page_title: Full dress uniform
section_title: U.S. Marine Corps
hierarchical_section_title: Full dress uniform / Full dress uniform by country / United States / U.S. Marine Corps
caption_attribution_description: These Marines, based in Barstow, are mounted on mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management’s Adopt-a-Horse Program. The Corps is now the owner of these horses. The riders will be wearing Marine Corps Dress Blue Bravos. Rose Parade 2017 Pasadena, California
context_page_description: Full 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 trace back to uniforms used during the 19th century, 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.
  Although full dress uniforms are often brightly coloured and ornamented with gold epaulettes, braids, lanyards, lampasses, etc., most originated as practical uniforms that, with the adoption of even more practical uniforms, were relegated to ceremonial functions.
context_section_description: The most formal of a Marine's uniforms outside of the elaborate evening dress uniforms of officers and senior enlisted, it is often referred to as "Dress Blues", due to its color (as distinguished from the green and khaki service uniforms), and can be worn in many forms. It is the only uniform of the United States military to use all of the colors of the nation's flag and incorporates button designs which are the oldest military insignia still in use in the United States Armed Forces to this day.
  The various designations used in Dress Blue include:
  Dress Blue "A" has a long sleeve choker-collar midnight blue outer blouse, white barracks cover, with all medals and service ribbons. Enlisted coats have a red trim and more buttons down the middle of the coat than officers.
  Dress Blue "B" is the same as "A", but service ribbons and marksmanship badges are worn instead of medals. Dress Blue "A" (with medals worn) is strictly reserved for official ceremonies, while Dress Blue "B" may be worn on leave or liberty.
  Dress Blue "C" is the dress blue uniform worn with the long sleeve khaki shirt (without coat). Service ribbons and badges may be worn.
  Dress Blue "D" is the dress blue uniform worn with the short sleeve khaki shirt (without coat). Service ribbons and badges may be worn
  All the blue uniforms have the same trousers, cover, and black shoes, with the exception of general officers who wear dark blue trousers in the same color as the coat. Officers, Staff Noncommissioned Officers, and Noncommissioned Officers wear blood stripes on their trousers. Blood stripes are 1.25" in width for NCOs and SNCOs, 1.5" for officers, and 2" for general officers.
  A sword may be worn when the individual is in command of troops in formation—the Mameluke sword for officers, the NCO sword for NCOs and SNCOs. When wearing the sword and Dress Blue coat, officers wear the Sam Browne belt. For enlisted, the sword is worn with a white waistbelt and brass buckle when wearing the Dress Blue coat. The Marine Corps is the only branch of the United States military which regularly allows NCOs to carry a sword.  For enlisted Marines, they earn the right to carry the NCO sword  and wear the scarlet blood stripe on their blue trousers when they achieve the rank of Corporal.
  Members of the United States Marine Corps Band, and the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps are authorized different dress uniforms, known as Red-Dress (a scarlet blouse with a blue trim). Before 1998, certain ceremonial Marine units, such as the Silent Drill Platoon, wore a blue/white dress uniform in which white trousers were substituted for blue while performing ceremonial functions. The blue/white version is now an authorized summer uniform for officers, SNCOs, and on certain functions, NCOs. The Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard currently wears the blue dress coat with white riding breeches and polished black knee-high riding boots although in the past they have worn blue riding breeches with the red blood stripe.
  Another uniform, the obsolete Dress White uniform, was a white version of the standard dress coat and trousers, was authorized only for officers, and resembled the Navy's Officer/CPO dress whites. No blood stripes were authorized, and white shoes were worn. This uniform was superseded by the Blue/White Dress uniform in 2000.
caption: Dress uniform for the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard consists of a blue dress coat, white breeches, and polished knee-high boots.
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