A Chicago man claims he faced discrimination from a pizzeria for either having clothes that were too cool or skin that’s too black — and, frankly, it’s unclear if he’s sure which is worse. Antar Jackson says he and his wife were denied entry at Parlor Pizza Bar because his pair of $250 pants allegedly didn’t meet the joint’s “evening dress code.” They showed up around 7 p.m. for dinner, and Jackson says almost immediately a bouncer announced he couldn’t let him in “wearing the pants that I was wearing.” Stunned, Jackson asked why, and the man reportedly said, “Because they’re too street.”
Here’s Jackson wearing them with a dress shirt and bow tie:
Parlor maintains the incident was “in no way discrimination” — it just didn’t like Jackson’s outfit. It notes the dress code clearly states athleticwear is prohibited, and “unfortunately the gentleman in question was wearing sweatpants.” The restaurant says everyone’s welcome to eat their pizza, but “they must respect our policies.”
Jackson says that’s some crap, adding that after being turned away, they started noticing other patrons in yoga pants, baseball caps, and even baggy cargo shorts (talk about a fashion faux pas). That really got Jackson’s blood boiling, so he tried talking to a manager but didn’t get anywhere. Chicago’s Commission on Human Relations will now decide if it was discrimination, but expert testimony on a Heidi Klum or Tim Gunn level may be required to clue Parlor into the egregious mistake of thinking tailored wool pants by the fashion brand Vince could ever in a million years be sweatpants. “At no point in time,” he explains, “will you find me doing anything athletic in a pair of wool pants.”
