It is that time of year again, summer is coming and we are left wondering why we will have to spend all these days at work wearing dark suits (and tights for the women among us) even if it is more than 100 degrees outside.

—— Clothing as one of the most influential aspect of nonverbal communication ——

Clothing is one of the first things people notice when meeting someone for the first time.

So a person’s clothing can have quite an impact on how that person is perceived. For example, studies have shown that wearing high-status clothing can increase a speaker’s perceived attractiveness, credibility, confidence, and even persuasiveness. Likewise, another study found that an individual’s intelligence is rated higher when that person is dressed formally!

And the reason behind all these results is apparently that “[c]redibility and persuasion ability are associated with formal attire because high-status and privileged members of society tend to wear formal forms of dress more often than do low-status members.”

—— Clothes and billing ——

Law is mainly a profession of ideas - words expressing abstractions - but it is also much more than that.

Managing partners sell to their clients the fact that their legal teams are entirely made of very intelligent, credible, and confident people and that is why they are billing them hundreds, or thousands, of dollars per hour.

Thus, to project to clients the unique quality of their legal teams, they ask all team members to dress very formally and conservatively, no matter the weather is outside!

—— Clothes and team work ——

Another reason why we are asked to dress conservatively is that it helps us blend in with the professionals that we interact with: with another team, clients, or judges.

We show by our dress code that we all belong to the same world, are serious, respectful, and reliable partners, and that we can easily work together to get to the results the clients are paying for.

In fact, what you wear is significant only if it attracts the wrong sort of attention," a former Los Angeles prosecutor and staff attorney for the California Court of Appeal, says.

Most legal professionals "want to be perfectly anonymous. The suit is really a uniform." The suit says: "I accept the conventions of the profession. I am a team player. I belong here. I am successful enough to be able to afford this suit, and discreet enough not to wear anything gaudy."

—— Clothing and reassurance ——

The dark suit is a convention not only of the legal profession but for society in general. By and large, people expect their lawyers (and the paralegals working with them) to be conservatively dressed.

It is a mark of their seriousness and professional standing. It gives reassurance while the outcome of a litigation or negotiation is by nature very uncertain. It inspires confidence.

The exception is in entertainment law, where legal professionals can dress casually on many, even professional occasions, though usually not as flamboyantly as their clients.

—— Creativity and accessories ——

However, there is some freedom and creativity to be found by according more attention to accessories .

Men don't have the same freedom as women in that regard, but one way they can show their individuality - or the lack thereof - is through their choice of ties.

While women may have generally more options about what to wear in the workplace, they also have more room for missteps. And summer is a season that opens the door to a slew of potential fashion land mines, Think about semi-transparent dresses or gladiator sandals, for example.

Additionally, of course, women need more clothes than do their male counterparts. Usually, men can get away with having just a few things in their closet, but it's expected that a woman won't be seen wearing the same thing day after day!

And that, of course, provides a good excuse to go to the mall next week end!

Learn more:

Laura Sinberg,What Not To Wear To Work.

Corporette, Pantyhose in the Summer.

Vault blog, Fashion Friday: Should Lawyers Get Leggy or Strut in Stockings?.

Paul Reidinger, Dressing like a Lawyer: Whether in a law office or courtroom, what you wear may be almost as important as what you say,
82 A.B.A.J. 78 (2005).

Fashion - that means glamour, creativity and always the expression of a certain attitude toward life. This book is devoted to the legendary world of fashion from its origins in the nineteenth century until our own time. Informative chapters that introduce each era coupled with extensive portraits of the ground­breaking fashion icons and countless expres­sive photographs work together to form a com­pre­hen­sive portrayal of the rapid development that took fashion from the liberation of women from the corset all the way to the creations of modern designers.