Original Item: Only One Set Available. Evening Dress is the most formal (and by U.S. military standards, the most elaborate) of the dress uniforms, and is the equivalent of white tie in usage. It is authorized for wear only by officers and SNCOs, and a required uniform item only for senior officers (majors and above). It comes in three varieties:

Evening dress "A" For male officers, it consists of an evening coat with sleeve ornamentation, strip collar, white waistcoat, and white shirt with piqué bib. The stripe on the midnight-blue trousers is a thin red stripe inside a gold embroidered stripe. Female officers wear a mess jacket with scarlet collar, a white dress shirt, a red cummerbund, and a long skirt. Miniature medals and badges are worn.

Evening dress "B" is identical to Evening Dress "A" except men wear a scarlet waistcoat (general officers) or cummerbund (all other officers), and women may wear a short skirt. Miniature medals and badges are worn.

SNCO Evening Dress Male staff non-commissioned officers wear a semi-formfitting mess jacket with a black bow tie and sky blue trousers. Female SNCOs wear identically the same Evening Dress as female officers, minus the sleeve ornamentation and placement of rank. Both wear the jackets with historic 1890s-era rank insignia sewn on the sleeves. Miniature medals and badges are worn.

A blue boatcloak with a scarlet liner is optional. Junior officers not required to possess Evening Dress may substitute Blue or Blue-White dress "A". It is appropriate for such occasions as state functions, inaugural receptions and dinners, and formal dinners.

This uniform set belonged to Colonel Ralph R. Robinson. Colonel Robinson first enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Private on May 24, 1917 and soon after left for Marine Corps Officers Training in October 1917 to receive his Commission. During WWI he is seen serving with the 1st Machine Gun Replacement Battalion and the 5th Marines. After the war he is seen serving with the 63rd Company of the 8th Regiment in Haiti. He served in various positions throughout his career as a Marine, one of which was being a part of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Maryland during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor in December of 1941! We can’t pinpoint exactly where he was for the attack but he is seen being a part of the Detachment in November 1941 up until January 1942 when the USS Maryland was cleared for sea duty after damage sustained during the attack. We concluded that his service in the Marine Corps ended some time in the early stages of the Korean War due to him being seen as mustering with an Air Wing unit in 1950.

This is a wonderful uniform set in great condition. Nothing beats the regular enlisted Marine Dress Blues but the Evening Dress is a close runner up! All buttons appear to be present and as this is an evening dress they are purely ornamental. There is some fading present on all the bullion but there is no significant damage present on either of the two uniform items.

This is a wonderful addition to any military uniform collection! Comes more than ready to be further research and displayed. Semper Fidelis Marines!

Approximate Measurements:
Jacket:
Collar to shoulder: 10”
Shoulder to sleeve: 26.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17.5”
Chest width: 19”
Waist width: 16.5”
Hip width: 15”
Front length: 22.5"

Pants:
WAIST: 16"
INSEAM: 30"