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The tradition of wearing wigs in court began in Britain in the 1600s, when fashionable men wore wigs as part of their everyday clothing.

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Judges and lawyers started wearing wigs to follow the fashion and look serious and respectable.

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Over time, the wig became a symbol of authority, professionalism, and neutrality in the courtroom.

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Wearing a wig also helped create a formal and respectful atmosphere in court.

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The wig gave the judge a kind of "uniform" appearance, which helped separate their personal identity from their legal role.

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Today, judges still wear wigs in some countries that follow British legal traditions, like the UK, Australia, and some Caribbean nations.

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In some places, wigs are only worn for ceremonial occasions or criminal trials, not in everyday court sessions.

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Many modern courts are now moving away from wigs, but some people argue that they help maintain tradition and respect for the legal system.

Useful Phrases

Expressions

“A symbol of authority”

– Something that represents power or leadership.

“The judge’s wig is a symbol of authority.”

“Wear traditional dress”

– To put on official or historical clothing.

“Follow tradition”

– To do something because it has been done for a long time.

“Courtroom attire”

– The clothes worn in court.

“Wigs are part of traditional courtroom attire in the UK.”

“Maintain respect for the law”

– Help people trust and value legal rules.

“Set a serious tone”

– Create a formal or respectful mood.

“A legal custom”

– A usual practice in the legal system.

Hi, everyone and welcome back to one of your favorite segments.  【Oh, So That's Why!】《原来如此》.

Hi, Lulu, hi everyone.

In this segment 安澜and I will explore some of the customs behaviors in western culture or cultures in general and get to the bottom of their origin stories.

Yeah, so what are we going to be talking about today?

Actually lately I've been watching some courtroom dramas from the UK.

Yeah.

And I notice they're still wearing wigs, the judge and the lawyers and...

Not the lawyers, the barristers.

The barristers, 就诉讼的那种大律师.

Yeah.

The barristers,  the ones who go to court to fight for the case.

That’s the one.

That is still a thing?

That is still a thing.

Where does that even come from? I mean I'm pretty sure a lot of our audience have seen that in movies and TV shows.

Well, yeah. Basically, it started in the1600s. And back then everybody wore wigs, all fashionable men, even if they had hair, they would wear a wig.

Yeah, I mean, looking at those types of wigs, they're so over the top, they're definitely not your modern-day wigs, just to cover loss of hair or something.  It's very stylized and it's white, isn't it?

These ones are white because they used to use wool or horse hair for wigs. And sometimes they used to use human hair.

And it's really big.

The judge's one is generally very, very big. The barristers’ ones are a bit smaller.

That tradition, when you said every... especially the influential ones, the upper class ones, they wore wigs. Isn't that something that came from, say, France, French court?

Well, yeah. Back then, one of the French kings was actually going bald, so he started to wear wigs, and of course being the king, everybody wanted to copy him.

He was the original influencer and trendsetter.

Well, back then, the king or queen very often was. So this tradition spread around Europe and it reached the UK.

But it wasn't a fashion statement that judges and barristers in the UK wore wigs. It was more to look respectable.

Well yeah.  So they started to follow the fashion because they would wear their own wigs when they went into court.  But then when wigs gradually became unfashionable around the 18th century, they still kept the tradition.  It's meant to make them look serious and respectable.

It's to create that sort of air, isn't it?  有那个气氛, 有那个感觉.

Well, the wig is symbol of authority, is symbol of professionalism. And also it does help to create a separate identity. So in this, you're not really talking to an individual. You're talking to someone who's wearing a wig, who's wearing a robe. You don't really focus on the face.

It's very symbolic. It's almost like you're talking to the wig.

You are talking to the wig, you are talking to the robes, you're talking to a judge, you're not talking to an individual person.

So there's some level of neutrality, 这种中立性, it sort of blurs the face, but emphasizes on the role.

Exactly. And that's what you want in a judge. You want somebody who represents the law, they represent something that's higher than themselves and you don't want to feel like they are individuals in that way.

Symbols are very, very important in human society.  And it doesn't matter which historical periods or which region or which country.

Exactly.  And it's not just the UK. Some countries that still follow British legal traditions,  like Australia and some Caribbean countries.

But I have a question though,  the wigs look big and hot.

That is correct.

Did I have to wear them every day?

Not every day. So some courts they don’t have to wear wigs, and but in some cases, like for example, ceremonies or other type of criminal trials, they might have to wear a wig.

就是刑事案件开庭的时候.

But I have to say that this tradition is changing. So some modern courts are moving away from wigs because they think they're just old-fashioned.

Old-fashioned and seems to be a lot of trouble. And also they only wear them in the courtrooms, right?  So what, they have like powder room to put the wig on?

Yeah.

Wow.

They have to wear special robes. So I dare say there's probably a room where they get dressed.

If you think about it, it's very theatrical. It's a very theatrical entrance.

Well, it is. And that's the whole point. It's about showing the importance of law. It's separating the court from the rest of the world.

That is true. I mean in a lot of legal traditions around the world, people might not wear wigs, but they might wear other types of uniform. It's always... the symbolic meaning is that uniform appearance that helps separating their personal identity from their legal role.

That is correct.

By the way, where do they buy those wigs or do the courts support like give them these wigs that get them on? Hopefully not, because...

No. These are bought. So there are specialized shops that you can actually go online now and buy a wig. But if you go into London, if you go around the legal district where lots of the barristers and solicitors have their offices, there are quite a few shops, old traditional shops that still sell wigs.

I think I've seen them, I thought they were Halloween shops.

No, they are shops for barristers.

Oh, so are you saying that if someone gets qualified to be a barrister or be a judge and then they can head down to those shops and say I am a judge now, I'm a barrister now, so I'll get my wig. Thank you very much.

Well, I don't think they'll check, but to be honest, it's not something that you would buy just because you're curious, a barrister’s wig costs around five hundred six hundred pounds.

For a wig?

For a wig. Yes.  And a judge’s wig because it's bigger is about￡2500.

￡2500 for a wig?

 Well. You have to think that these are not just mass-produced.

And they always look a bit old and they're not like snowy white.

That's the idea. So with new barristers, what they might do when they buy their wigs, they might soak it in tea for a short time.

做旧么？To make it look older?

To make it look older because let's face it, nobody wants to be defended by...

...it's my first day in court.

Exactly. No one would want to feel like, ok this judge or this barrister is their first day today.

I see that makes total sense,  by the way, speaking of wigs, is that where the expression big wigs comes from?

Yeah, a big wig. So a big wig is a very important person because, literally, they had a big

 wig.

So nowadays you just say big wigs, those big wigs.

Yes.

To mean people who hold influential roles.

 That's correct.

I see. Before we wrap this up, I do have a few like sideline questions.

Okay.

Now we talk about wigs, in Chinese we say 假发, but nowadays when people talk about the 假发, they used to cover their bald spot if they're losing their hair. Those are not necessarily wigs, are they? Because they're not full on wigs.

Those are called toupees.

If they're only covering, for example the top.  就那种发片式的。That they're sometimes called hairpiece or toupee. That's right.  Toupee is usually a bit comical.

Well, yeah. Because there's always jokes about someone wearing a toupee that sort of somewhat covering their head.

Yes, but it’s so obvious and it’s so fake.

Exactly.

But those of you who are into cosplay, costume play, those are full on wigs that people wear.

So on that note we're gonna wrap this up, leave us a comment in the comment section what do you think about this tradition in the UK legal system and put in your request for any other customs or behaviors you want us to talk about in this segment.

So see you next time.

We'll see you next time.

Bye bye.