Can someone tell me about the vest worn under the Army Dress Blue unifrom?

Question

I was at a few Dining Outs when I was on active duty, and after the formal stuff was over, (Dancing starts) many of the guys took off their coats to reveal a vest with patches, some of them multi colored. What is it called, what should it have on it, etc?

Answer 1

They weren't vests, they were "party shirts."

The patterns, patches etc. were part of their dress shirt, only the front, cuffs and collar are white so the "Party" stays hidden until they remove their jacket!

Answer 2

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing. Unofficially however, people may be violating AR 670-1 by having these "vests," but if they do, they might as well be wearing pink boots with their uniforms because it is not authorized.

With the Mess Dress Blue uniform, the one a step higher than the dress blues, you do wear a vest that is colored the same color as your branch though.

Answer 3

Wow, things have changed since I was Mr. Vice at my last Dining-Out. No one even took off their blouses to dance let alone have worn colored patches. Of course that was in the 70's.

Answer 4

Greenman is correct. Only the front, collar and cuffs are white. So when your coat is on, it looks like a regular white dress shirt, but becomes a "party shirt" when the coat comes off.

I have a few of these hanging in my closet.

Answer 5

I have not heard of that. I have a set. There may be something like that on the underside of the lapel of the mess dress the "super blues" if you will, but I have not heard of it in my 20 something dining in/outs/formals.