Uniforms of Themiclesian armed forces

This page catalogues the uniforms of Themiclesian armed forces. Early Themiclesian military bodies rarely possessed distinctive clothing, as body armour was issued by the state and usually sufficed for identification. After body armour became obsolete, the state began to mandate certain emblems be used for this purpose, though most soldiers and sailors had to supply their own clothes. Casaterran-style uniforms were introduced in the early 19th century, and dress uniforms since have followed Casaterran social norms. In more recent times, efforts have been made to standardize battle equipment and clothing for effectiveness and economy, though dress uniforms tend to be peculiar to the unit, more so if it had a long history or distinct role.

Terminology

Themiclesian armed forces use the same terminology as civilians to describe levels of formality in various uniform styles. Generally, there is only one uniform described as full dress applicable to any serviceperson, while there could be several half dresses and undresses. Note that this terminology strictly describes formality from a civilian perspective and does not describe how these forms of dress may be used for internal functions. In the 19th century, military uniforms switched to the Casaterran style and followed civilian standards of formality very strictly, creating little need to stipulate equivalencies between them; however, as they diverged at the start of the 20th, such stipulations were formalized.  

• Full dress (具服, kjoh-bjek): literally "full dress", a chance similarity between Tyrannian and Shinasthana terms. For those with rights to attend court, it is also called court dress (朝服, n′rjaw-bjek). Full dress, by convention, is equivalent to the white tie worn by civilians. Full dress in conservative units almost always include a tail coat, waistcoat, and cravat of some kind, with shirt collars worn standing up. In more liberal ones, a full dress is simply the most formal dress code endorsed. While elaborate decorations were once common on full dress uniforms, these became uncommon by the end of Queen Catherine's reign (1837 – 1901). Austerity had become the standing order of civilian men's wear, compelling the military to conform. Today, for units that issue a full dress, they typically retain the fashion of this period, with near-black colours, though slight, non-contrasting ornamentation on the waistcoat remains acceptable.
• Half dress (從省服, dzjong-srêng′-bjek): lit. "reduced dress". Half dress is considered equal to civilian frock coat or morning coat during day time and dinner jacket at evenings. In branches with conservative uniforms, a frock coat may remain in use and be called a frock coat (長衫, ntrjang-srem), but this is now the exception rather than the norm. The Themiclesian Air Force led the forces in recognizing the blazer as a half dress in the 1950s, since frock coats, morning coats, and dinner jackets became antiquated for informal occasions in the civilian world at this time. Formerly, a half-dress required a knee-length skirt for men and ankle-length one for women, as a rule of thumb.
• Undress (褻衣, sngrjat-′jer): anything which does not categorize into the two above.

Land forces

After a century of Liberal reform, the Themiclesian land forces started to assumed their modern structure under the Army Acts of 1921. While fiscal and operational unity was achieved by the start of the Pan-Septentrion War, Conservatives have generally opposed attempts to consolidate the army beyond the fiscal and operational aspect, preferring to allow each component to retain a measure of administrative independence. This is most clearly reflected in the dress uniforms of the Themiclesian Army, which still vary by region, regiment, and department. Today, the army can be divided into four parts—the Consolidated Army, the Reserve Army, the Territorial Forces, and the Militias. The Consolidated Army, the main standing army, and the Reserve Army are both administered by the central government in name and in substance, and they share the same set of uniforms for the most part, e.g. an infantryman in the Consolidated Army has the same dress uniforms as one in the Reserve Army. The Territorial Forces are units raised, with parliamentary approval, by ethnic minorities groups sharing in the defence of the nation, and these possess distinct uniforms, though their activities, some statutory exceptions aside, are also co-ordinated centrally. The Militias are nominally under prefectural administration, though modern administrative rules require central permission to most local action on them. Each prefecture establishes uniforms for its militias.

Naval forces

As with militias, Themiclesia's navy traditionally required its members to prepare their own clothing, with few regulations as what it might look like. In 1810, a Casaterran-style uniform was introduced for both officers and men, in the entire navy. Sailors and marines originally shared a very similar or identical uniform, but due to their different working environments and sartorial inclinations, the common uniform soon took on characteristics of its wearers and bifurcated.

