Uniforms of Themiclesian armed forces

This page catalogues the uniforms of Themiclesian armed forces. Early Themiclesian military bodies rarely possessed distinctive clothing, as state-issued body armour usually identified its wearer. After the obsolescence of armour, the government sometimes mandated certain emblems be used, 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.  

Degrees of formality

• 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, trjaw-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 (r. 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 reflect the fashionable near-black colours of this period, with lapel pins and non-contrasting ornamentation on the waistcoat remaining acceptable.
• Half dress (從省服, dzjong-srjêng′-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 conservative branches, a frock coat may remain in use and be called a frock coat (西長表, sner-ntrjang-prjaw), 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 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 (褻服, sngjat-bjek): anything which does not categorize into the two above.

Underlying history

The concept of uniforms in Themiclesia, for much of recorded history, was not represented in the armed forces, but the civil service and aristocracy. Since civil servants were both socially distinguished and possessed public authority, it became proper for them to dress to express the same. On one hand, dress express power derived from the crown, and to denote positions relative to each other within the hierarchy. On the other hnad, these markers co-existed with the need for self-expression, which represented civil servants' financial and cultural capital as aristocrats, outside of the hierarchy of public officialdom, and the dignity between peers, often used against royal power. Even though one may speak of a "uniform" for civil servants, few elements were uniform across the civil service; hats, sashes, and seals were symbols of difference, not similarity.

The earliest forms of uniform apparel in Themiclesian history were armbands, which identified the wearer's position (such as left flank or skirmisher) during combat; they were apparently specific to the operation, as new armbands were issued for operations requiring a different configuration of units. Uniforms that identified the wearer's unit affiliation rather than ad hoc position appeared much later, attested from the 14th century in the Colonial Army, which wore all black. Most of its early recruits were ex-inmates from labour camps, in which criminals and their descendants lived, and black was the characteristic colour of inmates uniforms; black dye was also cheap and served to identify members of the unit from ordinary Themiclesians, who avoided wearing black due to its stigma. However, most units, even professional ones, fought without true uniforms into the 1700s. Their general adoption occurred in the first half of the 19th century, under Casaterran influence.

General trends

During the 19th century, most regiments, militias, and administrative departments were permitted to design and procure their own uniforms. This liberty has resulted in what some described as "military fashion", as styles adopted in one unit could sometimes see broad and even rapid acceptance in others, for no obvious reason within military operation. The historian B. Non divides the prevailing trend into four aesthetic periods in the modern period—Westernizing (1801 – 35), diversity (1835 – 75), severe (1875 – 1920), and post-severe (1920 – 47).

In the Westernizing period, Non says that "Western" aesthetic elements are broadly accepted. Attributes of Western clothing absent in Themiclesian attire, such as structured shoulders and padded chests, see broad Themiclesian distribution, even though these things have no obvious military use. Additionally, many of these adopted elements have been stereotypical of Western attire in the 1700s, before their large-scale introduction began. Non believes that in this period, access to Western artistic tastes was considered a privilege, and so officers frequently tried to incorporate Western elements into their uniforms to express their savvy with foreign culture. To this end, Western elements "could be exaggerated to almost a caricature", like feminine chests and shoulders so padded to appear completely horizontal. While many units have already switched to Western attire, these exaggerated features appear mostly on officers' uniforms.

After 1835, the royal court accepted Western clothing as a normal form of dress, and the fashion for exaggerated Western attire began to wane. In its place rose a greater demand for regimental identity expressed through more rational but distinctive uniforms. Many units adopted wildly contrasting colours, plaid, and even patterned fabrics to fashion its uniforms. In contrast with the demand for "Westernizing" features in the period epoch, these strongly distinctive forms of dress are characterized by their common acceptance by both officer and enlisted. Especially after reforms in 1846, the government encouraged units to build or rebuild their regimental traditions to inspire better cohesion. At the end of the period, military attire showed signs of being recognized as a separate category of clothing, but this subtrend was ultimately regional and failed to gain acceptance.

Uniforms that date to the severe period are characterized by the colour black or extremely dark shades nearing black. All decorative or metallic elements, such as patches and insignia, disappeared. The severe-period uniforms, Non argues, emphasize on cut, fabric, and cleanliness, but above all comformity to societal expectations. The colour black, according to Non, initially had no significance except its universality in civilian dress. The frock coat became the standard coat for infantry regiments for similar reasons. Former contrasts in colour survived as variations in textures, permissible within the narrowing constraints of civilian dress.

On the other hand, Non believes the severe style was Themiclesia's first attempt to establish a national aesthetic since the adoption of Western clothes, whereas Western nations then maintained uniforms with saturated colours and high contrast. In the 1890s, this lack of visual interest was justified on the grounds that soldiers should not so dress as to protest a difference from civilians. Non notes that the Lord of Krungh, who reportedly liked severe-style uniforms, said to the House of Lords in 1888 that "soldiers are civilians in a different trade." At the end of the severe period, the style's supporters argued it gave soldiers a more dignified appearance than if "they appeared as lit as Christmas trees".

