LURE Lansing

Join us tonight at Esquire!

Shake your groove thing and boogie on over to the place the party is happening. Esquire Bar, Friday, June 5 we will be disco dancing the night away.

Come on out and wear your gear, Leather, Rubber, uniform and PRIDE colors, celebrate all that you are. All welcome and guaranteed to be a great time.

If you don't come, you'll never know what you missing!

Before Grindr turned everyone into a headless torso with an eggplant emoji in their name, gay men had the Hanky Code.

The color of a scrap of fabric hanging out of your back pocket could announce you were into leather, feet, uniforms, spanking, ci******es, p**s, rough trade, or things that make polite folk blush. Walk into a Castro bar in 1978 and it looked like a rainbow had exploded directly onto a Tom of Finland drawing.

The genius of the Hanky Code was that it let gay men cruise fast and dirty without saying a word. One glance across a packed bar and suddenly two strangers knew exactly why they were there. No awkward small talk. No “what are you into?” interrogation over watery vodka sodas. Just color, pocket placement, and mutual understanding.

The left pocket usually meant you were into the top or active role. The right pocket meant you were more into the bottom or passive role.

And people took it seriously.

Shops sold printed guides because newcomers kept wandering into bars accidentally advertising interests they absolutely did not mean to advertise. There are stories of tourists nervously stuffing random bandanas into their pockets before realizing they’d just told half the room they were looking for a very specific kind of evening.

The code grew out of gay leather culture in New York and San Francisco after Stonewall, when q***r people were finally carving out public sexual space for themselves. Not hidden. Not apologizing. Very often shirtless. The Hanky Code was practical, but also playful. Camp mixed with danger. Q***r culture at its best usually is.

Then AIDS crashed into everything. Bathhouses closed and fear spread. Entire neighborhoods lost generations of men who built that culture in the first place. But the Hanky Code survived because q***r people are archivists of pleasure. We keep finding ways to pass things along.

Today, the code pops up at Pride festivals, fe**sh nights, q***r bars, TikToks, and fashion collections. Half the people wearing hankies probably don’t even know what every color means anymore.

Honestly, that feels appropriate too.

Visit Old Town and party with LURE at Esquire. We’ll dance the night away!

Join us June 5th for an evening of shopping, dining, art, and community. Explore your favorite local businesses, discover something new, enjoy great food and drinks, and experience the unique energy that makes Old Town special.

Shop local. Eat local. Explore local and join the event!
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Our participating shops!
Bad Annie's Old Town Sweary Goods
Bradly's HG
Chengdu Teahouse
Cravings Gourmet Popcorn
GLOW inside & outside
Great Lakes Art and Gifts
Katalyst Art Gallery & Gift Boutique
La Casa Del REW
Lovelight Collective
Meat BBQ
MICA
Odd Nodd Art Supply
Ozone's Brewhouse
Pablo's Old Town
Polka Dots - Old Town Lansing
Preuss Pets (7PM)
Seams Sewing and Mercantile
Sir Pizza's Old Town Pub
Tanuki's Trading Post
The Old Town Card Spot
Twiggies
UrbanBeat

See you in Old Town! 🛍️🍻🎨