How many suits do I need? Especially if I'm doing a long jury trial? Forum

[Nager]

I wear suits three to four days a week generally. Of course, when I go to court, I need to wear a suit.

Next year, it looks like I'm going to have a 20 to 30 day jury trial. I've never done such a long jury trial. This judge only does trials four days a week.

I'm trying to figure out how many suits I need. I have 11 right now. Four of them are a little outdated style-wise (three button, cut square and boxy, pleated trousers) and three of those are looking a little bit old and shabby, anyways. I can still wear them, but they're okay.

All of them are either various shades of blue or gray with different stripes or patterns. I have one black suit that is one of the older ones I don't like much. I'm not a big fan of brown suits. It's been years since I've owned one.

I have shirts and ties of various colors appropriate for business/court. About 20 ties. Also about 20 shirts that work for court, consisting of about five solid white and five solid light blue, and then patterns and stripes of various sorts.

So, if I wanted to only wear sharp-looking suits and not the outdated looking ones, but I don't want the jury to really notice that I'm repeating the same suits, how many suits do I need?

I'm thinking if I can go two weeks without repeating a suit, that would be fine. If the judge holds trials four days a week, that would mean eight suits.

I'm also thinking that I shouldn't wear the same tie more than once. Or would that be okay to repeat ties?

Any thoughts or advice?

[TigerIsBack]

You can absolutely repeat suits, just make sure to hang them on nice hangers as soon as you get back to your hotel, let the shower steam them out, and then wait at least a day or so to re-wear. I would not recommend using any black or brown suits, just stick to blues and greys. Personally, my wardrobe consists of about 10 suits, 8 of which are various shades of blue, and 2-3 greys. Plus like 1 tux, which isn't relevant here.

Go to like SuitSupply and buy some suits off the rack and have them altered to fit you, they're like $400-600 per suit. If you can and want to spend more, obviously I'd recommend other shops for that.

tl:dr: You can probably get away with like 4 suits (maybe less) and just dropoff dry cleaning with the hotel like twice a week. Invest in nice hangers and it'll help them last longer (hangerproject.com).

[The Lsat Airbender]

Agree that a separate work-appropriate suit for each day of the week (so, in this case, four) is enough. Doubling that is a nice luxury and once you're in the double digits you should be retiring your least favorite to Goodwill (or a specialist charity that helps men without means get work clothes) for each new one you buy.

[logical seasoning]

When I did trials I never repeated a suit on consecutive days. So, I also vote for 4 suits being enough. However, I was a prosecutor (not litigating $$$) so suit selection probably means less in my world.

Women have it tougher though, as my female colleagues consistently got comments on their courtroom wardrobe from juries.

[nixy]

I agree that 4 suits you rotate with different shirts and ties is plenty. You could probably get away with repeating one within a week, frankly, although over 20 days that might be a little close.

[Halp]

When I did trials I never repeated a suit on consecutive days. So, I also vote for 4 suits being enough. However, I was a prosecutor (not litigating $$$) so suit selection probably means less in my world.

Women have it tougher though, as my female colleagues consistently got comments on their courtroom wardrobe from juries.

As a women interested in the topic, mind sharing more specifics on what the juries comment about? I assume they hate pants on women, skirts above the knee, anything colorful or “daring,” flashy jewelry, and obvious repeats? Anything else?

[nixy]

I’d be shocked if most jurors cared about women wearing pants.

[logical seasoning]

nixy you are wrong-- actually pants on women are probably the number one complaint that my coworkers got. However, I prosecuted in a very conservative county, so I'd imagine it wouldn't be the same in NYC or Bay Area.

One of my coworkers had a large bust and any type of breast tissue showing was sure to get a comment on a jury card. I've also seen comments on wearing too high heels, too much makeup, and too much white

[nixy]

Well, that’s depressing. Good to know though - thanks!

[Halp]

nixy you are wrong-- actually pants on women are probably the number one complaint that my coworkers got. However, I prosecuted in a very conservative county, so I'd imagine it wouldn't be the same in NYC or Bay Area.

One of my coworkers had a large bust and any type of breast tissue showing was sure to get a comment on a jury card. I've also seen comments on wearing too high heels, too much makeup, and too much white

Too much white? I’m having trouble picturing the outfit, much less the objection. Like...did they wear a white suit or...?

Thanks for elaborating! Very helpful (if incredibly depressing).

[logical seasoning]

It was a white dress. Apparently if you looked hard enough you could see her underwear, but we all checked back at the office and couldn't see anything lol.

[Halp]

It was a white dress. Apparently if you looked hard enough you could see her underwear, but we all checked back at the office and couldn't see anything lol.

Ugh. If you have to look *that* hard...

Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

[AVBucks4239]

I personally have four suits, fifteen shirts, twenty ties, and three pairs of shoes. By my math this gives me 3,000+ combinations. Not to mention wearing slacks (which you should not do for a jury trial, but still).

Eleven suits is overkill, and nobody notices or cares. Just mix up colors day-to-day, wear different shirts and ties, you'll be fine.

[notinbiglaw]

4 suits are more than enough nowadays. Nobody notices or cares, especially with the dress codes in most offices leaving the jacket on your chair most of the time. Consultants and bankers go on extended multi-week-long trips with 2 or 3 suits all the time and it's perfectly okay.

