equitable, but the districts that enforce them predominantly enroll students of color.
And while we’re talking about Molly’s and not schools, the new policy feels as if it speaks to the same issue. Dress codes at restaurants and bars have a history of being selectively enforced.
In March, there was recently backlash regarding a bar in Charleston, South Carolina where people claimed the bouncer used the dress code of “no Jordans, no ripped jeans, no athletic jeans” merely to deny Black patrons.
Similarly, a bar in Fort Worth, Texas changed their dress code after denying entry to a Black man wearing jeans and sneakers due to the policy, while allowing his white friend wearing a tank-top, shorts and slip-ons to enter.
The same backlash has led to restaurant and bar managers rescinding dress codes in order to avoid subliminal messaging, just as an instance that happened in Springfield, Massachusetts where a restaurant owner repealed its policy banning durags and baggy pants after protestors said it clearly targeted communities of color, as reported by CNN.
While Molly’s new dress code hasn’t directly mirrored these examples, it’s important to be mindful that policies that go unchecked, like what happened in Charleston, Fort Worth and Springfield, can have harmful implications.
And although we’re not claiming the new code is intentionally racially motivated, it’s situated in a historical context that inherently is. When Molly’s tells people to not wear certain attire, are they want to exclude the wife beaters and jerseys as articles of clothing or who they assume, is wearing them?
As Lehigh students, the bar is frequently overrun with college kids on the weekends, becoming an extension of campus nightlife that integrates with Bethlehem residents who also frequent it.
This relationship is why policies like the new dress code are more than just a sign.
When access to public spaces already skews toward certain groups — in this case, a sports bar overflowing with college students — even seemingly neutral rules can reinforce existing divides, which isn’t fair when Molly’s is inherently, and was built to be, a bar for the people of South Bethlehem.