No leggings, no crop tops: North Carolina restaurant's dress code has the internet talking

A North Carolina soul food restaurant is receiving backlash for enforcing a dress code that some people on social media are calling backwards.

Kim's Kafe in Greensboro posted its rules regarding clothing on its Facebook page on Sunday, saying that they had been in place throughout the summer.

The posted rules include:

• No shorts
• No crop tops
• No leggings
• No T-straps
• No white T-shirts
• No short skirts
• No "skimpy clothes"
• No "cleavage showing"

"People are not leaving anything for the imagination much now days (sic) so our dress code is strict," the restaurant wrote. Parts of the dress code is seen on the establishment's front door in photos the restaurant posted to Facebook. The dress code is also featured prominently on the restaurant's website.

Kim's Kafe declined to comment on the dress code when reached by USA TODAY on Wednesday, saying: "Not interested, too many of y'all (reporters) calling."

Restaurant's dress code sparks backlash

The Facebook post detailing the rules generated significant interest and much outrage, with over 10,000 comments as of Wednesday afternoon.

Multiple commenters compared the rules to the dystopian world of the Margaret Atwood novel, "The Handmaid's Tale."

Sarah Gathings joked: "I done got kicked out before I even got there."

James McKay said: "I’d literally have to buy clothes to go to your business."

Some commenters noted that the rules were incompatible with the hot and humid conditions that summer brings to the area. "It's summer and you don't allow shorts or white tee shirts? Ha Good luck," wrote Kaitlin Stover.

The dress code is legal, so long as it is applied to every single customer the same way, attorney David Daggett told WCNC-TV in Charlotte.

"The example I've used before when my kids asked me about this is, I don't like people who wear blue shirts," he said. "If I don't want people in my business that wear blue shirts, I can do that as long as I'm refusing everybody with blue shirts, not selecting people based on a discriminatory basis."