British Army uniform British Army uniform currently exists in sixteen categories , which are worn according to the requirements of a unit or individual . They range from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress . History . Prior to the English Civil War of 1642 - 51 the only significant instances of uniform dress in British military culture occurred in small bodyguard units , notably the Yeoman of the Guard . During the Civil War the Parliamentary New Model Army adopted a fairly standardised pattern of red clothing , a practice which continued with the small regular army of the Restoration period . By the end of the 17th century , the English army uniform ' s colour ( England not yet having joined with Scotland to form Great Britain ) , was largely settled on red with few exceptions . The practice of distinguishing regiments by different facings was in general use by the early 18th century . In the decades after the end of the Napoleonic Wars , British Army uniforms trended towards extravagance rather than practicality . That trend was reversed during Crimean war with the adoption of looser fitting tunics and more practical headresses . Red coats were however retained , except in India where drab coloured garments were worn increasingly from 1857 on . In January 1902 the British army adopted a universal khaki uniform for home service wear after experience with lighter khaki drill in India and South Africa . The traditional scarlet , blue and green uniforms were however retained for full dress and off duty " walking out dress " wear . Details of these colourful uniforms varied greatly between regiments and branches of the army . The early use of camouflage in the form of plain khaki reflected the exigencies of colonial war and the freedom allowed , and taken , by many of the officers who fought it . The adoption of khaki for active service resulted from the development of weapons of greater accuracy range combined with smokeless powder during the late 19th century , making low - visibility on the battlefield a matter of priority . During the Second World War a handful of British units adopted camouflage patterned clothes , for example the Airborne Forces ' Denison smock and the windproof suit . In the late 1960s the Disruptive Pattern Material ( DPM ) camouflage uniform was adopted across the whole of the British Army . It remained in service , with periodical updates , for the next 40 years . From 2009 it began to be replaced by a new Multi - Terrain Pattern ( MTP ) uniform . This " Personal Clothing System ( Combat Uniform ) " has been developed for use across the British Armed Services , making use of the latest in clothing technology . Unlike the different versions of DPM issued for use in different terrains , the new MTP kit is issued in just one version , designed to function effectively across a variety of terrains , meeting a need identified in recent combat experience . Uniform numbers . The British army numbers its uniforms for ease of instruction . Fourteen ' orders ' of dress are authorised and prescribed to be worn on various occasions ( plus No . 15 dress worn only by the Royal Regiment of Scotland ) . " Full Dress " is also prescribed for individual regiments ; outside the Household Division it is however seldom worn except by regimental drummers , buglers and other limited categories . Note that uniform distinctions can vary greatly from one Regiment or Corps to another , and the following descriptions are a generalization . Also , while there are officially fifteen different grades ( or ' Numbers ' ) , many of these are rarely worn or are being phased out altogether . ( For example , the different varieties of combat uniform ( No . 5 ( Desert ) , No . 8 ( Temperate ) and No . 9 ( Tropical ) ) though still listed in the dress regulations , are in the process of being replaced by the new ' Multi - Terrain Pattern ' No . 8 dress . ) Full dress . Full dress is the most elaborate order worn by the British Army . It was withdrawn from general issue in 1914 ; the Household Division resumed wearing their scarlet full dress in 1920 , but for the remainder of the Army , red coats were only authorised for wear by regimental bands and in mess dress or on certain limited social or ceremonial occasions . The reason for not generally reintroducing the distinctive full dress was primarily financial , as the scarlet cloth required expensive red cochineal dye . Not all Full Dress uniforms were ( or are ) scarlet ; Rifle regiments wore dark ' Rifle ' green , and the majority of cavalry regiments wore blue ( as did the Royal Artillery and the various support corps ) . Line Infantry regiments , though , invariably