Land forces

Themiclesian land forces started to assumed their modern structure under the Army Acts of 1921. While fiscal and operational unity was achieved by the Pan-Septentrion War, the Conservatives have generally opposed attempts to consolidate the army beyond those aspects, preferring to allow each unit to retain a measure of symbolic independence. This is most clearly reflected in the dress uniforms of the army, which still vary by region, regiment, and department.

Today, the army can be divided into four parts—the Consolidated Army, Reserve Army, Territorial Forces, and Militias. The Consolidated Army, the main standing army, and the Reserve Army are both administered by the central government, and they share the same set of uniforms for the most part. The Territorial Forces are units raised, with parliamentary approval, by ethnic minorities groups sharing in nation defence. These units 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.

The ordinary rule of the modern era, since the Pan-Septentrion War, is that field uniforms are co-ordinated by duties and environment, irrespective of unit. Thus, an air force crew member is likely to be wearing the same fatigues as an army soldier stationed in the same facility. There may be minor variations according to manufacturer and issuing authority, but principal characteristics are similar across the armed forces.

Consolidated and Reserve armies

The Consolidated Army (聯兵, rjên-prjang) issues uniforms to units that do not have peculiar uniforms. The units formerly of the Capital Defence Force, South Army, and Royal Signals Corps, and those established by statute before 1921, continued to issue peculiar uniforms. Since 1921, a number of units have conformed to the army's standard patterns, though others retain distinctive attire. In the late 19th century, many units adopted the sack coat as an undress or field uniform. These sack coats originally differed from dress coats only in cut, being shorter and less structured (thus cheaper), but by 1910 many units have mandated drab or khaki sack coats for field use. In the Prairie War, around half of the units wore the standard 1922 uniform, while the other half retained peculiar uniforms.

The field uniform of 1922 consisted of a drab green wool sack jacket, waistcoat, trousers, linen shirt, undershirt, drawers, braces, cravat, helmet, wool socks, and boots. This combination was particularly close to the Western University Regiment's uniforms. Branch and unit affiliation and rank were indicated through located on caps, lapels, collars, shoulders, and sleeves. While servicepersons generally found satisfactory the uniform's durability and aesthetics, many suffered heat strokes marching through the desert in the summer of 1926 and 27. Some threw off jackets and waistcoats, shocking officers who considered shirts and braces underwear. The black cravat was reviled as it "created a noose of heat around their necks" and was not lauderable. Most officers permitted soldiers to add and remove articles as the climate dictated, and this practice was sanctioned in 1929 by the War Secretary's ordinance.

The field uniform was updated for comfort and economy with conscription imposed in 1936. The sack jacket and skirt of the dress shirt shortened considerably, and the waistcoat disappeared. Extra volume in drawers and sleeves were too minimized while permitting mobility. The cravat was replaced by a drab knit tie that was nominally worn over standing collars, but most soldiers tucked them into the shirt instead. The sack jacket acquired two chest pockets, not frequently used as webbing ran directly over them; the trousers acquired four pockets, two on the side seams and two pouches over the thigh. In 1940, the wool jacket and trousers were replaced by canvas, further adressing overheating and as a substitute when Themiclesia lost much of its wool supply.

A summer variation of the 1936 uniform was issued in 1941, with shorts instead of trousers and discarding the jacket and necktie entirely. This uniform was in consideration for at least two years, but conservatives voiced concerns that it exposed too much of the body "to be decent anywhere except the most extreme heat," as much as fearing soldiers would reject it. This reservation proved specious, and the summer variation was in use year-round in Dzhungestan and Maverica, where the heat, combined with humidity, was even more formidable for Themiclesians accustomed to colder climates.

The Reserve Army (聯戲, rjên-ng′jaih)...

Territorial Forces

The Territorial Forces (方兵, pjang-prjang)...

Militias

The Militias (郡兵, ′k.ljur-prjang; 邦兵, prong-prjang)...

Naval forces

As with militias, naval personnel were historically responsible their own clothing, with few regulations applied. The navy was responsible for selling the fabrics to sailors, but the rights to sell goods onboard were usually auctioned, and the winner often inflated prices with an effective monopoly. As a result, most sailors preferred to bring fabric or make purchases on port calls.

The earliest Casaterran-style naval uniforms were more similar to a dress code than uniform in the modern sense. In 1819, officers and men were ordered to dress in a blue coat, white waistcoat, and trousers; as pictorial evidence demonstrates, any blue tailcoat was acceptable, mutatis mutandi. It was acceptable to add private clothing to the ensemble, as by custom a woollen jacket was worn over the waistcoat; as this article was not formally regulated, it was used as a canvas for a crew to identify sartorially with their vessel. The naval dress code of 1819 was not amended until 1920, when illustrations were promulgated to standardize the appearance of naval costumes.

