A military tunic is a type of medium length coat or jacket, the lower hem of which reaches down to the thighs all the way round. It is named after the tunic, a garment of similar length worn in Ancient Rome.
A military tunic is a type of medium length coat or jacket, the lower hem of which reaches down to the thighs all the way round. It is named after the tunic, a garment of similar length worn in Ancient Rome.
In the second half of the seventeenth and into the eighteenth century, European soldiers wore a coat of a similar style to the civilian justacorps, which had wide skirts and was decorated with lace at the front and had broad cuffs. As the eighteenth century progressed, coats became tighter and broad lapels to expose the facing colour were introduced, initially in the Prussian Army. The skirts of the coat were turned back to form tails; this was initially a mark of the dragoon cavalry, but was soon adopted by the infantry too. [1] By the start of the nineteenth century, this had evolved into a jacket that was cut to waist level at the front and had a short tail behind; in the British Army, this was called a "coatee". [2] A coat with a skirt that reached down to thigh length had been introduced into both the Russian and Prussian armies at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but was not widely adopted. However, by the end of the 1830s, there was a feeling that uniforms didn't offer soldiers sufficient protection from the elements or freedom of movement. While Russia experimented again with the tunic, Prussia adopted them for their whole army in 1842. [3]
France followed Prussia's lead, introducing a tunic for their line infantry in 1845. [4] In 1851, the US Army introduced a long type of tunic which they called a "frock coat". [5] The British eventually followed suit in 1855, their initial French-style double breasted tunic being replaced by a single breasted version in the following year. [6] The tunic became almost universal military wear; at the start of the twentieth century, when the need for some kind of concealment became apparent, armies changed to drab coloured uniforms, the British and Americans in 1902, the Germans in 1910. [7] In the British Army, the tunic continued as a field uniform until the introduction of British Battledress in 1938; [8] the tunic continues to be worn for formal and ceremonial occasions.
The military tunic was quickly adopted by civilian organisations that needed a smart and practical uniform. It was introduced into the Royal Mail in 1868, [9] and by the Metropolitan Police in 1864, replacing a tail-coat. [10]
A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which is outerwear. Some jackets are fashionable, while others serve as protective clothing. Jackets without sleeves are vests.
A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations.
A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name derives from the Latin tunica, the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome, which in turn was based on earlier Greek garments that covered wearers' waists.
Mess dress uniform is the most formal type of evening-wear uniform used by military personnel, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently consists of a mess jacket, trousers, white dress shirt and a black bow tie, along with orders and medals insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In modern Western dress codes, mess dress uniform is the supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian black tie for evening wear. Mess dress uniforms are typically less formal than full dress uniform, but more formal than service dress uniform.
A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back and some features unusual in post-Victorian dress. These include the reverse collar and lapels, where the outer edge of the lapel is often cut from a separate piece of cloth from the main body and also a high degree of waist suppression around the waistcoat, where the coat's diameter round the waist is less than round the chest. This is achieved by a high horizontal waist seam with side bodies, which are extra panels of fabric above the waist used to pull in the naturally cylindrical drape. As was usual with all coats in the 19th century, shoulder padding was rare or minimal.
The Red Serge is the jacket of the ceremonial dress uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It consists of a scarlet British-style military pattern tunic, with a high-neck collar, blue breeches with yellow stripe identifying a cavalry history, a Stetson hat, a Sam Browne belt, and brown high leather boots.
Imperial Japanese Army uniforms tended to reflect the uniforms of those countries who were the principal advisors to the Imperial Japanese Army at the time.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to originate from 19th century uniforms, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
The uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces are the official dress worn by members of Canada's military while on duty.
Red coat, also referred to as redcoat or scarlet tunic, is a military garment formerly much used by most regiments of the British Army, so customarily that the term became a common synecdoche for the soldiers themselves.
The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.
Service dress uniform is the informal type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday office, barracks and non-field duty purposes and sometimes for ceremonial occasions. It frequently consists of a jacket, trousers, dress shirt, and neck tie, along with orders, medals, and insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In Western dress codes, a service dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian suit—sometimes collectively called undress or "dress clothes". As such, a service dress uniform is considered less formal than both full dress and mess dress uniforms, but more formal than combat uniforms.
Service Dress is the style of khaki service dress uniform introduced by the British Army for use in the field from the early 1900s, following the experiences of a number of imperial wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War. This variant of uniform continues to be worn today, although only in a formal role, as No. 2 Pattern dress.
A shell jacket is a garment used as part of a military uniform. It is a short jacket that reaches down to hip level. It was very common in the mid and late 19th century. The jacket was first created in Austria.
The Royal Air Force uniform is the standardised military dress worn by members of the Royal Air Force. The predominant colours of Royal Air Force uniforms are blue-grey and Wedgwood blue. Many Commonwealth air forces' uniforms are also based on the RAF pattern, but with nationality shoulder flashes. The Royal Air Force Air Cadets wear similar uniforms.
The uniforms of the Royal Navy have evolved gradually since the first uniform regulations for officers were issued in 1748. The predominant colours of Royal Navy uniforms are navy blue and white. Since reforms in 1997 male and female ratings have worn the same ceremonial uniform.
The following is a general overview of the Heer main uniforms, used by the German Army prior to and during World War II.
Rayadillo is a blue-and-white striped cotton or flannel material that was used to make the military uniforms worn by Spanish colonial soldiers from the later 19th century until the early 20th century. It was commonly worn by soldiers posted in overseas Spanish tropical colonies, Spanish Morocco and Spanish Guinea, before being adopted as a summer uniform by units stationed in Spain itself.
The modern Greek Army has a history of almost 200 years, during which it has undergone dramatic changes and been involved in some of the major conflicts on the European continent. The modern Greek military throughout its history was closely following international developments in equipment and uniforms. With the notable exception of the elite Evzones units, which based their uniforms on the indigenous traditional garments of the 18th century, the rest of the Army, as most militaries worldwide, was always quick to adopt the military fashion current among the armies of the influential Great Powers. This influence can be roughly divided in three periods: French-style uniforms, which dominated throughout the 19th century, the British styles introduced around World War I and used during World War II and until the late 1960s, and the "NATO" or US-style predominating from ca. 1968 onward. Various individual items or details can of course be traced to other influences, and there were also transitional uniforms combining previous designs.
The military uniforms of the Union Army in the American Civil War were widely varied and, due to limitations on supply of wool and other materials, based on availability and cost of materials. The ideal uniform was prescribed as a dark blue coat with lighter pants, with a black hat. Officer's ranks were denoted with increasing levels of golden decoration. Specific jobs, companies, and units had markedly different styles at times, often following European customs such as that of the Zouaves. Officers uniforms tended to be highly customized and would stray from Army standard. Ironically, several main pieces of gear had been created by order of the U.S. War Secretary Jefferson Davis before the war; he later became Confederate President.