Regimental Ties

[OC Richard]

You can wear any regimental tie you wish, as long as it is not recognized as part of a military uniform

I don't follow; the British regimental neckties are not part of the uniform, but are worn by members and ex-members when in mufti (civvies) to show current or former membership in the regiment.

The neckties worn with the Scottish regimental uniform, No2 Dress, are khaki (the colour we in the USA call OD / olive drab). Neckties are not worn in No1 Dress, as the doublet has a standing collar.

Here the are again: no stripes! Plain khaki.



The USA equivalent to the British regimental neckties which comes to mind are the baseball caps one sees that military veterans wear which have something embroidered on the front such as 38TH DIVISION. These wouldn't be worn while in uniform but rather when in civvies.

[BBNC]

Actually Richard, at least in the US Navy, the local command could decide a certain embroidered baseball cap was a non-required part of the work uniform, the individual could decide to wear the issue cap instead. The cap will have the name of the command, with the individual's badge of rank pinned on the front. That was my experience in the 70's. To wear the cap with civilian clothes, the badge of rank had to be removed, so most of us purchased two caps. It may be different now, the Navy changed uniforms again, since then.

[creagdhubh]

Here is a great source in the USA for Regimental striped neckties and bowties, US military neckties, etc. I enjoy looking though the amazing variety of British regimental and school neckties and you'll see them being worn at events by prominent Brits all the time, their way of advertising what school they attended etc

http://www.bensilver.com/Authentic-Regimental.html

at any gathering of Scottish pipers you'll see plenty of these striped ties

***

All of my regimental ties come from Ben Silver.

Cheers,

[English Bloke]

Hello all,

This is the text of the email that I sent -



We shall have to wait and see, what the reply is - if at all.

I know full well that Regimental Ties are not covered by Uniform Regulations, but nevertheless a decision was made by each and every branch of the services, or parts there of. The direction that the stripes run; the number and width of the stripes; the proportions of the stripes in relation to each other; whether there are any badges or motifs - all these things were decided and promulgated by the services concerned. And became the official sanctioned tie.

In the case of the Royal Air Force,

Attachment 8907
it was Lord Trenchard himself, in consultation with two senior officers, who made the decision. The colours representing the merger (thin sky blue) of The Royal Flying Corps (army, dark red) and The Royal Naval Air Service (navy, navy blue).

It was not cobbled together by Jimmee Chang from Singapore, who wanted to sell a few colourful ties to the fly-boys (Velly good number1 fella, sell you something cheap).

Regards

Chas

Did you get an answer back on this Chas? Interested to know what they have to say.

BTW. I wasn't suggesting that the RAF tie or any other tie with Regimental association has been "cobbled together." Not sure where you got that idea, just from the statement that the wearing of same isn't covered in dress regs.

[Jock Scot]

I don't know, EB, the colours of the Royal Tank Regiment---- Red, brown and Green("through the blood and mud to the green fields beyond") were pretty much "cobbled together" by General Elles(I think) the day before the major tank attack at Cambrai in 1917. He used the only colours he could get to make a flag at short notice, to identify "his" command tank.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I'm beginning to see an new enterprise emerging out of this. Perhaps the design and production of "universal" regimental designs. Like a universal tartan, the ties could be of the regimental style with made up names.

Of course these will be nothing more than striped ties, but there are some people who would just have to have a regimental tie, and the "Gin and Tonic" regiment have a long but somewhat hazy history. The marketing of these ties would no doubt be quite entertaining.

Forward the Loamshires!

[macwilkin]

Forward the Loamshires!

Not only being the fictional regiment of the British Army, a la Pte. Thomas Atkins, the Loamshires were also the regiment of Lt. "Spud" Wilson of "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (WAR STARTS AT MIDNIGHT, you young fool!) -- I'd be in for a tie from the Loamshires for that reason alone.

And let's not forget The King's Fusiliers of "Soldier, Soldier" fame, the Royal Wessex Rangers of "Spearhead", and the unnamed Highland battalion of "Tunes of Glory".

T.

[Tobus]

I think it is probably a good idea to step back and look at regimental ties from a broader perspective. If someone is wearing one in an attempt to portray himself as a member of a group to which he doesn't belong, that's one thing. And it is certainly deserving of "social suicide".

But as the old saying goes in Freudian psychology, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar", and doesn't mean anything. For example, if you wear a simple red-and-white striped tie, does it mean you're trying to represent an association with The Queen's Bay? Does it mean that since red-and-white striping is significant to someone, that nobody in the world can wear a red-and-white striped tie? That would be absurd. Heck, I'm not even sure what The Queen's Bay is, aside from a chain of hotels. Am I obligated to avoid wearing a red-and-white tie because it might offend a group I can't even find out anything on?

Or if you like a simple red-and-blue tie, watch out! You might be accused of impersonating The Brigade of Guards! Sorry chaps, you may not wear a tie like this.

Red-and-gold? Nope! You'll offend the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers. This one is out, too.

And what of fashion ties like one I purchased from a department store? It's labeled "Old Brightonians", but it doesn't look anything like the official tie sold by that organisation. Rather, it looks more like The Queen's Own Oxford Hussars, but with brighter colours and the stripes turned the other direction. What am I to make of this? When stripes are turned the other way, does it change the significance?

I could go on and on, but it's easy to see that one can quickly run afoul of almost any group by wearing any combination of colours. So the only sane approach needs to be taking it in context. Wearing a well-known regimental tie to an event where it would be recognised by members of that group should not be in the same category as wearing a simple striped tie (which might happen to be meaningful to someone, somewhere) in an everyday context. Especially when it's worn in an area of the world where those associations mean nothing to the people who live there.

If my fellow university alumni chose to wear maroon-and-white ties to identify ourselves as Texas A&M graduates, it would really only be meaningful here in Texas. It would be a bit crass to berate a bloke in England who happened to wear a similar tie. Even if he were aware that we used it here in Texas, it would put no obligation on him to avoid wearing his, as he is far enough removed from this context for it to make any difference. Now, if he were to make a trip to College Station, TX, and wear his tie to a graduation ceremony, then that might be different. But in his own distant home town, why should he avoid wearing it? It's just a tie.

Symbolism is important to humans. And there are good reasons for it. Symbols can be useful, meaningful, and valuable. But only within their specific context. Sometimes it can be taken too far. And in the case of neckties, it's probably a good idea to not get too wrapped up in it, or to try to project local context to a global stage.

[macwilkin]

If my fellow university alumni chose to wear maroon-and-white ties to identify ourselves as Texas A&M graduates, it would really only be meaningful here in Texas.

Wait a mo'...maroon and white are the colours of my alma mater, Missouri State University.

Spot on, Tobus.

T.

[Tobus]

Wait a mo'...maroon and white are the colours of my alma mater, Missouri State University.

Spot on, Tobus.

T.

Sorry old boy, Texas A&M was founded in 1876, while Missouri State was founded in 1905. So we get dibs on the tie colours.