Mess Dress?

[Okayish Aviator]

Hello all,

A quick question since I am having trouble finding all of the information in other places; assuming someone has a full set of dress blues, what items would need to be purchased to have a mess dress uniform?

[Toad1168]

Completely different uniform from blues. 

[RogueLeader]

CAP Seal, Shoulder Boards, Mini Medals, Aviation Badge (if Awarded), White Shirt.  Cuff links, Bow Tie, cummerbund. . .  Nothing is the same

[Spam]

In addition, you have to master the song and dance requirement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FLZPFI3jc

Cheers!
Spam

[Okayish Aviator]

In addition, you have to master the song and dance requirement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FLZPFI3jc

Cheers!
Spam

Civilian attire it is! See you guys at the Gala!

[RogueLeader]

In addition, you have to master the song and dance requirement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FLZPFI3jc

Cheers!
Spam

Civilian attire it is! See you guys at the Gala!

As clearly down in the clip, you only have to know the dance in civilian attire.

[GaryVC]

Actually the shoes are the same. I have a mess dress (cummerbund, bow tie, suspenders, and studs) from when I was in Air Force. But with buying a new shirt, getting the new buttons and the blue sleeve tape sewn on the jacket and buying all the CAP accessories I think I will have spent nearly $200.

[MSG Mac]

If you live near an Air Force Base you may be able to get a Mess Dress at the Base Thrift Store. I ot mine there for $35. 

[RogueLeader]

I got mine fairly inexpensively off of eBay, but I did have some cost in getting it swapped to CAP style.

[NIN]

I'm a bit disappointed, I expected this clip:
https://youtu.be/-w0WPkB3XJ4?t=38s

As for acquiring mess dress: ebay, here, base thrift store, etc are all acceptable alternatives.

For a uniform you're going to wear *mayby* once a year, its not worth spending more than $ 75 or so on it (and you'll blow that in accoutrements like the dinner plate, the shoulder boards and the jingle-jangles on top of the uniform itself)

Then you do stuff like suspenders, a new tuxedo shirt, studs/cufflinks, a new bowtie/cummerbuzzle combo, etc, and you're up over $200 without even thinking twice.   I wind up in mine 2-3 times a year now, so mine, while not "paying for itself" is at least giving me some value back.

I just got a new shirt for mine.  A special one.

[RogueLeader]

Party shirt FTW.  I need to get one for myself.

[Eclipse]

I just got a new shirt for mine.  A special one.

We would expect no less.

[NIN]

Party shirt FTW.  I need to get one for myself.

I have a hookup

[LSThiker]

Party shirt FTW.  I need to get one for myself.

I have a hookup

Would that be the TackyTux?

http://www.thetackytux.com/Air-Force_c22.htm

[RogueLeader]

Party shirt FTW.  I need to get one for myself.

I have a hookup

Can you hook a friend up with a hookup?

[mdickinson]

If you live near an Air Force Base you may be able to get a Mess Dress at the Base Thrift Store. I got mine there for $35.

So did I!
Using this method, the budget was approx:
$35 for the jacket and pants;
~$30 for CAP sleeve braid, CAP mess dress seal, aviation badge, and ground team badge;
$50 to have a tailor remove USAF sleeve braid and add the CAP sleeve braid;
~$30 for a pair of shoulder boards (though if you're a Lt, Capt, or Maj, you should be able to find a used pair by asking around your wing or eBay);
~$75 for mini medals;
$5 for a special metal rack for the mini medals. Unless you have 1,2, or 4 medals, this little-known item is a must have. It's similar to the metal slide-on ribbon racks but the model number has "MM" at the end. E.g., if you have 13 medals you want model 13MM. The rack keeps rows of medals parallel and provides for perfect spacing between rows.  ;
$5 for the tuxedo shirt (used at a tuxedo rental store);
~$10 for the CAP cufflinks;
Also you're technically supposed to get a USAF stud set for the shirt, but I just used plain shirt studs from my civilian tux shirt, and no one has ever noticed.



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[mdickinson]

CAP Seal, Shoulder Boards, Mini Medals, Aviation Badge (if Awarded), White Shirt.  Cuff links, Bow Tie, cummerbund. . .  Nothing is the same

Mostly true, but not quite.

The 39-1 gives you the option to use the same aviation wings/ground team badge/incident commander badge as you wear on your blues. (As I recall, it specifies either large or mini size.)

There is also the option to wear embroidered versions of these; but the embroidered ones are more expensive (and don't look as good imo).


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[NIN]

Party shirt FTW.  I need to get one for myself.

I have a hookup

Can you hook a friend up with a hookup?

Totally missed your reply, man.

My hookup hasn't delivered, so until I actually get it, I'm holding off.