Posted on Jul 11, 2018
Why does it seem many women's formal clothes require the necktab?
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So I've noticed this when my friend posted a picture of her and a couple buddies in their dress blues (USMC). The women all had a necktab thing, I had to google the term, with their shirts showing more and the guys had the regular collared jackets where the shirt was barely visible. I ended up looking at Army and Navys formal clothes and saw the same thing.
Just wanted to know if anyone knew why it was like that. In my honest opinion, I personally prefer the way the mens looks and can't see any functional reason why the womens looks different, other than a desire to tell them apart. Which also makes little sense to me given you wear the same uniform regardless, the only difference being acceptable hair lengths.
So trying not to sound disrespectful and rude, but just curious on why there's a different jacket (excuse my ignorance if that's the wrong term btw) for men and women. And lets say, for whatever reason, a female wants to wear the mens jacket instead. Is that possible or does she have to wear the females one?
Again, really not trying to sound rude but my curiosity got the best of me and I can't figure out why when I Googled it, other than reading about (for reasons I can't decipher) some guys angry responses to Marines shifting towards a mens style jacket for women.
Just wanted to know if anyone knew why it was like that. In my honest opinion, I personally prefer the way the mens looks and can't see any functional reason why the womens looks different, other than a desire to tell them apart. Which also makes little sense to me given you wear the same uniform regardless, the only difference being acceptable hair lengths.
So trying not to sound disrespectful and rude, but just curious on why there's a different jacket (excuse my ignorance if that's the wrong term btw) for men and women. And lets say, for whatever reason, a female wants to wear the mens jacket instead. Is that possible or does she have to wear the females one?
Again, really not trying to sound rude but my curiosity got the best of me and I can't figure out why when I Googled it, other than reading about (for reasons I can't decipher) some guys angry responses to Marines shifting towards a mens style jacket for women.
Posted in these groups: 
Women in the Military
Dress Uniform
Women in the Military Dress Uniform
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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Female and male uniforms differ because we have different body types. The necktab - I don't know why we have a necktab. I guess because women usually don't wear ties or traditionally didn't? I don't know the history of female uniforms other than a few pictures I've seen and how ridiculous they used to be.
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SFC Jim Ruether
Christian King - Its an abbreviated tie lending itself back to the forties when women and men both wore ties.
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SFC Jim Ruether
I was just reading a book describing uniforms in the United States and the neck tab was a substitute for the regular neck ties worn by women in the service. I didn't see when they became available for wear however?
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SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
I don't know. It sounds like from the article I posted maybe the 80s? Or between 70s and 90s?
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Don't know the origin, Christian King, but I thought you might be interested to see the neck tab for Navy female uniforms in the seventies! SFC Kelly Fuerhoff, this IS ridiculous!
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SFC Kelly Fuerhoff
LTC Stephen C. - If I could insert the barf emoji...omg. That's horrific. Those poor women.
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SFC Jim Ruether
SFC Kelly Fuerhoff - I just loved the way she could fly minus the ailerons and elevators. It must have been some kind of wing warping!
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https://www.military.com/undertheradar/2018/03/23/female-uniforms-were-just-worst.html
Kind of a light hearted article but sums up the history of women's military uniforms in the US:
Uniforms for female personnel started off on the right foot. In the early days of WWII the WAVES uniforms were designed by a former editor from Vogue who knew the wife of the then Under Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Mrs. Forrestal had been a fashion editor at Vogue and wanted the ladies to look sharp. And they did. Even the coveralls back then were flattering.
But things went south from there with a low point around the 70’s to the 90’s where confusion reigned and no one was sure if women’s uniforms should make them look like actual women. We ended up in a sea of polyester and high-waist pants that are not kind to any shape or size. Today the battle rages on with efforts to make everyone look the same (which really means women pay for extra uniform items to look like men), and the average service member is left wondering why we spend so much on uniform changes but can’t seem to afford non-asbestos filled buildings. So here for your viewing enjoyment is a list of the worst uniforms and proposed uniforms for each service branch.
Kind of a light hearted article but sums up the history of women's military uniforms in the US:
Uniforms for female personnel started off on the right foot. In the early days of WWII the WAVES uniforms were designed by a former editor from Vogue who knew the wife of the then Under Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Mrs. Forrestal had been a fashion editor at Vogue and wanted the ladies to look sharp. And they did. Even the coveralls back then were flattering.
But things went south from there with a low point around the 70’s to the 90’s where confusion reigned and no one was sure if women’s uniforms should make them look like actual women. We ended up in a sea of polyester and high-waist pants that are not kind to any shape or size. Today the battle rages on with efforts to make everyone look the same (which really means women pay for extra uniform items to look like men), and the average service member is left wondering why we spend so much on uniform changes but can’t seem to afford non-asbestos filled buildings. So here for your viewing enjoyment is a list of the worst uniforms and proposed uniforms for each service branch.
Female Uniforms That Were Just The Worst
There with a low point around the 70’s to the 90’s where we ended up in a sea of polyester and high-waist pants.
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