In time of war the uniform prescribed for all ordinary occasions of duty is service dress, blue or white depending upon the temperature and weather.
The special full dress uniform consists of the cocked hat, a double breasted coat with tails at the back only as is the case in the ordinary civilian evening dress coat, trousers with gold stripes down the outer leg seams, black shoes, gold epaulets and the sword carried from a belt and slings of black cloth having gold stripes through it.
The full dress uniform consists of the same trousers, cocked hat, sword and belt as for special full dress, with a double-breasted frock coat with a rolling collar and lapels, and gold epaulets.
The evening dress uniform consists of a dark blue cloth evening dress coat and a white waistcoat cut after the prevailing style for civilian evening dress but fitted with gilt navy buttons, plain dark blue trousers, black patent leather shoes and the blue or white cap. Epaulets and full dress trousers (with the gold stripes on them) may be prescribed, in which case the uniform is known as evening full dress and the cocked hat is worn with it. For wear in hot weather a mess jacket of white is prescribed, cut after the fashion of the evening dress coat but without tails. The shoulder marks are worn with the mess jacket to indicate corps and rank, and either white or blue trousers may be worn with it.
The undress uniform consists of the frock coat without epaulets, plain dark blue or white trousers, the blue or white undress cap, black shoes and the sword carried from a black leather belt and slings.
The blue service dress uniform consists of a dark blue single breasted coat extending to about eight inches below the waist, with standing collar, buttoned up the front with the buttons concealed by a fly-front, and trimmed around the collar, down the front, around the bottom and up the side seams of the back with one and a quarter inch black mohair braid, the undress cap, plain dark blue trousers and black shoes. The white cap and white trousers are sometimes worn with the blue service dress coat.
The white service dress uniform consists of a single-breasted white duck coat extending to about eight inches below the waist, with standing collar, buttoned up the front with five large size gilt navy buttons, with a patch pocket on each breast closed by a flap at the top buttoned by a small size gilt navy button, without braid trimming, and having on each shoulder a shoulder strap (known in the service as a “shoulder mark”) about five inches long and two and a quarter inches wide bearing the insignia which indicates the corps or branch of the Navy to which the wearer belongs and his rank as an officer, plain white trousers, white cap and white shoes.
Photo by G. V. Buck, Washington, D. C.