Court dress: Encyclopedia II - Court dress - Advocates

Court dress - Advocates

English advocates (whether barristers or solicitors) who appear before a judge who is robed must themselves be robed.

Court dress - Junior barristers

Junior barristers wear an open-fronted black stuff gown with open sleeves and a gathered yoke, over a black or dark suit. A white stiff wing collar is worn with bands (two strips of linen about 5" by 1" hanging down the front of the neck). In addition barristers wear a short horsehair wig with curls at the side and ties down the back.

Court dress - Queen's Counsel

Barristers who have been appointed Queen's Counsels, or QCs, wear instead a silk gown with a flap collar and long closed sleeves (the arm opening is half-way up the sleeve). They also wear a court coat, similar to a black morning coat, instead of an ordinary suit jacket.

On ceremonial occasions, and when appearing before the bar of the House of Lords (nowadays this usually only happens when the decision of the House is given), QCs wear ceremonial dress (see below).

Court dress - Solicitors

Solicitors wear the same collar and bands as barristers, but wear a stuff gown of the same shape as QCs, with no wig.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Advocates", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki