Judgment Fashion

By Rebecca Winters

For celebrities, dressing for court is always a trial. Ever since shoplifter Winona Ryder wore those demure headbands, stars' accessories have been making case history.

When MARTHA STEWART arrived at her federal trial on obstruction-of-justice and securities-fraud charges last week, court watchers tittered that her pricey purse made her look elitist. Stewart carried an Hermes Birkin bag, which starts at $6,000. But really, shouldn't Stewart's jury pool be concerned with weightier questions, like how the brown Birkin pairs with an orange jumpsuit?

MICHAEL JACKSON'S accessories are also winning fans for the prosecution. Jackson wore a Serbian medal of merit upside-down to his arraignment on child-molestation charges, infuriating some Serb veterans. The Order of the White Eagle is given for "brave behavior on battlefields," a historian told the Belgrade newspaper Blic. Braving a phalanx of paparazzi doesn't count.