Dress uniform
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See military uniform and full dress for coverage of non-U.S./non-UK dress uniforms.
Image:Polytechniciens DSC09009.JPGDress uniform (often refered to as Full Dress Uniform, to distinguish it from Mess Dress, and from semi-formal uniforms, such as the British Army's Service Dress) is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals. The uniform design may be distinct to a service (Army, Navy, Air Force, et cet.), or to a sub-unit. Although they are often brightly coloured, and adorned with ornaments (gold braid, lanyards, et cet.), most originated as practical uniforms that, with the adoption of more practical uniforms, have been relegated to ceremonial functions.
Although many services use the term dress generically for uniforms, allowing it to refer to more modern combat uniforms, with suitable modifiers (eg., the British Army's obsolete Battle Dress (BD), and the US Army's Battle Dress Uniform (BDU)), the term Dress Uniform, without a prefixed modifier, is always assumed to refer to the full, ceremonial dress.
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[edit] United Kingdom
[edit] British Army
Most of the various uniforms worn by the British Army, today, were, historically, combat uniforms. At the start of the 19th Century, British Army Regiments of Foot, trained to fight in the manner dictated by their arms (the musket), which demanded close proximity to the target, were not concerned with camouflage, and wore bright red uniforms. The British infantry literally was a thin red line. Rifle regiments, fighting as skirmishers, and equipped with rifles, were more concerned with camouflage however, and wore dark green uniforms. Light Infantry regiments were also trained as skirmishers but wore red uniforms with green shakos. Whereas the infantry generally wore polished brass buttons and white carrying equipment, the Rifles wore black.
Heavy dragoons and Royal Engineers wore red (or later scarlet) coats. Most of the remainder of the British Army, however, including the Royal Regiment of Artillery, hussars, all but one lancer regiment, and various support elements wore dark blue uniform. These varied greatly in detail according to the arm of service or in many cases the individual regiment. A red stripe, or stripes, down the outside of each trouser leg was common to most Foot and non-infantry units. Cavalry however wore stripes of regimental colour (white, yellow, blue/grey etc)on their riding breeches. Scottish Highland units did not wear trousers, favouring the kilt, and Scottish Lowland regiments adopted tartan trews. All Scottish regiments wore "doublets" of distinctive cut instead of the tunics of English, Irish and Welch units.
Their uniforms are distinguished from the British Army's standard Full Dress design by the red cuffs and collars. The pace stick carried by one Warrant Officer indicates he is a Company Sergeant Major. The dark belts are unique to Warrant Officers. Enlisted men normally wear a white belt with this uniform, and commissioned officers the brown Sam Browne Belt.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, with experience fighting irregular forces in India and Africa, and with the increasing effectiveness and usage of rifles, the British Army began adopting light khaki uniforms for tropical service. In 1902 a darker shade of Service Dress (SD)was adopted for field and ordinary use in Britain itself. The scarlet, blue and rifle green uniforms were relegated for wear as full dress on parade and walking out dress when off duty. When khaki webb carrying equipment was introduced, the earlier, white or black leather carrying equipment was reduced just the belt (and sometimes a bayonnet frog), for wear with the dress uniform. As with the earlier uniforms, the design of the officers uniforms differed from those worn by the Other Ranks.
With the outbreak of war in August 1914 all full dress and other coloured uniforms ceased to be worn by the British Army. After 1919 they were restored to the Household Cavalry and Foot Guards for ceremonial purposes but not to the bulk of the army. Officers were authorised to wear full dress for certain special occasions such as Court levees (formal presentations to the Monarch) and it was customary to wear these uniforms at social functions such as weddings. By 1928 bands were wearing full dress on occasions where they were not parading with the remainder of the regiment (who had only khaki service dress). The pre-1914 dress uniforms were still held in store and occasionally reappeared for historic displays. However there was no serious attempt to make them general issue again, primarily for reasons of expense. When (khaki) Battle Dress (BD) uniforms, which had a short blouse instead of a tunic, were adopted prior to the Second World War, the older khaki Service Dress became a smart uniform for wear on the streets, and on moderately formal occasions.
After World War II the coloured, full dress uniforms were again reintroduced for ceremonial occasions by the Brigade of Guards and to a limited extent by regimental bands. Officers (and later senior non-commissioned officers) resumed wearing mess uniforms in traditional colours from about 1956 on.
