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Comment by konfusinomicon | Hacker News Reader

the transition from powdered wigs being the norm and now those damn kids going out without a wig on took over must have been an interesting time. this means at some point there was like 1 guy that held on to the fashion at the very end. not yielding to the new norm for the sake of morals and civility! his wig buried with him. and then no more wigs

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I mean, we've had a similar transition recently, with similar holdouts. See hats; they were basically essential wear in the west for men, from working class up, at the start of the 20th century; by the end, hats as male formal-wear were largely seen as pretty eccentric.

In the case of wigs, there were holdouts; barristers and judges in the former British empire have in many cases only really started abandoning them over the last two decades.

Ha, you're right. I always thought the change from men's hats to no hats in the early 60's was strange enough. But from wigs to no wigs would have been way more extreme!

Don't English lawyers still wear the wigs?

Not outside court, I imagine.

Only silk lawyers (King’s Counsel) wear a wig

Court dress isn't based on seniority—it is based on which court you're in. If you're working in criminal practice, it's pretty routine. If you're doing civil or commercial work, it's not quite as frequent.

Current court dress guidance from the BSB: https://www.barcouncilethics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/1...

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