Belts, it’s the belts that are racist.
Via NJ Com:
The opening of a long-awaited Jersey City bar has been marred by a dress code sign that some have interpreted as racist.
The sign at The Ashford, which referred to its dress code as “upscale business casual,” banned oversized jeans and shirts, head gear, ball caps, work boots, gym sneakers, shorts or athletic apparel, sweatpants or joggers, cargo pants, oversized jewelry and chains, sunglasses, camouflage, low or baggy pants and headphones. The code also required belts be worn with pants.
The references to oversized jewelry, low and belt-less pants, and head gear, particularly, were seen by some as racially specific and led a number of patrons to take to social media to question if the bar is expressly attempting to keep patrons of color out of the premises.
The Ashford bar owner Kenny Caulfield told NJ Advance Media the large placard was “an oversight,” that was up for one day during the bar’s soft opening at the end of December, and that the dress code simplified. He said the bar’s dress code is now simply “casual neat” and “dress to impress,” and has “nothing to do with race whatsoever.”
“That sign, that was a mistake, it was put out and it was rectified straightaway,” Caulfield said. “It was an oversight, you’re busy, you’re not paying attention to every detail. You’re going 100 miles an hour. …The sign was made up, and it wasn’t reviewed properly.”
Caulfield was emphatic that the bar is not racist and in fact aims for inclusivity.
“It’s about diversity. Everybody’s welcome,” Caulfield said. “Have you ever seen the show ‘Cheers?’ That’s my mantra, everybody should know your name, it should be a home.”