The public never tires of celebrities' courtroom fashion during trials

In all criminal cases, defendants have a constitutional right to serve an equal jury at trial, but as recent high-profile cases have demonstrated, nearly every onlooker, news junkie and follower has an opinion when it comes to the attire of the defendant, or just about anyone else in the courtroom.

Public interest in the Donald Trump and Hunter Biden case has not been limited to the charges and guilty verdicts, with many commenting and critiquing not only their attitude and facial expression, but also their suits, shirts and ties. The fashion of witnesses, relatives and supporters has also come under scrutiny. Gwyneth Paltrow raised interest in the undercurrents of courtroom fashion last year by dressing modestly to testify in her Utah trial. But consumer and jury interest in who is wearing what is not a new phenomenon. Even in 1893, when Lizzie Borden was on trial for the ax murder of her father and stepmother, fashion was mentioned in news reports.

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer and TV commentator, says some of her clients send in potential outfits for approval. “What you wear to court is always important because first impressions matter, and in court you spend a lot of time sitting and looking at each other. There's nothing you can do other than look at what people are wearing and interpret it.”

Bloom advises all her clients to dress very conservatively: white shirts, black or grey jackets, minimal jewellery, covered tattoos and other distractions. “I'm not against tattoos – I have tattoos myself – but I don't want people to assume what the tattoo is instead of listening to the testimony,” she says. “Conservative hairstyles, conservative makeup – that's important.”

She added: “If you just attend court and sit in the courtroom as a family member or a community activist, [in solidarity] “It's OK to speak out in public. No one can stop you. If you're sitting in a group wearing pink, that might send a message. And as long as you're not disrupting a court of law, people have a right to do that. It's a whole different standard and I think people should do it.”

As for public interest outside the courtroom, Bloom said, “It's a lot easier to think about who's wearing what than it is to think about the legal complexities.”

At Biden's trial in Delaware, pantsuits were the preferred attire of his wife Melissa Cohen Biden, his sister Ashley, and first lady Jill Biden. Such first interview attire is no longer the standard in the extremely formal United States, especially in spring. The conservative, buttoned-up outfits gave some onlookers a uniform impression. Cohen Biden's businesslike attire, which included a pussy-bow blouse on one day, drew comparisons from the media with former first lady Melania Trump (who has not yet attended court in her husband's legal proceedings).

Trump's stylist, Hervé Pierre, declined to comment on the comparison. Wherever you're standing or sitting, courtroom fashion is increasingly attracting attention, as evidenced by reporters reporting on the business casual attire worn by accuser Stormy Daniels in Trump's hush-money trial. After Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, influencer and activist Emily Ratajkowski was photographed wearing a T-shirt featuring a picture of Daniels, a gift from artist R. Crumb. The $95 item quickly sold by the hundreds, with sales spurting throughout the weekend, according to Richard Sayer, chief operating officer of e-commerce site Platform.

Alina Habba, the former president's lead lawyer in the Daniels case, also understands the power of fashion, having previously worked for Marc Jacobs. Her office declined to respond to an interview request for the case.

Matthew Yokobosky, senior curator of fashion and material culture at the Brooklyn Museum, noted that just days after Jill Biden endorsed her son-in-law Hunter at the Wilmington courthouse, she showed up to a state dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte in Paris in a navy Schiaparelli gown designed by Daniel Rosebery with a white cummerbund and train. “She's never looked this good,” she wrote on Instagram. “It feels like she's using fashion to distract from the trial,” he said.

But Jill Biden was back in court on Monday, wearing a jacket and trousers, and also attended the jury's guilty verdict on Tuesday. “Courtroom dress hasn't changed, but almost every aspect of American life has become more casual. We are the rock that has not yet been eroded. In some ways, it's the last bastion of true formality. Even in a law firm, you can dress business casual during the day when you're doing a regular job, but when you head to court, you're back to dressing like you're in your mid-20s,” said Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute.^Number At most this century.”

In and around Boston, thousands of people are watching daily hearings live in the Karen Reed second-degree murder trial, some wearing pink as a sign of support. Reed is accused of running over her police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in 2022. One of her most ardent supporters, blogger and YouTuber Aidan Carney, known as “Turtleboy,” is selling “Free Karen Reed” tank tops, tote bags, T-shirts, hoodies and fleece jackets for adults, children and pets. There are also $30 T-shirts printed with key testimony from the trial. A Google search has revealed that the number of people who have signed up for the campaign has risen to 10,000. [which includes a typo] The line “I can't wait to die out in the cold” was said by Jennifer McCabe, whose name is included in the listing. Carney, who is charged with witness intimidation, is scheduled to appear in court again on July 11. He gave an interview last month but did not set a date. Carney claims the state is violating his free speech rights by delaying his trial to prevent coverage of Reed's trial.

Paltrow's testimony during last year's skiing crash trial prompted the creation of T-shirts and other apparel bearing the slogan “Wasted an Afternoon Skiing.” Media contacted lead attorney James Egan of Epperson & Owens, who did not respond to inquiries.

Perhaps more than anything, the “Free Winona” T-shirts that became popular after Winona Ryder was accused of shoplifting in 2002 made the reality celebrity's courtroom situation a pop culture topic. The fact that Ryder satirically wore the shirt on the cover of W magazine ahead of her trial only added to that insiderness. Last week, photographer Michael Thompson recalled how Ryder was “very willing and happy to wear the shirt” for the shoot. “The love for Winona and the irony of her wearing it six months after the trial started just furthered the meta effect,” said Bill Wyatt, creator of the $10 “Free Winona” T-shirt. Having sold tens of thousands of T-shirts at his Y-Que Trading Post store in Los Angeles, he knows all too well. And they still sell (along with the “Trump Guilty” ones), he says. The windfall from Ryder saved Wyatt's then-struggling store, leading to online sales and wholesale.

Wyatt recalled how the media covered the modest Marc Jacobs outfits Ryder wore during the trial, including a Peter Pan collar blouse, and said celebrities who go on trial know TMZ and other outlets are waiting for them. “Because they need stories, so they act like they're walking the red carpet at the Oscars,” Wyatt said. “It's a great way to capitalize on that negative attention.”

He noted that red is “a classic power color for the Republican side,” yet Trump and some of his male lawyers sometimes wore blue ties during his trial last month.

Designer-inspired convict Anna Delvey unveiled a pre-orderable collaborative design with Xiao New York and a Swarovski-embellished “A” ankle bracelet during her downtown Manhattan court appearance last week on charges she posed as a German heiress and defrauded more than $275,000 in white-chip indulgences. The “A” stands for “Anna,” “ankle,” and “scarlet letter.” “It's always interesting to see what messages people are trying to convey at court appearances,” said Delvey, who is under house arrest due to her immigration status.

In New York state, inmates are allowed to wear their own clothes when they appear in court, so Delvey enlisted the help of stylist Anastasia Walker to outfit her in high-end and low-end brands, including Michael Kors, Victoria Beckham, Yves Saint Laurent, and Zara. Delvey says that while getting her clothes delivered each day at Rikers Island required some coordination, the stylist's approach was “more budget-friendly.” “You just wear it and return it. People were so upset that I worked with a stylist. If I had bought the clothes, they would have cost 100 times as much,” she said.

She added: “When you’re in prison or on trial you have no control over anything. [court] Appearance is the only thing I can control. There are a lot of photographers in the courtroom and I could be photographed all day. It's pretty nerve-wracking to be on guard all day. I know that on the Internet, those pictures never go away, so I don't think I should be seen as a shallow person who only cares about my appearance.”