PROBLEMS OF CEREMONIAL ATTIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1034, 26 July 1930, Page 18

PROBLEMS OF CEREMONIAL ATTIRE

EN, doomed to wear sombre garments on most days of the year, rarely can outshine women in presenting a picturesque or gorgeous

exterior, and iiave to be content to make the best of the good looks they may possess by relying upon good grooming and the good cut of their very unexciting clothes. However, on State occasions such as his Majesty’s Lcvfe at St. James’s Palace, a favoured number can really “let themselves go.’’ and officers of the Navy, Army and the Air Force certainly then steal women’s thunder where dress is concerned and. resplendent in the reds, blues aud glittering gold of their dress uniforms, will represent a human rainbow that could net be surpassed by the most bejewelled dowager or debutante. If you walk down Bond Street on the morning of the day on which a is being held, you will see many of these gorgeous figures emerging j from a naval and military tailor’s ! establishment where they have been i “dressed” in their uniforms. Where Women Score Here women score agaiu—for them ' the days of tight-lacing and uncomfortable clothing are past; but Alien dressing for levies the participants I suffer tortures of tight-belting and stiff clothing our grandmothers suf- ; i'ered when dressing for gala occasions. It is practically impossible for an officer to dress himself, for the arrangement of Orders and various accessories is a terribly involved affair. ! According to a representative of I

Messrs. Gieves, it takes an hour to dress each officer.

“On the morning of a levee,” he said, to a London reporter, “our showrooms are converted into a series of dressing-rooms, for about 50 officers come here to be ‘vetted’ —that is, to have their uniforms decorated, completed aud scrutinised. Every little detail must be correct, for a keen dress insjiection takes place when they arrive at the Palace, and if there is even a slight mistake it means delay while it is put right. Concerning the Collar ancPSash “For instance the collar and the sash of the same Order must not be worn together. They go by precedence, and the highest rank held is depicted by the collar badge, the next by the sasli and so on. For example, if a man holds the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George and the Victorian Order, he wears the collar of the first Order aud the sash of the second. Collars, unlike many other decorations, are never worn after sundown, aud after the holder’s death they are generally returned to the King, for they are his property. Those Epaulettes! "Then again, it is quite easy to put the epaulettes ou the wrong shoulders, and we have to watch out tor this mistake. Though the two in a pair look very similar, they are actually different, and have definitely been made to fit on the right or the i left. Confusing But Important Details “Of course, there is a tremendous i difference between the epaulettes ] made for different ranks, and the ap- j propriate pair must obviously be worn.

An Admiral’s, for instance, has a groundwork of hand-embroidered gold thread acorns edged with thick gold cord. From this the ‘bullion’ tassels hang. These tassels are made of fine gold wire twisted into such tight spirals that thousands of yards are used for one epaulette. “Then we must also look at the aiguilettes, the plaited gold cords worn over oue shoulder. If the wearer is a naval officer aad A.D.C. to the King, the .aiguilette is looped on the right shoulder and a small silver royal cypher is worn on his epaulettes. If the wearer is an officer on the staff of the Admiralty a similar aiguilette is worn, but on the left shoulder, and the royal cypher is omitted. The appoin ment as A.D.C. to the King usually lasts about; two years, but after the term of office is ended the officer is allowed to keep the royal cypher. “The diplomatic orders worn ou the left side of the tunic were formerly arranged in a square design. Now, however, they must he pinned in a star pattern—so that it is quite easy for an older officer to make a mistake here if he is not careful. Belts and sworji, too, have to be placed exactly fa the right position. Twenty Times Heavier Than a Woman’s Dress

“The coats of these uniforms are hand-embroidered with silver-gilt wire and padded and lined with soft silk, quilted in tiny squares. This, together with the epaulettes, decorations and other items of the equipment. make levee dress a very weighty affair—probably twenty times as heavy as a woman’s full evening dress.”