What to wear to court
Dress as you would for a job interview at a conservative office: clean, plain and in quiet colors. Each court sets its own rules, so check its website before you go. Below: what to wear, what courts do not allow, and suit and shirt colors for each of the 12 color seasons.
By Jane MitchellCertified color analystPublished
The short answer
- Wear a suit, or dark trousers or a knee-length skirt with a shirt or blouse.
- Choose dark, quiet colors: navy, charcoal, gray or dark brown.
- Wear a light, plain shirt or blouse.
- Cover your shoulders, and keep clothes neat and not tight.
- Check the dress code on your court’s website before you go.
What courts do not allow
Each court sets its own rules. As one example, the dress code of the court in Liberty County, Georgia, lists hats (except for religious or medical reasons), sunglasses, ripped clothing, shorts and mini-skirts, low-cut and midriff tops, sleeveless shirts without a jacket, and clothing that shows violence, drugs or profanity. It says a person who is not dressed properly may be asked to leave and come back another day (libertycountyga.gov, read 2026-10-29).
The same rules apply to everyone in the courtroom: a party, a witness or a visitor. If you have a lawyer, ask what to wear, and follow that.
Suit and shirt colors for your color season
Deep neutral colors for the suit or trousers and light, quiet ones for the shirt or blouse, from each season's own palette.
Suit or base color
- Soft denim navy#5C6B8A
- Light taupe#9E8C74
Shirt or blouse
- Ivory#F6EFE2
- Warm sand#E4D9C5
Skip: buttercup, apple green, coral.
Suit or base color
- Warm denim#4E6E82
- Warm mushroom#A1887F
Shirt or blouse
- Cream#F2E6CE
Skip: bright tangerine, golden yellow, terracotta.
Suit or base color
- Dark warm brown#3E2723
- Warm cocoa#8D6E63
Shirt or blouse
- Bright ivory#FFFDF5
- Warm stone#D7CCC8
Skip: bright violet, vivid orchid, bright orange.
Suit or base color
- Soft navy#4A5C78
- Soft plum#8E7C9E
Shirt or blouse
- Soft white#F4F1EC
- Pearl gray#D5D2CC
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Cool navy#2F4058
- Blue gray#5A6B7C
Shirt or blouse
- Soft white#F0EFEC
- Pale rose#E8D5DC
Skip: rose red, cool raspberry.
Suit or base color
- Soft navy#3F4A57
- Muted aubergine#6B5E70
- Soft charcoal#6F6C68
Shirt or blouse
- Soft white#EDEAE4
- Pale dusty pink#D9C4C9
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Soft olive brown#57503F
- Slate blue#5F7386
- Muted forest#5E7A6B
Shirt or blouse
- Soft cream#F0E8D8
- Soft peach beige#DCC0A8
Nothing to skip in this palette.
Suit or base color
- Coffee#5A4632
- Deep olive#4A5340
Shirt or blouse
- Warm cream#F2E7D0
Skip: rust, goldenrod, burnt orange.
Suit or base color
- Dark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Deep olive#2F3325
- Dark moss#3B4A3F
Shirt or blouse
- Warm cream#EDE0C8
Skip: deep amber, tomato red, dark mustard.
Suit or base color
- True black#1C1C1C
- Midnight navy#12243D
- Blue charcoal#263238
Shirt or blouse
- Pure white#FFFFFF
- Icy blue#B3E5FC
Skip: indigo, deep violet, true red.
Suit or base color
- True black#000000
- Charcoal#37474F
Shirt or blouse
- Pure white#FFFFFF
- Icy lavender white#E8EAF6
Skip: vivid purple, royal violet, cobalt.
Suit or base color
- True black#212121
- Cool slate#607D8B
Shirt or blouse
- Pure white#FFFFFF
- Bright ice#ECEFF1
Skip: bright violet, electric purple, vivid orchid.
Called as a juror instead? See what to wear to jury duty. The same colors work for what to wear to an interview.
How we picked the colors
Each season card reads that season's own palette and neutrals on this site, 300 named colors across the 12 seasons, measured in CIELAB: lightness (L*), chroma (C*, how strong the color is) and hue angle. A shade is on the card when it is for the suit or base: deep neutrals (L* under 55, C* under 20), darkest first. A season with fewer than two gets its darkest shades with C* under 25. For the shirt: light, quiet shades (L* 78 or more, C* under 20), lightest first.
The skip line lists up to three of the strongest colors of the palette (C* 55 or more). Where a palette has too few shades that far apart in hue, the gap narrows to half, then to 12°. No color is typed by hand, and no brand or store is used. The same rule runs on every season, so two cards can be compared.
What this page cannot do
This page lists suit and shirt colors from each season's palette, and one example of a court dress code. It cannot tell you the rules of your court: its website or your lawyer can. It cannot tell you which season you are either. Our free analysis reads your season from one selfie, in your browser.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Questions
What colors should you wear to court?
Dark, quiet colors such as navy, charcoal, gray and dark brown, with a light, plain shirt or blouse.
Can you wear jeans to court?
Some courts allow clean, dark jeans and some do not. Check your court’s dress code. Trousers are the safe choice.
Can I wear a hat in court?
Many courts ask you to take off a hat in the courtroom, except one worn for religious or medical reasons.
What should I wear to court for my coloring?
For example, a Deep Autumn can wear dark mahogany with a warm cream shirt, and a Light Summer soft navy with soft white. This page lists suit and shirt colors for all 12 seasons.
What you can do on this page
This page explains what to wear to court: clean, conservative clothes in dark, quiet colors with a light shirt or blouse, and it quotes one real court dress code (Liberty County, Georgia) as an example of what courts do not allow. It then lists, for each of the 12 color seasons, deep neutral suit colors and light shirt colors from that season's palette with hex codes, picked by a stated CIELAB rule, and the loud shades to leave at home. The free photo analysis finds a season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.