Lawyers and judges often wear fake courts in solemn courts in areas under British colonial rule. These wigs are shorter than shawls, and they have a few curly embellishments at the ends, like wool curls. Why are British judges and lawyers keen on such wigs?

Around 1620, King Louis XIII of France began to lose hair. As a young king, reflecting the sun's rays all day is absolutely a detrimental thing, so he chose to wear a wig to maintain his image.
The nobles saw it and tried to follow suit. Soon, wearing wigs became popular in the upper class. Everyone wore wigs to attend high-end banquets and salons, so that some nobles with lush hair also decided to shave their heads to catch up with the trend and wear wigs. After a few decades, this fashion was once again spread to Britain by Charles II, who was in exile in France. Inspired by the power of the king's example, the nobles of the British Isles were also proud of wearing wigs, and it was unwritten rules for judges and lawyers to wear wigs in court.


Of course, there is another important reason for the popularity of wigs. In the 17th century, Europe was still in a relatively backward stage. Urban construction was a mess, dirty and messy was the norm, and there was no heating system. It was a big problem for people to take a bath. In order to prevent the growth of parasites such as lice on the hair, it may be a better choice to leave a bald head wig.


Not to mention that the nobles are so keen on wearing wigs on formal occasions. In fact, the early wig production process is very backward, mostly made of human hair. So in court, the wigs on the heads of the judicial staff will emit a variety of flavors. Sometimes the judges have to put flowers around to reconcile the scent, to calm down and try the case in a disgusting environment.Fortunately, this bad situation only lasted less than 200 years. In 1822, a new wig made of horsetail and horsehair was developed. Although there is still a certain gap between this wig and human hair, at least it will not emit an unpleasant smell.


Although the wig has such shortcomings, it is just a mixture of animal hair, at most there is a styling, but this does not prevent it from becoming a precious luxury at the time. The raw materials for wigs, horsetail and horsehair, are not easy to obtain. It is said that the local British horses are grumpy and their hairs are easy to break. Therefore, the raw materials are all taken from Chinese horses thousands of miles away. The cost of import and transportation is naturally very high. Moreover, wigs cannot be mass-produced. They are completely hand-made by skilled craftsmen. A wig requires 44 man-hours, and can be completed after a series of processes such as weaving, rolling, and dyeing.
If it is customized, it will be more complicated. Since the shape of the human head is not a regular geometry, it is not easy to measure the length, width and height. The craftsman must hold a ruler and make a dozen strokes on the head of the customizer to get accurate. The data.


After such a tossing down, a delicate wig for sale need 1500 pounds, and the most common one is also 300 pounds. Because the production of wigs is a technical task and the profit is quite high, there are many families of wigs in the UK. The wigs for sale they produce can be collected as artworks. For the law school graduates of that year, the best gift the elders gave them was a ponytail wig made by a famous master.


Since it is so valuable, it cannot be thrown around like ordinary items, and the human hair wig has no regeneration ability, so it must be properly kept, otherwise one will be lost if it is missing one. Keep wigs in a well-ventilated box, and clean and comb them every once in a while to prevent them from getting out of shape. In the era when lice were infested, the British had to spread some powder on their wigs to prevent the pervasive parasites from using the wig as a comforting nest. In short, wig maintenance is more devoted and hard-working than maintenance of real hair.


In fact, no matter how you maintain it, the wig will eventually become stale every day. But generally speaking, the lawyers and judges of the British Empire will not easily change their wigs, even if the wigs have lost their luster, they will be worn like a pile of rags on their heads.
This is not because wigs are very expensive, but because the law is very much about qualifications and experience. The older and dirtier a lawyer or judge’s wig is, the more likely he is to prove that he has engaged in legal-related occupations, defense and trial. The stronger the ability. In this subtle psychology, worn wigs seem to increase the eloquence of lawyers and the dignity of judges in court, although in the current perspective, this is really unsightly and elegant.

As early as the early 19th century, the third US President Jefferson described the British judges wearing wigs like this: they were like a group of mice hiding under cotton wool and peeping out.


British judges and lawyers wore wigs for women or men in court. There were no hard-and-fast legal provisions, but they were fashionable at the time. More than 300 years have passed, and wearing wigs is no longer avant-garde and noble. However, the British are known for their conservative stereotypes, and their judicial circles are still following the old "severe disaster areas". So today, lawyers and judges are still reluctant to throw away the quirky and funny woolly wigs overhead.
In the long tradition, people also endowed wigs with an allegory, which seemed to represent the justice and justice of the law. Although the voice against the use of wigs is rising, many judges and lawyers are still suffering from itchy scalp, wearing wigs for decades. Someone said humorously that anyway, wigs have been outdated for at least a few centuries, so don’t worry about cancelling them.