WHAT TO WEAR WHEN ATTENDING COURT AS A DEFENDANT

 Hey guys, Dan Thomas from Image Doctor and Improvemant.com and watch the video above or read the article below to learn WHAT TO WEAR WHEN ATTENDING COURT. 

Today’s suggestion of how to dress when attending court is specifically referring to men who are on trial as defendants as it’s crucial to be making the strongest impression possible if you have found yourself in this difficult situation.

#1 – WEAR A SUIT 

The first guideline is that you must wear a suit. This is a non negotiable and you can disregard this advice at your own risk. Wearing a suit demonstrates you are taking your court appearance seriously and you care about how you are perceived by the judge and jury if present.

#2 – AVOID LIGHTER/BRIGHTER SUITS 

The next consideration is the colour of your suit. A darker colored suit should be worn because lighter colored suits such as light grey, blue and especially pastel coloured summer style suits are not viewed as being very serious or formal in nature. SUIT COLOURS TO AVOID:

• Light grey
• Blue
• Light blue
• White
• Dark green
• Maroon and burgundy
• Any pastel coloured suits such as baby blue, peach, yellow, light pink etc
• DARK BLACK 

As you can see above, I’ve included dark black on the list of suit colours I suggest avoiding when attending court as a defendant. When you attending court as a defendant, the very last impression you want to give is that of high authority and dominance. Black is highest on the colour authority scale and you only need to think of the villains and evil characters in movies to realise that dark black can give the impression of authority, dominance and even aggressive intentions.

In fact, if you are attending court you can simply look no further than the judge who will be presiding over your case. The judge will be wearing a dark black, neck to toe cloak or robe and the choice of dark black is certainly not by mistake. A judge holds an incredibly high level of authority and dominance and the choice of dark black clothing has been chosen to subconsciously cement this level of power and dominance.

Whilst a dark black suit can be effective when in a position of power such as a high level senior executive or CEO, when attending court as a defendant your aim is to demonstrate humility and compliance. For this reason, I believe the suit colours listed below are the  best suit colour choices when attending court as a defendant.

 APPROPRIATE SUIT COLOURS TO CHOOSE:

• Dark grey – Offers connotations of maturity and dependability
• Charocoal – Offers connotations of maturity and dependability
• Navy – Offers connotations of professionalism, credibility and trustworthiness

#3 – SUIT PATTERN OR NO SUIT PATTERN? 

The next consideration is whether your suit has a pattern or not. In my opinion, the safest option is to choose a solid suit that is free of any patterns. I love patterned suits but when it comes to attending court as a defendant, I believe a solid, pattern free suit offers the more conservative and serious impression you are aiming to achieve at your court appearance.

#4 – DRESS SHIRT AND ACCESSORIES 

The next item to consider is your dress shirt and you want to keep things simple and basic. Don’t go over the top with bright colours or very expressive patterns.  A tie is also a necessity for court and like the dress shirt, you are best to keep this simple and not over the top with colour and patterns.

Regarding your choice of colour for the shirt and tie, I will explain some basic guidelines around the psychology of colour choices and I’ve also included a previous video I posted all about the psychology of clothing colours below this article for you:

• In my opinion, you are best to avoid shirt and tie colours that consist of red, purple, pink and orange.
• Red is a real power colour that can send signals of authority, exuberance and high confidence. Like a dark black suit, these are not signals you want to be sending if on trial as a defendant. Red can also be a negative reminder to people of things like blood, ambulances, red lights and stop signs.
• Purple and pink are fantastic colours for those in selling and influencing scenarios where they need to display confidence and authority. As discussed though, when on trial you want to be sending more submissive signals rather than dominant ones.
• And orange has been proven to be the most common answer provided when people are asked their least favorite colour.

Instead of dress shirts and ties consisting of red, pink, purple and orange. You would be better to choose a crisp white dress shirt and a tie which is a shade of blue. White is a dependable colour that sends messages of innocence and purity. Just think of the colour of angels, doves and nuns uniforms.

And blue sends signals of trustworthiness, dependability and honesty. Take notice of how often presidents and politicians choose blue coloured ties. This is no accident and a deliberate choice as demonstrating trust, honesty and credibility is a key objective of presidents and politicians in the public eye.

#5 – SHOES 

And the final consideration is your shoes and the easiest and most effective colour choice will be the classic black dress shoes. Black dress shoes match will all suit colours and are your safest choice of footwear.

#6 – PERSONAL GROOMING 

It’s also imperative you’ve made a strong effort with your personal grooming. The key requirements are to have a:

• Neat and tidy haircut.
• Be cleanly shaven or keep your facial hair neat, tidy and well groomed
• Trim any long and unruly nose, ear and eyebrow hairs
• Trim the hair at the back of your neck
• Have clean finger nails that are not too long or short.

So keep these suggestions and guidelines in mind if you are in the unfortunate situation of attending court as a defendant. Making these targeted clothing choices and personal grooming efforts will allow you to make a stronger visual impression which may aid in your chances of a positive outcome.

If you enjoyed this video and article, feel free to like, share and leave your comments below and keep tuning back into Improvemant.com for regular videos to improve yourself as a man.

And if you would like some help or guidance to improve or udate your current your style and image, you can see all my men’s personal styling and clothes shopping services here at my Image Doctor website.

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