It's time to retire your tiara.
Same goes for the While you're at it, do away with your dress cape, oust your overshoes, the and say goodbye to your boat cloak and beret.
The age-old optional items have gone out of style and are hardly being bought or worn, officials say. If you are surprised to learn such items are authorized for wear, you are not alone. Most sailors think dress capes and tiaras are found only at Cinderella's ball. But chances are some old salts have seen them (and perhaps worn them) at a Navy ball, ceremony, or dining out. a formal function, or while on embassy duty.
Alas, the midnight bell has rung for these threads of a bygone era. The Navy, which has seen "virtually no sales of most of these items," is eliminating half a dozen optional uniform items in an effort to streamline the uniform inventory, said Capt. Janet Bristol, head of Navy Uniform Matters. The items will be unauthorized for wear in July 2016, which gives sailors one more Navy birthday ball to don their capes and tiaras.
These cuts mark just a few uniform changes headed your way, including rules for command pins, coveralls, knit watch caps and more. The Navy will soon announce new rules for everything from knit watch caps and NWUs to command pins and coveralls.
In the meantime, Items to be that will be axed include the boat cloak, a century-old which is authorized for male officers and chiefs in formal dress. The dark blue coat for chiefs and officers that's three-quarters of a circle and extends two inches below the knee. Topped by a circular bent collar, the cloak is noted for its silk or mohair fasteners.
Students of American history will know the boat cloak well. It was a preferred garment of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had served as assistant Navy secretary of the Navy. FDR's boat cloak is prominent in photos of the Yalta Conference — a meeting of leaders from the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union to discuss Europe's post-war reorganization. His statue at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C., also features the cloak.
While men lose their cloaks, women will lose their capes. The navy blue capes, worn with formal and dinner dress jackets since World War I, are fully lined with gold cloth (maroon cloth for the Nurse Corps), and boast a velvet collar. As you hang up your cape, save space in the closet for your tiaras and berets, as well. The small, crescent shaped tiara is a unique piece of Navy formal wear. Made of black velvet with cap device embroidered at the center, it is worn by commanders, captains, and admirals in formal and dinner dress jackets and can remain on while indoors. Still, the Navy saw "few sales of tiaras," Bristol said. The black, semi-rigid beret fared a little better as it was authorized for females of all ranks, but the Navy is reducing headgear options to emphasize wear of the alternate combination cover that will be available later this year.
Moving from head to foot, the days of the overshoes are past over. The slip-on, low-cut black rubber galoshes were authorized for officers and chiefs in dress and ceremonial uniforms to protect footwear from getting wet from rain and snow. Now, you better watch your step, or buy a pair of rain or snow boots, which remain authorized.
The khaki windbreaker worn by officers and chiefs is the last item to go on the list. Though sales show the vast majority of sailors prefer the Eisenhower jackets, officials expect some old-timers know some sailors will have a hard time letting go.
"It's just an old leftover item" that doesn't flow well with the direction uniforms are headed, Bristol said. "There's really no place left for the khaki windbreaker other than other than a little bit of nostalgia."
