I always feel vaguely that I've done something wrong if I'm in the courthouse but not in court dress. John D. mocked me -- it must be original sin or your liberal guilt! But the difference isn't me; it's the way other people treat me. It's the way you suddenly become furniture to other lawyers, no one registers your presence, and if they catch your eye, they stare through you: if you are not their client, you are a generic member of the public. You do not signify. On the other hand, the security guards are suddenly a whole lot more interested in the content of your handbag. In court dress, every other person also in court dress smiles and nods at you, in the corridors and lifts, at the landings of stairwells, even if they don't know who the hell you are; however fresh-faced and junior, your uniform is a symbol, whoever you are you must be one of us: welcome.