[arkansas parent]

Baby A's adoption is next month. I have a cute outfit for him to wear but don't know what the rest of us should wear. At T's adoption we felt a little over dressed. DH and T want to wear dark jeans and nice button up (or polo) shirts. Would it be too casual?
DD and I are planning on wearing dress pants and a nice top.

Edited to add: Sorry I didn't get a chance to type the title ,baby A hit something and posted before I had a chance

[tweetybirdus]

if you are referring to the finalization hearing, then yes, jeans are too casual, khaki pants and a button up shirt and tie or a suit is what is standard for males for court. females should probably wear dress slacks or skirts and sweaters or nice tops or a dress.

This is what we were told by the lawyer.

[Lovebug]

I agree!!!

[arkansas parent]

Thats what I was thinking.

[Linny]

We're in the midwest and I have to tell you, wearing nice jeans and a nice shirt are NOT UNCOMMON here for adoption court. To be sure, I'd phone your attorney to see what s/he'd suggest. We've adopted a lot of times and have gone from the dresses and such (ohhh, how I dredded those), to khaki's and even dh wearing dressy jeans with tucked in shirt.
It just depends on where you live. Contact your adoption attorney.

Sincerely,

Linny

[arkansas parent]

We are adopting from DHS so we don't have an attorney.

[Linny]

Really???? We've adopted from the state foster system too (DCFS) and had a GAL (Guardian at litem) who would have suggested this info. Can you ask him/her?

Sincerely,

Linny

[arkansas parent]

I'm sure there is a GAL. I meant DH and I don't have an attorney.

[buttascotchbaby]

OK, we are in Hawai'i so I know we do things differently but my bio son wore nice shorts and a button down shirt (and slippers [flip flops to the unititiated ]), my ASon wore jeans and button down Aloha shirt, my ADaughter wore a dress (but she is a girly girl, so any excuse ) and I wore a nice top and casual pants. No one told us in advance what to wear and I really don't think it matters that much, we were comfortable and looked nice and it was so short anyway...

[aclee]

I think it's different everywhere, but I didn't see anyone in jeans when we finalized, and there were a lot of people there finalizing. We felt under dressed. I wore black dress pants and a nice sweater. DH wore black dress pants and an "eggplant" (he hates when I call it purple) color button down. I wish I had worn a skirt, and he had a tie, but what can you do...We got the paperwork and our pictures look nice, so who cares what everyone else was wearing

[jalapeno]

We're in the Southwest and I would think allowing the siblings to wear nice jeans would be fine here. I think my nephew wore shorts one time and jeans the next. And my BIL might have worn jeans. I made my DH wear a jacket and tie though. In fact, since my kids weren't old enough to argue about it, I put my DD in a dress and the boys in suits. We took a lot of pictures and I'm glad I had everybody dress up. But I could see myself making exceptions for an older child. It's not uncommon in my area for families to wait several hours to be called into the courtroom so I would think it's fair to allow the kids to be a bit more comfortable.

[JLW99]

It's interesting to see the variation in different parts of the country. We're north of Boston, and our finalization clothes were pretty conservative/formal. We didn't feel out of place, everyone else was dressed the same way....
Love the idea of flip flops, though! I think the judge would've had a canary....

[lovemy2boys]

We were "told" that Men had to be in suits and ties and that women had to be in dress slacks and sweater at the minimum...and this went for the whole party, not just us...

But my in laws still wore jeans...no one said anything to them, and they are the type who just don't care...lol

[sheababy]

I think khaki's and a button up shirt as well. I see lots of people at the courthouse in jeans but I just don't think it's appropriate. We NEVER dress up (khaki's is dressy for us) but it's such a special occasion, why not?

[JustCourtney]

I am so glad that you started this thread! We are finalizing next month, too and hadn't even thought about it (yet!). We are in the midwest - a burb of St. Louis, and I while we and our area is fairly casual, I think that jeans would be too casual. Khakis and a polo or button down for the DH, and I think a skirt and blouse or sweater for me would be fine. I am excited about dressing Nate! I think I will buy his his first real shirt and pants!!! It's been nothing but onesies and leg warmers so far! LOL