Solicitors of Style

[alden]

Over the years I have had to chance to meet many LL members and devotees of custom clothing. Many of the gentlemen I have met and worked with in the Sartorial vacations are from the legal profession. This summer we had the good fortune of visits from three US based attorneys to Sicily. One recurring theme centered on using dress to create a certain impression in front of a jury.

Each attorney had his own take on juries and how clothes were to be used. One wanted a look that was comfortable, friendly, reassuring and professional. Another wanted heaps of gravitas. The other wanted gravitas and seriousness with a dose of reassurance. They all wanted to be comfortable in their clothes and saw professional benefits from comfort, but style, per se, was not as much of a concern because these were essentially work clothes.

When I go out into the fields to work, I put on my heavy duty Carhartt trousers with loops and pockets for tools, heavy duty steel toed boots to protect my tootsies from the ill effects of contact with chain saws etc. We would all recognize this attire as “work clothes.” But the three piece suit can be just as much work clothes as rugged dungarees.

And this leads me to mention (maybe again) that we should not confuse the uniforms we use for work with the style that is actually ours lest we confuse ourselves with the character we play for many hours every day unless, of course, they are one and the same.

Balzac said that any man who was forced to work for a living (other than artists or performers) could not hope to elegance or style. There have been moments in my life when I tended to agree with him until I understood to separate my uniform from my dress.

Cheers

Michael Alden

[andreyb]

Right to the point...

I work as a software developer. Wearing a suit to the work would be an instant career suicide. So, I wear my "work clothes" to the work and dress for myself.

Andrey

[storeynicholas]

It is interesting that the jury system in England involves the lawyers in what is just about fancy dress (including a forensic wig) and all their normal clothes are obscured by a black gown: the ultimate work clothes. The only differences between the lawyers then is the age and raggedness of these clothes of battle (the worse state that they're in the more experience may be expected from their owner) and, of course (not necessarily equal to their experience), the skill that they have. However, there is another point in this: that types of uniform, not just at work but at certain types of play, level the playing field and let everyone concentrate on the business of the moment, the game etc. without even having to wonder about the right dress for the occasion. In disregarding 'uniforms' for certain activities, the current generation, with all its agonizing over Ivy etc (which I have been exploring recently) and 'just giving a nod to the occasion'; its terror of formality and precision etc., ends up getting its pants in a right twist.
NJS

[Costi]

I agree with Nicholas (if I understand well that he supports the idea, not merely mentions it) that the black robes contribute to the solemnity of the court session and help focus on justice rather than the persons that take part in making it.
I assume any of the three gentlemen mentioned might wear their new suits out of court, as well, perhaps accessorized differently, without looking like they went out in uniform. And they may wear suits (other suits) outside their work environment, too, so it's not strictly a uniform (I can't imagine you going out for dinner in your gardening clothes, though). Moreover, each of them - though using the same instrument of dress: the suit - chose a different style, personalized the look. Aren't they still dressing, but dressing appropriately or adequately for the occasion, which I assume they do outside their work environment, too?

[storeynicholas]

Costi, yes I do support robes, for several reasons, including the ones that you mention. One of the most suitably dressed leading Counsel that I ever saw was lounging in the Bar mess at Inner London Sessions' House, probably waiting for a verdict. He was wearing the silk's short monkey jacket; it had a frayed hole through one of the elbows, worn by use in battle (so to speak) and a bright snuff handkerchief stuffed up a guantlet cuff.With his gown on, no one would have seen the hole in Court. Probably, he would have been very reluctant to replace the jacket until it had disintegrated and I daresay that the handkerchief would have been brought out to distract attention at an opportune moment.
NJS

[WaltonP]

(My first post.) The coin of the realm for a trial lawyer is his credibility. If he wears clothes as a uniform to try to project something he is not, he may be successful for a while, but he ultimately is bound for a fall. At least one of those jurors will have a good nose for a phony. As a very wise and famous American lawyer once said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

The lawyer's goal is to persuade. The suit should be a background or a frame out of which the lawyer tries to paint the impressions necessary to persuade. It should subtly reinforce - not conflict with the personality or character of the lawyer. Mixed signals will only muddle the message. Like a left-handed man writing with his right hand - you can read the result, but it somehow doesnt look right.

Of course, if you are skilled, you can adopt a personality for court that is at variance with your every day walking around self, and you can style your dress to match. Then you are in uniform, like a soldier on active duty. And you can grow into the uniform so that it is no longer a "uniform" in the sense that I think Michael was referring to. All very complex, I suppose.

I have been reading this forum for several years. I finally decided to post a comment because I was one of the three lawyers Michael wrote about. In fact, I was in Sicily at the time Michael posted his initial comment above. I had had my first fitting for my first bespoke suits a few days before. I heartily recommend the sartorial vaction. Sicily is beautiful, the food is delicious, the wine is wonderful, and Michael is a gracious and charming host - but I leave all that for another post.

[dantpearce]

Michael, the informality of most Australian "casual" environments means that the office is one of the few places where I can indulge my desire to dress better than the all pervasive jeans and t-shirt aesthetic. The work environment of course has its own limitations and conventions, but at least you can wear a tie without turning too many heads!

[m-lan]

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