What to wear to court
Court calls for business or business-casual clothes that are neat, clean and conservative. Choose your city or enter the weather, and we'll turn the forecast into a courtroom outfit.
Follow any dress instructions in your court notice or your court's local rules — they take priority over this guide.
This is general dress etiquette, not legal advice.
Courtroom dress etiquette
In any weather
- Wear
- Business or business-casual clothes: a suit, or dress trousers or a knee-length skirt with a collared shirt or a modest blouse.
- Closed-toe shoes.
- Neat, clean and conservative.
- Skip
- Shorts, tank tops and flip-flops.
- Clothes with slogans, logos or graphics.
- Jeans, especially ripped or distressed ones.
- Athletic wear.
- Revealing clothes.
- Hats or sunglasses indoors — take them off when you go in (religious head coverings are fine).
- Nice to have
- Minimal jewelry and metal accessories, so security goes faster.
- An extra layer — courtrooms are often cool.
If it's cold
- Nice to have
- A blazer or suit jacket.
If it's cool or mild
- Nice to have
- A blazer or suit jacket.
If it's hot
- Wear
- Breathable fabrics like cotton, linen blends or lightweight wool — still trousers or a knee-length skirt, not shorts.
- Nice to have
- Carry your blazer and put it on inside.
If it rains
- Nice to have
- Leave the umbrella at the door or coat check.
Dressing for something else?
How we worked this out
We start with the same weather outfit as the home page: the National Weather Service forecast for your city, or the weather you enter, adjusted for whether you run cold or warm. On this page we assume you walk part of the day, whatever activity you picked on the home page.
Then the occasion's rules take over: anything too casual for it is swapped for a piece that fits. In cold and cool weather the result is at least as warm as the weather outfit; in the heat, we pick lighter, breathable fabrics where the occasion allows. The checklist and the guide above come from the same rules.