wore scarlet . Full dress is now rarely worn except by the Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry . It is issued at public expense to these units ; other units may obtain and wear Full Dress ( in their pre - 1914 pattern if no modern order is prescribed ) for use in historical displays , when acting as ushers or lining parties at weddings , and when acting as a sword guard to the Royal Horse Artillery . Most regiments maintain full dress for drummers ( line infantry ) , buglers ( rifles ) , trumpeters ( cavalry ) and pipers ( Scottish and Irish units ) . However , all of these uniforms must be purchased and maintained from non - public funds . In addition to the above , full dress is issued to Regular Army Bands for ceremonial use . The cost of procuring and maintaining these uniforms is met by the Defence Clothing Integrated Project Team ( DC IPT ) . The DC IPT is also responsible for maintaining the No . 3 dress which is usually worn by these ensembles whilst posted to warm - weather environments . Each regiment or corps which commonly wears Full Dress prescribes its own unique style , approved by the Army Dress Committee . They are generally a modified version of the pre - 1914 uniforms . In the case of units created since the First World War , such as the Army Air Corps , the Full Dress order incorporates both traditional and modern elements . Full Dress is worn whenever a parade is attended or ordained by the monarch or a member of the British Royal Family , including ceremonial parades , state funerals , and public duties around royal residences ( such as the Changing of the Guard ) . It is worn by all members of the Household Division attending the Lord Mayor ' s procession , and also when participating in guards of honour or recruiting drives . No . 1 : Temperate ceremonial uniform . No . 1 Dress , sometimes referred to as " blues " , is a universal ceremonial uniform which is almost consistent throughout the British Army . No . 1 Dress is only worn on ceremonial occasions , and , in some regiments , by the duty officer . It is also regularly required to be worn by a short list of other units , senior staff officer s ( above the rank of Major - General ) , and officers appointed as aides to the Royal Family . The order is not generally issued to all units , with the khaki No . 2 Dress functioning as the main parade uniform . For most regiments and corps No . 1 dress consists of a dark blue tunic and trousers ( or skirt ) with a coloured peaked cap . Females should wear normal dark coloured tights when needed . Different units are distinguished by the colouring of the cap , piping on the tunic and of the welts or stripes on the trousers , as well as badges . There are some exceptions : the tunic and trousers of The Essex Yeomanry , The Rifles and Royal Gurkha Rifles are rifle green , while the Royal Dragoon Guards and the King ' s Royal Hussars wear dark green and crimson trousers respectively . Cavalry regiments wear shoulder chains in place of shoulder straps . Officers may wear a waist sash of crimson , silver and crimson silk , or a cross belt depending on the their regimental dress regulations and whether or not they are carrying a ceremonial sword . Other ranks wear a white buff or black leather belt with a regimental pattern locket , with a bayonet frog if carrying arms . The peaked cap is not worn by all regiments ; beret s are worn in lieu by the Royal Tank Regiment , Army Air Corps , Parachute Regiment , Special Air Service and Intelligence Corps . Berets are also worn by officers and other ranks of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and other ranks of the Royal Welsh in which feather hackles are displayed , recalling the plumes formerly worn on the full dress busby . The Royal Regiment of Scotland wear a regimental glengarry with cockfeathers taken from the former ceremonial uniform of the Royal Scots and the King ' s Own Scottish Borderers , the Royal Irish Regiment wear the caubeen , while the Brigade of Gurkhas wear a round Kilmarnock cap . The Royal Regiment of Scotland has a completely different No . 1 pattern of tunic known as a " doublet " in Archer Green , worn with a kilt in regimental tartan . Related to No . 1 Dress is the ' Frock Coat ' sometimes worn by senior officers ( of Lieutenant - General rank and above , or holders of certain Royal appointments ) and some bandmasters etc . This is usually worn with the peaked cap , but on occasion it is worn with the British Army cocked hat . No . 2 : Service dress ( temperate parade uniform ) . Originally issued as a field uniform ( see Service Dress ( British Army ) ) , this uniform is worn for most formal duties by all units . No . 