Military tiara

A military tiara is a type of ceremonial headdress worn by female military officers during formal occasions. It is authorized for indoor wear by some senior, female officers of the United States' uniformed services while in mess dress. Beginning with the Marine Corps in 1973, individual service branches have gradually abolished use of the tiara. The United States Air Force does not wear tiaras and has never authorized wear of a military tiara.

A red United States Marine Corps tiara archived in the collections of the National Museum of American History

NOAA Corps

The NOAA Corps authorizes the optional wear of a black tiara by female commanders and higher-ranked officers with mess dress while indoors.[1]

Public Health Service

The PHS Commissioned Corps abolished use of the tiara as an optional uniform accessory effective August 1, 2009.[2]

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force has not adopted a tiara as a uniform component.[3]

United States Army

The United States Army tiara was blue with gold oak leaves and was authorized for optional wear by female colonels and higher-ranked officers with mess dress while indoors.[3]

United States Coast Guard

In 2011 the United States Coast Guard deauthorized use of the Coast Guard tiara as an optional uniform item.[4] At this time the tiara was also deauthorized for use by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.[5]

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) tiara was originally patterned in red with gold embellishments.[3] It was designed by Mainbocher for Colonel Katherine Amelia Towle and debuted by her, along with Mainbocher's prototype of the first Marine Corps women's evening dress uniform, at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in November 1950.[6][7] Following the promotion of Colonel Margaret Henderson to Director of Women Marines, the tiara was refashioned in black; Henderson reportedly found the red tiara unflattering to her as she had red hair.[6] Always an optional uniform item, in 1973 it was abolished altogether.[6]

United States Navy

The United States Navy tiara was a crescent shaped hat made of black velvet and authorized for optional wear by female commanders and higher-ranked officers with mess dress while indoors.[8] By 2015 the Navy reported very few sales of tiaras and the item was discontinued as an optional uniform accessory effective October 1, 2016.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "NOAA Corps Directives" (PDF). corpscpc.noaa.gov. NOAA. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  2. "Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) Uniforms". psc.gov. Public Health Service. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  3. "Found in our military history collections: A Marine Corps tiara". si.edu. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  4. "COMDTNOTE 1020". uscg.mil. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  5. "Coast Guard Auxiliary Uniform Policy Changes" (PDF). uscgaux.info. U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  6. Stremlow, Mary (1986). A History of the Women Marines, 1946–1977. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 159–160.
  7. "Military Roots". The New York Times. 26 August 1990. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  8. Bacon, Lance (13 August 2015). "Out-of-date tiara, cloak shed from Navy uniform racks". USA Today. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  9. "In Memorium: The Navy Tiara". Hampton Roads Naval Museum blog. Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
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