import re prioritized = ['INBOX', 'QueensU.INBOX'] def mycmp(x, y): for prefix in prioritized: xsw = x.visiblename.startswith(prefix) ysw = y.visiblename.startswith(prefix) if xsw and ysw: return cmp(x, y) elif xsw: return -1 elif ysw: return +1 return cmp(x, y)