Consolidated Fleet

The common uniform of 1810 was adopted by sailors, but to protect the overcoat and outer waistcoat, it become typical only to wear the shirt, necktie, and under-waistcoat on normal duty. While early portraits show sailors with closed collars and neatly-tied neckcloths, by 1830 this had become uncommon. Perhaps under Casaterran influence, sailors began to fasten their neckties rather loosely, which allowed the tall collars to open and flap down over their shoulders. Around 1840, public commentators remarked how much of a sailors could be seen unclothed, provoking the Admiralty to require sailors to fasten their neckties properly. This ordinance evidently had little effect, since neckcloths grew only looser through the decade. By 1850, the neckcloth was similar in function to a scarf, and the bow was abandoned for a four-in-hand knot. Alarmed by sailors' unkempt appearance, the Admiralty procured a frock coat for sailors exclusively in 1851; this was a double-breasted frock coat that was cut differently from the Marines' frock coat. Sailors still typically wore a four-in-hand knot as opposed to a bow, which became associated with marines by mid-century. It is not clear why sailors preferred this knot, but it is possible that loops on a bow was a hazard with hooks and ropes in the rigging.

The frock coat was required to be worn while asking to speak with commissioned officers during daytime.

Marines

For marines, the common uniform of 1810 evolved to become the full dress uniform that is today the equivalent of civilian white tie, used for evening functions. While sailors modified their uniforms as duties led them, marines have followed dress code more closely. While cutting has varied through the ages, one waistcoat was worn with collars up, and the other with collars rolled. The outer waistcoat, in imitation of Tyrannian custom, bore regimental insigne; that it remain visible, the dress coat was never buttoned. In 1837, a morning attire was introduced, with a fully-skirted frock coat, waistcoat, and matching necktie; the dress code was for morning functions and drilling until 1923, when a drab uniform was introduced for the latter purpose. But for certain ceremonies, it remains proper to wear the tail coat, even in the morning. In 1824, the Captain-general awarded a contract for shirts to himself, owner of a shirt factory. Since then, the wearing of clean linens became traditional with marines for the remainder of the 19th century. At the same time, they also developed a reputation for ostentatious necktie fashion verging on the absurd.

Aerial forces

The uniforms of the Themiclesian Air Force were revolutionary in the domestic military sphere that it was designed without direct reference to civilian propriety. Every other set of uniforms, thus far, had been designed to conform to civilian standards, since soldiers and sailors were expected to wear their uniforms to civilian functions.

Aviators

The initial pattern of the Air Force dress uniforms was heavily influenced by the Tyrannian Royal Air Force, which showed influence from the Royal Army. It consisted a shirt with fold-down collars, necktie, trousers, suspenders, belt, Sam Browne belt, waistcoat, and overcoat, the latter two with standing, closed collars. The trousers were deep, greyish-blue with a bold indigo stripe on the sides, with a slight blouse where it tucked into boots. The waistcoat and overcoat were both "air force teal", a creamy teal colour so-called due to its ubiquity on Air Force uniforms, even though it is the same colour as Marines daytime neckties. The collars on the overcoat were a slightly deeper hue of the same colours. Aviators wore black, knee-length boots, with the top two inches customarily folded down for tighter fit.

Sartorial editor M′rjang wrote that this forced the boot to hug the contours of the wearer's calf muscles, which created a sharper and "literally more muscular" appearance that was intentional. Some historians believed that early Air Force leaders were overidingly concerned with predatory War and Navy Ministries hoping to annex the Air Force, leading it to adopt an aggressive and impactful style that broadcasted its independence from either, whose uniforms were both characterized by following civilian fashions. This is evinced from the fact that the Air Force's most formal uniforms did not have tails—a rejection of civilian ideas about formality. The Sam Browne belt was worn by aviators, who carried pistols for self-defence; this became a source of envy from other services, which were ordinarily not permitted to carry any weapon off duty.

See also

• Themiclesia