I personally own 8... but that's accumulated over more than 10 years and only 3 or 4 really see regular (>4 per month) wear. Just swap out shirts, ties, and, if you really want to try hard (which is fine, I do it sometimes), pocket squares.

[nixy]

It was a white dress. Apparently if you looked hard enough you could see her underwear, but we all checked back at the office and couldn't see anything lol.

Ugh. If you have to look *that* hard...

Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

Unfortunately different kinds of lighting have enough of a different effect that it could have looked different in court? Still dumb, but good to know the risks, I guess.

[wildcatatpenn]

honestly if its just a one-off trial, 1. 2 tops. throw it in the shower at night, change ur shirt, a couple ties. nobody will care/notice

if ur gonna be going to trial all the time (like weekly+) idk

i lol at people that spend thou$and$ on suits to play dressup at work. and even harder if u wear it to the bar afterwards

[wildcatatpenn]

When I did trials I never repeated a suit on consecutive days. So, I also vote for 4 suits being enough. However, I was a prosecutor (not litigating $$$) so suit selection probably means less in my world.

Women have it tougher though, as my female colleagues consistently got comments on their courtroom wardrobe from juries.

lol wat women dont even need to wear a suit tho? Idk the technical words but i'd say the majority of girl attys around here wear a skirt and some sort of tunic-ey looking shirt or something. or a dress. beats the hell outa wearin a suit cmon

[nixy]

When I did trials I never repeated a suit on consecutive days. So, I also vote for 4 suits being enough. However, I was a prosecutor (not litigating $$$) so suit selection probably means less in my world.

Women have it tougher though, as my female colleagues consistently got comments on their courtroom wardrobe from juries.

lol wat women dont even need to wear a suit tho? Idk the technical words but i'd say the majority of girl attys around here wear a skirt and some sort of tunic-ey looking shirt or something. or a dress. beats the hell outa wearin a suit cmon

For jury trials? Lol, where the fuck do you practice because it’s not the universe I live in?

[Basile]

Do you think having 11 suits is way too much? For me, I would only like to have 3 suits max. One black, one grey, one navy blue (pants and jacket for each). Then a few white and light blue dress shirts (maybe 4 of each), and many many ties. I love having a variety of ties.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Do you think having 11 suits is way too much? For me, I would only like to have 3 suits max. One black, one grey, one navy blue (pants and jacket for each). Then a few white and light blue dress shirts (maybe 4 of each), and many many ties. I love having a variety of ties.

Three isn't really enough for those of us who have to wear a suit Monday through Friday for a year or more - you can rotate three suits without people noticing (a summer associate is fine with just two), but that leaves no cushion for dry cleaning, damage, etc.

Eleven is definitely on the high end, though. How can one project confidence in their 11th-best suit?

[Basile]

Do you think having 11 suits is way too much? For me, I would only like to have 3 suits max. One black, one grey, one navy blue (pants and jacket for each). Then a few white and light blue dress shirts (maybe 4 of each), and many many ties. I love having a variety of ties.

Three isn't really enough for those of us who have to wear a suit Monday through Friday for a year or more - you can rotate three suits without people noticing (a summer associate is fine with just two), but that leaves no cushion for dry cleaning, damage, etc.

Eleven is definitely on the high end, though. How can one project confidence in their 11th-best suit?

So you're saying that 3 suits isn't enough because of wear and tear? I wonder if that's true. Can only 3 suits last somebody a full year? Good experiment to try out.

As for people noticing, who cares about that? I certainly don't care, although I can see some people caring because of their need for attention and extreme worry about how they look. What's somebody going to say?...I see that you're wearing the same color suit all the time? Believe me...I'm the type of person to come out with a very witty comeback that could leave their mouths gaping to the floor if they ever told that to me lol. It says a lot more about people who notice the frequency of what you wear than about the wearer. I'd be like, "don't you have better things to notice and worry about than my clothes? Are you noticing what scent my next fart will be next?" I'm likely best suited for the judicial branch of a court, as a judge, which actually is my goal. They always wear the same thing (but of course that's not the only reason I aspire to be a judge...the lack of variety of clothing is a mere coincidence, but a nice one to have).

[notinbiglaw]

With the exception of certain fabrics that just look terrible with any wear (worsted stuff and flannel will take on a shine in unflattering spots quick), suits really should last a lot more than 100 wears. I stretch most of mine to more like 200 wears. It’s usually the pants that give first then I just wear the jacket with khakis.

Mesh chairs are practically sandpaper on clothes by the way.

[nixy]

Basile, the point isn’t that someone is going to say anything to you about your suits and no one cares about your witty/hostile comebacks. Lsat Airbender said directly that no one would notice if you rotated 3 suits. The point is that if you rotate 3 suits every day it’s just that much more wear and tear on your suits with less backup if you have some kind of wardrobe malfunction. Having one or two more is probably safer - assuming you’re in a job that requires wearing a suit every day. Many legal jobs these days don’t require that, in which case 3 suits would be fine. (The thing about a long trial that’s tough is that you have so little time to do anything besides trial, so having backups could be useful.)

[Basile]

"Lsat Airbender said directly that no one would notice if you rotated 3 suits."
Let's clear this up. He said, "you can rotate three suits without people noticing." Yes, that's what he said, but what's implied or inferred here? He's implying that people notice if you're wearing the same suits. I rest my case.

[nixy]

Are you saying you wouldn't notice if someone wore the same suit every other day? what about every day?