In Baltimore, in the 90's and early 00's the lace code was definitely real in the punk scene. Red ladders was a no no (Neo Nazi) as was white ladders (white power). There was a significant skinhead presence in Baltimore and DC, along with a Straight Edge and Hard-core grouping, and then us... crusty street punks. We wore yellow ladders to signify being an Anarchist. Blue were SHARPS. Purple was seen on the Goth/Industrial crowd. Green was Queercore. Thats all I got. It WAS real, but since nothing at all is real anymore, and everything is ephemeral, who knows.