The drama of acriminal trialhas a macabre temptingness . In America , strangers line up to record courtroom as witness of high-pitched - profile legal proceeding . Those who ca n’t be there in soul determine live - pour versions on television and tablets . And when there ’s downtime from real - lifespan court of law battles , many rick instead to pseudo - fictionalprime - metre portrayals .
But in the U.K. , nothing is more British than the iconic white wig judges and attorneys — or barristers as they ’re known — wear during formal courtroom proceedings . Many of the judges and barristers who wear wigs say the headpiece — also screw as aperuke — bring a gumption of formalities and staidness to the court .
" In fact , that is the overwhelming degree for having them , " Kevin Newton , a Washington , D.C.-based lawyer who studied law at the University of London , say when we earlier spoke to him in 2017 . Newton add that barrister ' twin , known as solicitors , meet with clients outside the court and do n’t wear wigs .
A Desire for Uniformity
Like the robe the lawyers wear , the wig are worn as a symbol of anonymity , Newton said . The wigging are part of a uniform that make a optic separation between the law and those being brought up before it . Wigs are so much a part of British criminal courts that if a barrister does n’t wear one , it ’s see as an insult to the royal court .
Barrister wigsare curl at the crown , with horizontal curlicue on the side and back . evaluator ' wigging — also calledbench wig — wait interchangeable , but are typically more flowery . They ’re fuller at the top and transition into tight curls that fall just below the shoulders .
Most are hand-crafted from100 per centum horsehair , though there are synthetic versions uncommitted today , too . Horsehair wigs are n’t cheap , either , specially when they ’re handmade and combine an ages - old trade of styling , stitching and gluing . A judge ’s full - duration wigcan costmore than $ 3,000 , while the shorter ones worn by barrister be more than $ 600 .
wigging may have fall out of manner over the centuries , but when they first made theirappearancein a court around 1685 , they were part and parcel of being a well - curry pro .
In the 17th century , only the elite outwear powdered wigs made of horsehair . Those who could n’t afford the best attire but wanted to look the part have on wigs made of whisker from goats , spooled cotton wool or from the hair of human corpses . There was also a steady barter that involved living people who sold their prospicient hair for wigging , though horsehair remained the nonesuch .
But why did powdered wigs descend on the fashion setting in the first place ? Why top one ’s head with an fretful , travail - bring on mass of artificial ringlet ? Blame it on syphilis .
Historical Hair
Wigs commence to catch on in the late 16th century when an increasing number of people in Europe were abbreviate the STI . Without widespread intervention with antibiotic ( Sir Alexander Fleming did n’t discoverpenicillin , the treatment for syphilis until 1928 ) , citizenry with lues were chivvy by rashes , blindness , dementia , overt sores and hair loss . The hair loss was particularly problematic in social circles . Long whisker was all the rage , andpremature baldingwas a deadened giveaway that someone had undertake syph .
Wigs , when not used to spread over syphilis - colligate hair loss , were also a helpful for those who had louse . After all , it was much more difficult to handle and pluck through the hair’s-breadth on one ’s head than it was to sanitize a wig .
When it comes to trend - starters , no one had a big influence on British wigs than Louis XIV of France . During his reign from 1643 to 1715 , the Sun King mask his prematurelybaldingscalp — historian believe it was because of syphilis — by wearing a wig . In doing so , he started a style that was wide followed by the European upper- and middle - class , including his first cousin , Charles II , the King of England ( also rumored tohave contracted syphilis ) , who reigned from 1660 to 1685 .
Although patrician and those who wished to continue in undecomposed societal standing were quick to adopt the drill of wearing wigging , English courtrooms were slower to roleplay . In the former 1680s , discriminative portraits still shew a natural , no - wigging look . By 1685 , however , full , shoulder - length wigs had become part of the right motor hotel dress .
A Persistent Legacy
Over time , wigs fell out of fashion with society as a whole . During the reign of England ’s King George III , from 1760 to 1820 , wigs were worn by only a few — namely bishops , coachman and those in the legal professing . And bishops were let to stop wearing them in the 1830s . But the court kept wigging for C of years more .
In 2007 , though , new frock rulesdid away with barrister wigging — for the most part . Wigs were no longer required during category or civil motor inn appearances , or when appearing before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom . wigging , however , remain in economic consumption in criminal cases .
And inIreland , judges proceed to break wigging until 2011 , until the exercise was discontinued . In England , and other former English and British colony — like Canada , for example , whose provinces abandoned the wigs throughout the 19th and 20th centuries , or Jamaica , whichremoved the wigs in 2013 — lawyers and judges now only hold out wigs for ceremonies .
Yet , wearing wig still enjoys popularity among British lawyers , the Guardian cover in 2021 . " If you do n’t meet the physical stereotype of a barrister — virile , livid , perhaps sure-enough — it is helpful to wear the uniform because it stops any awkward conversation , " barrister Zoe Chapman told the issue .
