Down here in Australia we constantly have people walking around with thongs (flip flops) or barefoot and in swimwear, so bikini top for women and bare for men. Honestly I don’t see a problem with it, I walk around with very minimal shoes now and I used to walk around barefoot most of the time when I was a kid. If you aren’t walking on a road with tonnes of broken glass and no footpaths then you are fine. As for people who complain about women having their chest exposed honestly, learn to not stare. It isn’t the job of women to cover up so you don’t have to put in effort.
Our beach culture is great because it is so laid back. If I had a business near the beach I would assume my customers would be barefoot and topless and make appropriate accommodations including somewhere to clean their feet off and taking care to keep the floor from being sticky. When I lived in the UK I found the constant demand to wear shoes stifling and awful and the USA felt really judgemental and gross.
schwim@piefed.zip 2 days ago
I remember these signs when I was a kid in south FL in the 70s. It was popular to keep the beachgoers out, I don’t know if it was to keep the company out of hot water should something happen to the shirtless or shoeless customer while they’re in the store or whether it was just a choice in who to serve.
As for your question about pants: Since the “No shirt….” phrase isn’t there to make something legally binding but rather a notice to people that this particular business is exercising their right to not serve you, no, you likely won’t get served without pants.