Dressing up

So do some women.

So what?

The men wear tights!

I was also thinking of another kind of dressing up when I saw this thread, stockings and suspenders maybe, do you think some of the judges wear them under their robes?
I like the robes I think they need to stand out in court, I like the formality of it.

Our teachers at school all wore their university gowns-absolutely no confusion as to who was in charge! And no sneaking up on the children disguised as a teenager.

I used to have a nice blue fake fur that belonged to my mother.
Sad that it eventually passed on .
The bearskins very nearly disguise the fact that guards are all white absent as they obscure part of face (evil yes i know we did this one before) It is quite hard to tell if any are female but stature can give them away.
I agree about scrubs gracesmum - it always looks strange and worrying to see them walking round the hospital in them. Do they get fresh ones if they go into theatre {slightly queasy emoticon}. As you say, there are many compromised immune systems in hospital and that is half the problem.
Years ago fresh air was very popular in hospitals. I think Nightingale started the trend. But whether it made any difference, not sure if anyone ever researched it properly.
Suspect there is plenty of room for "good" and "bad" germs to flourish in a place as big as a hospital. ALso a lot of MRSA is, I believe, caused by patients who carry it. These days they screen for it for planned surgery. But many people have it on their bodies and no problem, until a major surgical wound is present and the immune system drops as part of the reaction to this. Same with c.diff. The other gut bacteria stop it developing until they are stripped out by broad spectrum antibiotics and then they have a field day.

There was a doctor arguing for less fuss about germs in hospitals recently. He wasn't talking about relaxing surgical standards of hygiene in operating theatres, but for allowing more fresh air from outside straight into hospitals instead of everyone breathing 'conditioned' air. He thought it would be healthier because the bad germs would have more competition from robust healthy bacteria, whereas at the moment the healthy bacteria are somewhat discriminated against by over-sterilisation in places that don't need to be sterile.

In short, he felt that opening windows would be better than circulating air through conditioners.

Thank you jeni

The judges hat boxes for their wigs are phallic. They have sticky up member at 45degrees to perch the wig on!

Fake fur gets waterlogged in the rain, and makes them even heavier.

I thought it was outfits for the Halloween party

Well if we can have artificial fur coats?

No they're not jeni. They tried out all sorts of synthetic fibres but reckoned that none of them worked.

I think they're synthetic these days?

Guardsmen with their bearskins – that's another anachronism. In my opinion, bearskins look best on bears. They must be incredibly hot and uncomfortable and they just look silly.

Come to think of it, judges' wigs must be hot and itchy. Do those flapping bits make it difficult to hear? if so, that would be a worry.

We wear ordinary clothes in our courts. When I say ordinary I mean smart . I wouldn't dream of turning up in jeans (not that I have any) but a smart skirt and top is acceptable. The trouble with this informal approach is that people complain that they're made to feel as if they're in court. They ARE!

I'm afraid I think this is an overreaction absent, surgical scrubs are meant to be sterile. Many years ago a nurse was not even allowed to wear her uniform on public transport as she could carry germs into a sterile environment. I do not think that scrubs belong outside the theatre. I agree about the short sleeves and all doctors on the wards will have their sleeves rolled up or wear short sleeves. No problem with that. I did not say I wanted surgeons to wear long sleeved bacteria infested white coats - junior doctors doing ward rounds are not the same thing and the idea of the white coat was that it was donned within the hospital environment and then left behind at the end of the shift and a clean one worn the next shift.
DH has had experience of MRSA (which most people carry), C. diff and pseudomonas in the last few years in a hospital with the highest hygiene standards because of compromised immune systems. One's outdoor clothes are not usually boiled in the way overall (white coats) can be and despite all the fancy anti-bacterial stuff available, many germs will thrive at temperatures below boiling.

gracesmum If I had just had surgery, I would rather see the surgeons in hygienic scrubs than bacteria-infested, long sleeved white coats. My mother hallucinated hideously for over three months with hospital acquired MRSA and I truly believed that it was going to kill her. I don't want to go there because of traditional dress.

Thanks soop. Enjoying it so far, although I'm going to have to limit myself as this morning seems to have disappeared!

I agree with you Bags. I don't like it when politicians dress down because they are trying to look as if they are in touch with "normal" people. There also seems to be a new trend for politicians, presenters etc. to wear a suit but no tie as if they are not sure whether to dress up or down!

Grannybags Our Bags is like a ray of Welcome, and may your time spent with the rest of us be all that you hope for.

"Interesting and colourful"? As are silk stockings on a well-turned calf

Uniforms are just labels. When uniforms aren't necessary (I agree they are for police, etc), labels are just that.

Not sure I'd recognise a lounge suit if I saw one. If I met a politician face to face, I'd be more interested in what they had to say than what they were wearing, so long as they were wearing decently smart clothes. Classic country casual clothes (trousers, shirt, neat jumper) are just as smart but a bit more interesting and colourful than suits, suits, suits.

You said exactly what I was going to say gracesmum I love the tradition.

I also got the wrong end of the stick and was going to wade in with my horror of having to get dressed up in MoTB gear for middle daughter's wedding