The BD uniform was eventually replaced, after the War, by green, cotton combat uniforms. The design of the Other Ranks' BD blouses was modified for wearing collared shirts with ties (like the Officers' pattern), and was used for a time, around the barracks, but eventually disposed of completely. The unique regimental full dress uniforms disappeared after the War as well, eventually Image:The Defence of Rorke's Drift2.jpg
being replaced in most regiments (other than the Guards) by a generic dark blue uniform known as No 1 Dress. This dated back to plain "patrol" uniforms worn by officers prior to 1914 as an informal "undress" uniform. Most regiments were distinguished only by coloured piping on the shoulder straps, coloured hat bands, buttons and badges. However Scottish regiments retained their kilts or trews as well as the distinctive doublets of the scarlet uniform. Rifles had all dark green uniforms and cavalry retained a number of special features such as the crimson trousers of the 11th Hussars. A white, lightweight tunic (No 3 Dress)was also authorised for use in the tropics, or during the summer months in warmer temperate climates (such as Bermuda). Helmets were no longer worn as part of the No 1 dress uniform, except by members of bands (some of which retain their old regimental dress uniforms, at their Regiment's expense). The Rifle regiments were slowly amalgamated into the Royal Green Jackets, which continued to wear a dark green dress uniform, and black buttons and belts. Recent changes have brought the Royal Green Jackets and the Light Infantry together into a single regiment The Rifles, which continues to wear dark green.
Berets were introduced during the Second World War to replace side caps for wear with combat (when protective headgear was not being worn) and Service Dress uniforms. Originally, khaki was the standard colour for all units, but specialist units began to adopt coloured berets to distinguish themselves. The most famous example of this was the Parachute Regiment, which adopted a maroon (red) beret. This has since been adopted by many other parachute units around the world. The Royal Marine's-organised Commando Brigades adopted a green beret. The Special Air Service (SAS) adopted a sand beret to commemorate its origin in the Western Desert, although, for a
time, when it was decided that all airborne units, grouped under the Army Air Corps, would wear the maroon beret, this was worn by the SAS, the Glider Pilots Regiment, and the Air Landing Regiments, also. Today, the Army Air Corps only includes units involved in operating army aircraft, and wears a sky blue beret. Khaki was replaced as a generic colour for berets after the war by dark blue, and this is the colour worn by those units not authorised to use a distinctively coloured beret. Berets should fall outside the scope of this article, but, although a blue peaked cap, with red hat band, is available for use with the blue No 1 Dress uniform (and a khaki, peaked cap for the Service Dress uniform), it is not uncommon, today, to see the beret worn with any of the uniforms (or the full dress cap with the Service Dress uniform).
The blue or green No 1 Dress was never universally adopted and has now largely been replaced by khaki No 2 dress. As the Army has faced successive cutbacks, the practice of issuing soldiers with full sets of service dress and full dress uniforms was ended. Today, with the exceptions noted above, full Dress or No 1 Dress uniforms are only held in limited quantities as common stock, and issued only to battalions on ceremonial duties. The Royal Military College (RMC) at Sandhurst also holds dark blue No 1 dress uniforms for the use of its cadets.
[edit] United States
[edit] U.S. Army
The United States Army has one blue uniform which has served as a dress uniform for officers and warrant officers since 1937. It was also authorised for wear by enlisted men and women at their own expense when off duty. It has recently been announced that the blue uniform will become general issue for all ranks, replacing the "Army Greens" as a service dress.
Dark blue was the traditional colour of most U.S. Army uniforms from 1776 until 1902. Even after the introduction of khaki for field wear in that year dark blue tunics and light blue trousers continued in use for full dress and off duty wear until 1917.
The Army blue uniform comprises a dark-blue coat, light-blue or dark-blue (general officers) trousers , a white turndown-collar shirt, and a black bow tie or black four-in-hand necktie, a dark blue service cap, and often a ceremonial belt. When worn with a black bow tie, the Army blue uniform constitutes a formal uniform and corresponds to a civilian tuxedo. When worn with a black four-in-hand necktie, the Army blue uniform is an informal uniform.
When appropriate, Officers and NCOs wear sabers with the "dress blues". Refer to AR 670-1 Chapter 24 for more information.
The following are appropriate occasions for personnel to wear the Army blue uniform.
- On duty, as prescribed by the local commander.
- For social functions of a general or official nature, before or after retreat.
- On other appropriate occasions, as desired by the individual.