2 dress consists , for most corps and regiments , of a khaki jacket , shirt and tie with trousers or a skirt . Head dress is the same as that worn with No . 1 dress , with the exception of the Brigade of Gurkhas , who wear the slouch hat and The Queen ' s Royal Hussars who wear their " tent hat " ( the only head dress worn without a cap badge or other distinction ) . The Royal Regiment of Scotland wear a special pattern of jacket with a cut away front , worn with a regimental tartan kilt or trews . Coloured trousers are worn by some units : crimson by the King ' s Royal Hussars and dark green by the Royal Irish Regiment and Royal Dragoon Guards . Officers are required to purchase their service dress , being provided with a Uniform Allowance to offset this and other uniform purchases . The pattern and material differs between Regiments : for instance the service dress of the Foot Guards and Honourable Artillery Company is darker than the ' standard ' , while the service dress worn by officers of 1st The Queen ' s Dragoon Guards is of " Bays " pattern cavalry twill . Regimental distinctions worn on No . 2 dress can include collar dogs ( sometimes with coloured cloth backings ) , coloured lanyard s worn on the shoulder , and arm badges . Regimental buttons are worn ; for most units these are of gold or silver colour , with black buttons worn by The Rifles and Bronze by the Princess of Wales ' s Royal Regiment . Officers and Warrant Officer s Class One wear a leather Sam Browne belt ( that of 1st The Queen ' s Dragoon Guards is of pig skin which is not to be highly polished ) or a cross belt . Infantry Warrant Officers Class Two and SNCOs wear a red sash over the right shoulder to the hip and Soldiers wear a white or black plastic waist belt with a plate buckle displaying the regimental badge . Every regular army soldier is issued with one suit of No . 2 dress . In general , issue of this order of dress to units of the Territorial Army is limited , with pools of khaki uniforms being held for use . No . 3 : Warm weather ceremonial uniform . No . 3 dress is the warm weather equivalent of No . 1 dress , worn for specified overseas stations or assignments . When adopted in the early 1950s , it comprised an all - white cotton drill high - collared tunic cut in a similar fashion to the No . 1 dress jacket plus white trousers ; worn with the coloured No . 1 dress cap . No . 3 dress was typically issued temporarily , being withdrawn from units on leaving the station . This order of dress dates back to white drill uniforms worn for " hot - weather " ceremonial and off - duty wear in India prior to World War I . Since the 1970s this order has consisted of the same white tunic but now worn with coloured No . 1 dress trousers . Head dress , footwear and badges are generally as for No . 1 dress . Widely worn during the 1950s and 1960s ( when Britain still maintained significant garrisons in tropical stations ) this uniform is now usually restricted to military attaches in hot weather postings , the Bermuda Regiment ( see below ) and a few bands , The band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment is entitled to a permanent issue of No . 3 dress . For the Bermuda Regiment No . 3 dress is becoming the standard ceremonial uniform . As the majority of public parades and events during which ceremonial dress is worn occur during the summer months , reasons of economy have seen No . 3 dress gradually replacing No . 1 dress on the few public occasions for which the latter order had been worn ; ( such as the Peppercorn Ceremony ) . No . 4 : Warm weather Service Dress ( officers only ) . Issued to officers on first posting to a warm weather area : the uniform is similar to No . 2 dress but in a stone coloured polyester / woolen worsted mix . No . 4 dress may be worn on formal occasions when not on parade with troops . When officers are taking part in parades and formations with other ranks in warm weather areas , they wear either No . 3 or No . 6 dress . No . 5 : Desert combat dress . Desert combat clothing is listed as : hat , jacket and trousers DPM and is issued to soldiers posted to Cyprus and the Middle East . As issued during the 1991 Gulf War , this uniform was identical to the No . 9 DPM tropical uniform , except for the multi - tone desert camouflage . This was quickly replaced with a two - tone DPM camouflage ( the base colour and one other ) . Smocks were also available in the desert DPM , including the SAS pattern windproof smock . Covers for combat helmets and body armour were also made in this camouflage . now replaced with MTP uniform . Formerly Battle Dress was designated as No . 