1875 dress code (Consolidated Army)

The 1875 dress code (廿又亖年灋服, nis-gip-plis-ning-pap-pek; lit. "conforming attire of the 24th year") was a dress code published for members of the Hundred Companies in 1875, that is, the 24th year of Emperor Ngars's reign. When the Consolidated Army was founded in 1916 following the Baron of Mik's military reform, the 1875 code was adopted wholesale for the new army's units. The code was retired as uniform template for new units in 1936, after being in force 61 years, though existing units were not required to the M1936 new uniform template instituted that year.

History

Themiclesia's small army was adjudged insufficient to defend against a possible Camian incursion in 1867 – 68 over the Meh Sea, causing the Government led by the Baron of Na-qrum to sue for peace well before any actual hostility began. Sensing public discontent, the following administration under the Earl of Sngraq pledged to raise 100 companies of soldiers, 60 infantry and 40 cavalry (later changed to 80 and 20, respectively), to ameliorate the unsatisfactory state of national defence. It then came to the government to decide what the new units would wear, as it had been thitherto the custom that every regiment (or comapny if not part of a regiment) to have a distinct colour and uniform design. Sngraq, breaking with tradition, agreed with his War Secretary Lord Tlang-men that it would simplify matters if all the new units had just one uniform design and wore only distinctive emblems.

The first units were stood up in 1875 under the policy, though by the end of Sngraq's administration only 58 comapnies had been raised. Nevertheless, this dress code was extended to virtually all units raised after 1875 and before 1936 even if they were not part of Sngraq's policy, making it the de facto standard uniform unless a specific unit was required to wear something else. There are also instances of individual units losing their original uniforms and adopting the 1875 code, sometimes with Parliamentary approval and other times without. In 1882, Parliament granted broad powers to the War Secretary to alter the appearances and equipment of troops in spite of statutory requirements, which were too numerous to be individually managed by Parliament as was the prior case.

Throughout the second half of the uniform code's usage, there were plans to replace it with a more modern design, but none gained sufficient traction amongst officers to encourage the government to consider them seriously. In 1898, a short tunic in the style of the Anglian Royal Army was proposed, except in black. The tunic was designed to be worn with a belt, but upon modelling it was discovered the belt encouraged the tunic's chest to pout out and its quarters to subside, revealing or at least pointing to the wearer's crotch. Then prime minister the Baron of Krungh was horrified and exhorted his war secretary to scrap the design. Krungh later told the designer of the uniform that any future design should at least "exhibit the decency and seriousness of daytime as the hour of work".

Forms of dress

Frock coat

In Themiclesia as in much of Casaterra, the frock coat was a highly standardized formal coat for men in daytime by the mid-1850s. As it was widely worn and available, it was deemed appropriate for the army's use. The frock coat was a knee-length jacket consisting of a highly-tailored body and skirt joined by a waist seam. In principal it could be single- or double-breasted, though for the version stipulated in the dress coat it was always double-breasted. Buttons were usually faced with silk fabric, sometimes with intricate weaving work. The required colour of frock coats under the 1875 regulation was black.

The body of the frock coat was to project a heavily suppressed waist, proportionate to the shoulders, so that the wearer conformed to the hourglass figure then considered ideal for both men and women. Conventions required eight panels of fabric in the body, hence the coat's name "eight panel coat" (八幅表, pryat-pek-pru) in Shinasthana. Two more panels were used for the collar and skirt and six for two sleeves and their cuffs, giving a total of 16 panels. Contrast this to the 9 panels of fabric typical of a modern lounge jacket. While the additional panels created a fitted appearance, they also took more time to cut and assemble and caused more fabric waste (charged to the buyer). In 1875, a frock coat easily cost one to two months' pay for a private soldier, and so indigent servicepeople adopted many cost-saving measures to procure it.

The most common way to procure an expensive jacket inexpensively was to purchase it second-hand. The second-hand clothing market was expansive in Themiclesia until the 1950s, and the chief issue was that the jacket would have been tailored to the body of its initial owner; alterations or the soldier himself could remedy the issue, to some extent. The other way was to purchase an informal coat, dye it black, and then approximating seam lines with a thick, running thread. When reasonably well-done, a livery jacket costing as little as a quarter of a new frock coat could have the appearance of a frock coat when viewed from a distance. A jacket lacking a waist seam would not have the correct silhouette, but when the coat was cinched by the belt of the backpack, the result was often passable. Into the later half of the 19th century, officers generally took the view that the quality of clothing followed one's status and so rarely took issue with their subordinates' makeshift clothing.

Trousers and waistcoat

The text of the regulation required plain black trousers, which was indeed seen on enlisted rates. But officers usually sported more fashionable grey trousers with stripes or cheques, much like formal trousers of today. The rule for officers, given by many wardrobe orderlies, was the black should be reserved for the most solemn occasions such as meeting with the sovereign or his representatives or funerals. Grey with or without white stripes was appropriate for ordinary work, while blue or yellow strips was appreciated for festive occasions. Trousers were always secured with braces and never belts, and this remains the habit of the army today.

A waistcoat was mandatory under the frock coat, but the regulation did not specify its design other than its fabric, which should be the same as the frock coat. In the 1870s, a waistcoat is evidenced in photographs, but as the fashionable buttoning point of the frock coat migrated upwards in the 80s and 90s and left the waistcoat invisible, it was often eschewed when the weather was hot. Like trousers, the waistcoat was a garment officers could substitute within some limits to reflect personal taste. Waistcoats of the same fabric as the frock were the most formal and not typically worn for routine business, in which a contrasting waistcoat was appropriate; this contrasting garment was sometimes co-ordinated within the regiment or company and of (at least) the same colour for all its officers, to be worn according to idiosyncratic rules.

Overcoat

Overcoats were not addressed by the dress code of 1875. Historical practices of the Themiclesian military indicated that overcoats were expected to be issued by the government for servicepersons in frigid climates. As the frock coat's formality implies, the appropriate overcoat would have been an over-frock coat, but it was seldom seem except on officers in view of the expense of an additional coat of similar quality. The over-frock coat was cut very similar to the frock coat but roomier to accommodate the latter, and it was quite common to see the two coats co-ordinated in terms of materials and design.

See also

• Themiclesia