[edit] U.S. Air Force
The current U.S. Air Force Service Dress Uniform, which was adopted in 1993 and standardized in 1995, consists of a three-button, pocketless coat, similar to that of a men's "sport jacket" (with silver "U.S." pins on the lapels), matching trousers, and either a service cap or flight cap, all in Shade 1620, "Air Force Blue." This is worn with a light blue shirt (Shade 1550) and Shade 1620 herringbone patterned necktie. Enlisted members wear sleeve insignia on both the jacket and shirt, while officers wear metal rank insignia pinned onto the coat, and Air Force Blue slide-on epaulet loops on the shirt. On May 15, 2006, the Air Force presented for comment two prototype uniforms, termed the "Billy Mitchell heritage coat" and the "Hap Arnold heritage coat". Both uniforms feature a return to a belt worn over the jacket common to uniforms from 1915 to 1947 and are in Air Force Blue. If the former is chosen, the Air Force will be the first U.S. military branch since the mid-1920's to wear a stand-up collar uniform for everyday wear since the Marine Corps and Army adopted roll-collar variations of their stand-collar service uniform.
Source: "Whatever Happened to the Plain Blue Suit?", AIR FORCE Magazine, July, 2006
[edit] US Navy
US Naval Officers and Chief Petty Officers have several dress uniforms depending on the season or location; Dress White for warm weather wear and Dress Blue for cooler temperatures.
The dress white uniform is consists of a stand-collar white tunic, white trousers, and white dress shoes. Rank for officers is displayed on shoulder boards for males and on the sleeve cuffs for females, while CPO rank insignia is worn on the collar for both sexes. Service dress white includes ribbons, whereas full dress white includes ribbons and medals. This uniform is informally called "Chokers," due to the stand-collar.
The Dress Blue uniform consists of black shoes, Navy Blue (black in appearance) coat and trousers, a white shirt and either a four-in-hand or formal bowtie. As with the white uniforms, only ribbons are worn with Service Dress Blue while ribbons and medals are worn with Full Dress Blue. Depending on the occasion, officers may also wear swords with either Full Dress White or Blue. Both the white and blue uniforms are worn with the distinctive combination cap with white cover.
Naval Enlisted personnel also have seasonal uniforms. Dress Whites consist of white pants, black shoes, a white jumper, neckerchief and dixie cup hat. The winter uniform (Crackerjacks) is essentially the same thing but navy blue in color.
[edit] US Marine Corps
The Marine Corps has a dress blue uniform in addition to their green service uniform which is part of a long line of historical "Marine Greens" dating back to the American Revolution. The most formal of a Marine's uniforms, it is often referred to as "Dress Blues", due to its color (as distinguished from the green and khaki service uniforms), it can be worn in many forms.
- Dress Blue "A" has a long sleeve choker-collar midnight blue outer blouse, white combination cover, with all medals and Ribbons. A Mameluke Sword may be worn by officers, SNCOs and NCOs are authorized to wear the NCO Sword.
- Dress Blue "B" is the same as "A", but Ribbons and Marksmanship Badges, are worn instead of medals.
- Dress Blue "C" is same as "B" but without the outer blue coat, a khaki long sleeve shirt and khaki necktie instead. Ribbons are normally worn on the shirt with badges being optional unless perscibed.
- Dress Blue "D" is same as "C", but with short sleeve khaki shirt and no tie.
All the blues have the same trousers, cover and shoes, although the shoes do not have to be of one brand they do have to be high gloss black and matching. General officers will wear a two-inch wide scarlet "blood stripe" down the outer seam of each leg of blue dress trousers/slacks, field and company grade officers will wear a 1 1/2-inch wide scarlet stripe down the outer seam of each leg of blue dress trousers/slacks, and SNCO's and NCO's will wear a 1 1/8-inch wide scarlet stripe down the outer seam of each leg of blue dress trousers/slacks. General officers wear dark blue trousers in the same color as the coat, while lower ranking officers, SNCO's, NCO's and junior enlisted wear medium (sky) blue trousers.
Prior to 1998, certain ceremonial Marine units, such as the Silent Drill Platoon, wore a blue/white dress uniform, in which white trousers for blue while performing ceremonial functions. The blue/white version is the authorized summer uniform for officers and SNCOs, and is worn only when an officer or SNCO is not in a formation situation with NCOs and enlisted Marines, except for the Silent Drill Platoon or other formations authorized by the Commandant.
Another uniform, the Dress White uniform, was an officers-only uniform that resembled the Navy's Officer/CPO dress whites, except that the coat had shoulder epaulets for the wearing of rank, and Marine insignia was worn. This uniform was superseded by the Blue/White Dress uniform in 2000.