5 dress . This order of temperate combat dress was originally issued prior to the Second World War , becoming a smart barracks and walking - around dress with the introduction of green combat uniforms . It became obsolete in 1962 , when replaced by No . 2 Service Dress , which it had previously replaced as a combat uniform , and which had also been adapted as a smart uniform for barracks and parade use . No . 6 : Warm weather parade uniform ( bush jacket ) . The " bush jacket " uniform ( in Australia , this is known as the " safari uniform " ) . It consists of a tan bush - style 4 - button jacket worn with or without a shirt and tie underneath and tan trousers . It is worn by all ranks for parades ( as with No . 2 Dress ) , unless No . 3 dress is worn , and by ORs for all other occasions . No . 7 : Warm weather barrack dress . The tropical shirt - and - trousers uniform , consisting of a tan long - sleeve shirt worn with tan " battle dress " trousers ( kilt or trews for Scottish regiments ) , stable belt and regimental headgear . No . 8 : Temperate combat dress . Multi Terrain Pattern ( MTP ) field jacket ( smock ) and trousers , worn with beret , helmet or camouflaged hat . The current system is known as Combat Uniform ( CU ) which was introduced as part of Project PECOC and replaced the Combat Soldier 95 ( CS 95 ) system . In recent years , the British army has begun introducing Tactical Recognition Flash es - these are distinctive insignia worn on the arm of combat gear . TRFs denote the wearer ' s regiment or corps ( or sub division thereof in the case of the AGC ) . The clothing system is designed to be lightweight , yet durable enough to be used throughout rigorous activities soldiers find themselves performing . It has also been designed with the idea that layers of clothing ( referred to as onion skins ) are much warmer and flexible than a singular thick layer . In addition to the shirt ; a t - shirt , vest , combat jacket , " shirt man ' s field " ( ' Norgie ' or ' Norwegian ' ) , or Gore - Tex fabric waterproof jacket is worn dependent on weather , along with various types of gloves , underwear , trousers , all - in - one suits etc . The layering system for the Combat Uniform is : Working headress is normally worn , which is typically a beret . The colour of the beret usually shows what type of regiment the wearer is from . The colours are as follows : Troops from other services , regiments or corps on attachment to units with distinctive coloured berets often wear those berets ( with their own cap badge ) . Colonel s , brigadier s and general s usually continue to wear the beret of the regiment or corps to which they used to belong with the cap badge distinctive to their rank . The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers wears a feather hackle on the beret , they are now only infantry regiment to wear the navy blue beret . Other ranks of the Royal Welsh also wear hackles . The Royal Regiment of Scotland and Royal Irish Regiment , instead of the beret , wear the tam o ' shanter and the caubeen respectively . The beret will often be replaced with the Combat Helmet , covered in MTP material . However , in jungle conditions , the helmet is often replaced with a MTP bush hat - or equally in cold conditions , a MTP peaked hat ( Cap , Extreme Cold Weather ) , a rolled woollen tube known as a " cap comforter " , or other specialised headgear . When the British Army finds itself in peacekeeping roles , regimental headress is worn ( where the tactical situation allows ) in preference to the helmet or MTP hat , in order to appear less hostile to local civilians . Some Regiments and Corps wear a stable belt in No 8 dress whilst others restrict its use to Nos 13 and 14 Dress . The stable belt is a wide belt , made of a tough woven fabric . It is traditionally fastened with a set of leather straps and buckles on the wearer ' s left hand side ( in some units to their front ) , but may alternatively have a metal locket arrangement , or a plate at the front bearing regimental , or formation insignia . The fabric of the belt itself is in regimental colours , either a single colour or striped along its length . The stable belt dates back to a time when soldiers in mounted , or horse drawn units wore similar belts that were often fitted with pockets to carry fob watches and loose change whilst looking after the horses . It has since become much more formalised and not restricted to cavalry units . On exercises and operations the stable belt replaced with a plain green field belt . Synthetic " Personal Load Carrying Equipment " has replaced " webbing " . This has numerous components which can be assembled to meet the soldier ' s requirements and preference . Osprey body armour is worn on operations and has all load and ammo pouches attached using the molle system . The woollen pullover ( " jumper " , " sweater " or " Woolly Pully " ) has been used for several decades and originally each soldier was issued with two . However , despite its popularity ( it has also been adopted by police services , and by many foreign military forces including the US Marine Corps ) in the CS95 system , one pullover has been replaced by a ' Liner , thermal ' , which is not intended to be worn as an outer garment . No . 