Talk:Court dress

Disambiguation
I think we need to disambiguate this page from Court_uniform_and_dressAlci12 18:24, 1 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Seconded - we definitely need to do this. I'm fairly new and don't know how to do it, otherwise I would! TinaSparkle 11:14, 16 August 2006 (UTC)


 * How about "Court Dress (Legal)"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jggraubart (talk • contribs) 03:16, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

We agree that the title needs changing, if someone knows how to do it, please ? In addition, it's not quite that simple; law courts are only so called because they were historically a type of noble court, and that is precisely the basis of court dress. The statement "Court dress is that worn in law courts" is inadequate, and needs to be limited to modern use, or preferably explained.Jezza (talk) 21:22, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

The introduction is based on a total misunderstanding: "Court dress comprises the style of clothes prescribed for courts of law, and formerly for royal courts" is simply incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 19:46, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Breyer/Thomas "Skullcap"
The article currently states that US Supreme Court Justices Breyer and Thomas have taken to wearing "black skullcaps" when appearing outdoors in court dress.

I am unable to find a reference or photograph anywhere else which would confirm this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jggraubart (talk • contribs) 03:15, 14 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Here are a couple of references to the practice- New York Times, 21 Jan 1989; Legal Times, 5 Jan 2009. Lyndwood (talk) 14:59, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

1st Amendment
Can anyone find out if specifically in the United States the first amendment allows courts to establish dress codes for those summoned; or whether the issue is that since it would have to be the courts to interpret the first amendment they can implement a dress code and no one has anywhere to challenge it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.133.12.108 (talk) 14:17, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Other court officials
Can someone add entries for the Clerk of the Court, Recorder, Coroner and Court Usher to the UK court dress section please. --195.200.128.57 (talk) 14:37, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

'''Lawyers in Canada also wear robes/gowns at certain levels of Court and when hearing oral evidence in other levels of court, please add information.Here is a link to a part of an article on gowning in Alberta Courts http://www.albertacourts.ab.ca/qb/notices/ConsolidatedNoticestotheProfessionSept2004.pdf

Image copyright problem with File:Brian Dickson.jpg
The image File:Brian Dickson.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --06:41, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

Supreme Court of the UK
The article still refers the House of Lords. The justices of the new Supreme Court have new robes; do they wear these when sitting as the Supreme Court (as opposed to the Privy Council). -Rrius (talk) 06:09, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Needs a lead section, explaining why
This article is like explaining the intricacies of arranging sand on a beach, without explaining why the sand is being arranged that way.

What is the purpose of court dress? What is the significance of the wig and robes? Why is it important? Why does it matter?

Probably most important: Why is tax money wasted on these unnecessary and expensive frivolities, that have no functional purpose in a court of law?

It appears to be mostly an issue of egotism, pomposity, and marking judges as the betters of the common rabble they usually end up presiding over.

-- DMahalko (talk) 21:15, 5 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Right, so you need to find some reliable sources that tell us the reason why. I have to dress up to appear in court (some of the time) and so do the judges I appear in front of. I have an interest in history, but I've never been able to get to the bottom of where or how the rules came about. Recently our rules have been slightly reformed and relaxed, but that doesn't tell us why we were there in the first place. So, if you can find reliable sources - rather than (say) anecdote - then cite them here and add to the article. Francis Davey (talk) 21:34, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I think there is a reason why both professors and judges wear robes. will do research

Tinynanorobots (talk) 10:52, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

DMahalko, they appear frivolous to you if you do not understand the social context. Formal court attire is meant to project authority and legitimacy of the State, which is entirely appropriate since a Court wields the power of the State on behalf of the State, and is empowered to make decisions affecting the lives of its citizens, including and up to (for some jurisdictions) the point of taking away lives of those citizens. For the same reason the national flag hangs in most courtrooms. They don't serve any functional purpose in the court proceedings either.

That, and of course for reasons of traditions and continuity. You might have a low opinion of judges as arrogant and self-indulgent egomaniacs, but I'm sure a vast majority of them take great pride in the traditions of the judiciary, and also take very seriously what they have to do (that is, deciding on disputes before them that affect peoples' lives in very tangible ways). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.7.161.130 (talk) 15:44, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Court dress. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080306114444/http://www.vox.gi:80/Business---Law/Possible_Reform_Court_Dress-14122007.html to http://www.vox.gi/Business---Law/Possible_Reform_Court_Dress-14122007.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 01:39, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Needs section on origin, history and purpose, decline, etc
Title says it all :) 76.10.128.192 (talk) 13:47, 5 January 2016 (UTC)

I agree; I came here looking for "why British judges (etc.) wear wigs and robes," how they got started and why this is still going on, and there is no explanation of the history.2601:5CC:C900:345:2D4C:EC7B:3EC6:5007 (talk) 20:30, 12 June 2022 (UTC)

Aloha shirts in court?
This article states that "[a]ttorneys in Hawaii may be allowed to wear aloha shirts in court". Is there any prove of this? In fact, the referenced article states the opposite. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:1811:523:6D00:A429:6DB4:37CB:AA19 (talk) 14:22, 4 March 2018 (UTC)


 * ✅ in Special:Diff/880714901 ~ ToBeFree (talk) 00:55, 29 January 2019 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Court dress. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20121003193756/http://fmc.gov.au/practice/docs/090810.pdf to http://www.fmc.gov.au/practice/docs/090810.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 23:30, 3 September 2017 (UTC)

Ministry of Silly Hair
Is it true that Monty Python advocated the use of wigs in the famous Silly Hair sketch? If so, dues anyone have a reference? 81.168.78.33 (talk) 19:48, 6 October 2023 (UTC)


 * I remember that sketch but haven't been able to find a link with a quick search. I'll try more thoroughly and provide links if I can find any. 2A00:23EE:18C0:701A:6452:BF5C:2210:B814 (talk) 19:50, 6 October 2023 (UTC)