Crime

Why Do Barristers Wear Those Stupid Wigs?

Tradition is a powerful, and often dumb justification.

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Playing dress up as professionals (Law & Order UK Trailer, Screencap, ITV)

The history of Great Britain, as we all know, is nothing but rum, sodomy, the lash, and horsehair wigs in court. But of all those traditions, why have they decided to stick with the wigs? When people’s lives are on the line in criminal court, those still hewing closely to the British judicial tradition put on Hogwarts robes and wigs… to look professional.

Maybe we should have seen Brexit coming.

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, one of the major Inns of Court in the United Kingdom, has a new exhibit looking at the history of legal fashion just in time for London Fashion Week. Legal Cheek has more:

Ever wondered why barristers dress the way that they do? Well, a new exhibition aims to explore exactly that.

Middle Temple’s latest library exhibition, ‘Legal Fashion’, showcases a history of English court dress from the 14th century right up to more recent times. The exhibition, which was organised in collaboration with the Middle Temple Archive, opened for viewing last month, nicely coinciding with London’s biannual Fashion Week.

For those of us who can’t make it to London, wigs originally came into the legal uniform for the same reason they entered general colonial era fashion — because people were riddled with syphilis and lice.

Presumably, that’s not what’s plaguing Amal Clooney today. But today, the reason the legal community over there still approves of wearing wigs is the same reason why their judges sometimes wear black caps — to kill people. Well, not exactly. Judges wear black caps while passing death sentences but it’s all part and parcel of why everyone wears wigs. It’s all part of a symbolic distancing effort. The peruke, which is what they call their wigs because “wig” wasn’t a laughable enough name, is intended in large part to separate the advocate or judge from the job they perform. In this sense, it’s not different than America’s judicial robes — just much more expansive.

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And much more expensive. From How Stuff Works:

Horse hair may not seem like a particularly precious material, but pair specialty hair with an age-old craft of styling, sewing and gluing, and the resulting wigs aren’t cheap. A judge’s full-length wig can cost more than $3,000, while the shorter ones worn by barristers cost more than $500.

Horse hair may seem gross, but in the old days people took hair off of human corpses to make these wigs, so it could be worse. And the vegans are even getting in on the act because being in court is no reason not to signal your own moral superiority. From Legal Cheek:

Legal dress continues to evolve to the present day. Last year, we reported that an Australian company was producing and selling vegan-friendly wigs made from plastic. Its aim, they told us, is to meet the needs of all its customers, and given the rise in veganism, it makes sense to offer synthetic wig options.

The Middle Temple exhibit will be open until December 21.

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Why do barristers wear wigs and gowns? [Legal Cheek]
Why Do British Lawyers Still Wear Wigs? [How Stuff Works]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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