Consolidated Fleet

Sailors often sought to preserve the costly overcoat and waistcoat, and it become typical to wear only the shirt and cravat on normal duty. Though this was ostensibly out of order, it was tacitly permitted. Early portraits show sailors with closed collars and neatly-tied neckcloths, but by 1830 this had become uncommon. Under Casaterran influence, neckties loosened, allowing collars to open and flap down over their shoulders.

Around 1840, commentators remarked how much of a sailors could be seen unclothed, provoking the Admiralty to require sailors to fasten their neckties and wear a frock coat when publicly engaged. This ordinance 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. It is not clear why sailors preferred this knot, but it is possible that loops on a bow was seen as a hazard with the rigging. In the 1905 uniform update, the obsolete tail coat was withdrawn for enlisted men, though officers were still expected to supply their own tail coats for formal functions.

Marines

The Marines originally had the same dress uniform as sailors. Yet as their duties soiled clothing less, marines generally wore the naval jacket and waistcoat as regulations stipulated. The woollen jacket worn by sailors is shared by marines, bearing the crew's insigne. That it be visible, the dress coat was never buttoned. In 1827, the Admiralty ordered the Marines to wear waistcoats peculiar to their regiments. In 1837, all Marines regiments were ordered to wear a blue frock coat for duties on shore and drilling. As in other regiments, the influence of civilian fashion predominated in the 19th century, inducing coats to darken until basically black, as other colours became undignifying for men in high society.

Around 1900, a navy blue sack coat was worn in place of the frock coat in informal situations. In 1927, the Marines adopted an exact copy of the Consolidated Army's standard field uniform issued in 1922. The 1st and 2nd Regiments were deployed in Maverica in 1944 – 45 and were issued, from the Consolidated Army's exchequer, the same winter and summer field uniforms.

Coast Guard

In 1921, the Coast Guard was formed by amalgamating the prefectural revenue marines and other maritime safety apparatūs under the Home Office. As the force had no formal predecessor, the Home Office followed the example of the TAF and selected a foreign design—that of the Camian Marines—for the new Coast Guard. This was consonant with the foreign policy of 1920s seeking to enhance bilateral relations with Camia. However, as coast guards were expected to work in uniform, changes were made in the interest of utility. Pockets were added, and dress shoes were replaced with boots that could be polished to a patent finish as required. The hat was also changed for naval officers' peaked caps at the behest of the Home Secretary. Otherwise, the navy blue tunic and white trousers were similar to their Camian originals. The uniform was also the first dress uniform in Themiclesia that did not include a waistcoat or necktie. Many Coast Guard officers did not like these facts, along with that of the trousers' white colour, as it rendered their uniforms unsuitable for civilian settings, where both are requisite and white unfashionable.

Aerial forces

The uniforms of the Themiclesian Air Force were revolutionary in the domestic military sphere that it was an imported design. This formerly was somewhat taboo in the same way direct imitation of another nation's military precepts was in the Army Academy.

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. 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. The Sam Browne belt was worn by aviators, who carried pistols for self-defence; other services, ordinarily not permitted to carry weapons off duty, envied this privilege. It was also a contravention of Themiclesian social etiquette, which demanded disarmament in urban areas (邦中); this included not only weapons but their accessories, such as scabbards, holsters, pouches, and belts. Only the Gentlemen-at-Arms and high-ranking civil servants were excepted from this rule, and its extension to the Air Force was perceived as the government's vote of confidence in them.

The TAF led Themiclesian forces to adopt the blazer as a half-dress uniform, for the entire branch, in the early 20th century. While unit characteristics, decorations, and badges had all but been purged from formal dress codes to conform to civilian norms in the late 19th century, the forces in general sought to transfer their insignia onto garments in ways that would not conflict with those. The TAF, after encountering resistance against colourful dress uniforms in formal settings, started wearing blazers that were common for clubs and sports teams, for informal settings. In 1921, the TAF hosted the first inter-service sports tournament and commanded its attending officers to appear in a uniform blazer. This idea soon spread as blazers were sufficiently informal that unit insignia and decorations could be worn in full colour without stirring social condescension. In the 50s, this blazer was legitimated as a working uniform for the TAF.

Air infantry

Themiclesia's air force ground forces, the Themiclesian Air Force Regiment, were originally ordered to wear a blue frock coat, teal cravat, and grey chequered trousers as their dress uniforms. Most of the regiment procured their uniforms locally, from Tonning tailors, who re-used the templates and fabrics for marines' uniforms. This gave the TAFR the unwanted monicker of "recoloured marines" (易色冗人, lêgh-s′rjek-njung-njing) of which it wished to be rid. In 1927, Parliament altered the unit's uniform rules and allowed the Air Ministry to alter their uniforms, which then changed to be similar to the rest of the air force, but with a burgundy collar instead of dark teal for aviators and green for ground crew.  

See also

• Themiclesia