When a reader sent me several photos of his daughter's recent wedding to a young U.S. Air Force officer, I was struck by how rare it is to see military dress uniforms these days. The royal households of Europe were once filled with officers in formal dress. Today, the military is virtually a separate society and for most of us interaction is rare.
The male members of the wedding party in the photo are wearing the Air Force Mess Dress Uniform which is for formal or semi-formal occasions such as graduations, award ceremonies and weddings. The uniform consists of a short mess jacket and mess dress trousers in dark blue. With a blue satin tie and cummerbund, the uniform is the equivalent of civilian black tie. A white bow-tie and waistcoat turn it into the equivalent of white tie.
Congratulations to the bride and groom.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Mess Dress
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8 comments:
Will,
Your text reads, "With a blue tie satin and cummerbund" and it seems to me that what you wanted to write was: "With a blue satin tie and cummerbund."
Cheers,
LaoHu
Thank you LaoHu. Fixed now.
I really like the way those Mess Dress Uniforms look, nice find!
Kevin Costner sports the Navy version in the movie " No Way Out" and looks very dashing in both white mess jacket and black...my Wife always says it is one of the most handsome of all outfits anywhere anytime.
In the British Army mess dress can vary in colour and indeed cut between corps and regiments. Traditional cavalry regiments wear a cut-away style of jacket that fastens at the neck for instance.
Alix Baker, a military artist, has a series of military caricatures, some of which depict officers in mess dress.
http://www.alixbaker.com/page6.htm
Also of interest to you may be this .pdf file, dress guidance for the Rifles, a large regiment that continues the traditions of the various light infantry and rifle regiments, hence the rifle green uniform, which were historically worn in lieu of the famous scarlet.
http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Rifles_Dress_Guidance_as_at_Dec_2009.pdf
No. 10 Officer's Mess Dress is show on page 37.
In the British Army, Mess Dress is worn as an equivalent to Black Tie on Regimental Dinner Nights (like kilts, it is considered bad form to wear Mess Dress to Black Tie events unless specifically stated). At a wedding such as this we would wear either our No. 1 Dress ('Blues') or, depending on the couples decision, No. 2 Dress. That said we do seem to collect a multitude of Orders of Dress.
Nice to see how others do it.
In the British Army mess dress can vary in colour and indeed cut between corps and regiments.
http://dressclothingblog.blogspot.com/
Mess dress uniforms are not restricted to officers in the U.S. military. As a First Sergeant (UK Company Sergeant Major) I needed a formal uniform occasionally and that was my preferred choice. It has the advantage that no hat is authorized so the silly military flat cap can be left home.
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