9 : Tropical Combat Dress . No . 9 dress is no longer provided , being replaced by MTP uniform . It was made from cotton or poly - cotton DPM material of a lighter weight than pre - Combat Soldier 95 No 8 Dress The jacket was similar in cut to a shirt and had epaulettes fitted to the shoulders . Its sleeves could be rolled above the elbow and the shirt tucked into the trousers for a smarter appearance for example in barracks . There is a large pocket on each breast , closed with a button - down flap , and a first field dressing pocket on one sleeve . This uniform was normally worn with a DPM bush hat ; out of the field , regimental headdress was often worn . The trousers had button down belt loops , when carrying equipment was not worn , a uniform belt was worn in these loops . The tropical combat trousers and shirt were preferred by many in the British military for wear on exercise in the UK and Northern Europe , due to their ability to dry very quickly when wet . Some units such as the Parachute Regiment , still prefer their use in the field over CS95 clothing . No . 10 : Temperate mess dress . Short Jacket , with which men wear trousers , overalls or a kilt , and women a long dress or skirt . Normally worn by the rank of Sergeant upwards for formal functions , its colours and pattern can vary greatly from unit to unit but generally match the traditional full dress of the regiment or corps . Thus jackets can be scarlet , dark blue or green with facings and waistcoats in regimental colours . No . 11 : Warm weather mess dress . A white jacket is substituted for the coloured one of temperate mess dress . Waistcoats are not worn . No . 12 : Protective clothing . This order of dress includes various types of protective clothing ranging from standard overalls to specialist kit worn by aircrews , chefs , medics and others . No . 12 also covers whatever day - to - day working dress may be authorized at a local or regimental level . Formerly an olive green shirt and trousers were often worn , but this has been replaced with smart Combat Dress : ironed shirt and trousers worn with beret and stable belt ( identical to that of No . 7 Dress ) . The uniform worn by soldiers most of the time , it is to be supplemented by the new Barrack Dress . No . 13 : Temperate barrack dress . Khaki Barrack dress trousers ( as issued under the Future Army Dress ( FAD ) programme ) and the khaki shirt from No . 2 dress with pullover and stable belt . Some regiments ' officers and WOs may wear coloured pullovers in place of the green pattern ; the following regimental patterns and colours are authorised : The pullover is used in other colours by the other services ( navy blue for the Royal Navy , and blue - grey for the Royal Air Force ) . A regimental pattern coloured side hat ( officially described as a " cap field service " ) may be worn at the commanding officer ' s discretion . No . 14 : Shirt Sleeve Order . As for No . 13 , but with the shirt sleeves rolled up to above elbow level ( or short sleeve shirt in the new Future Army Dress ( FAD ) barrack dress ) . The pullover is not worn . No . 15 : Blue Patrols . An undress uniform worn on semi - formal occasions by officers and Regimental Sergeant Major s of the Royal Regiment of Scotland . No 15 dress of the Royal Regiment of Scotland consists of a blue patrol jacket , tartan trews and Glengarry head dress . " Blue Patrols " was formerly the designation for a relatively plain uniform worn by officers of most infantry regiments as a substitute for scarlet when in barracks or for training . The single - breasted tunic was blue with black cord Austrian knot s on the sleeves and black cord frogging instead of buttons . This was worn with a blue foraging cap with black cord or undress pillbox cap . It survives as a simplified version of No . 1 dress , worn by the duty officer when attending formal mess functions . T . E . Lawrence used to wear his No . 15 uniform without metal insignia when going behind enemy lines to collect intelligence . Turkish troops would mistake him for a German adviser or attache and leave him alone .