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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

WAVES Service Dress Blue Uniform


Dark blue uniform including service coat, skirt, and black tie. Rating on arm indicates Yeoman Chief Petty Officer with 20 years of service.

Title: Uniform, Service Dress Blue, WAVES, Jacket, Skirt, and Tie, Navy, US
Accession #: NHHC 2003-108-1, 2, 17
Circa: 1950's
Size: 
Medium: Wool Blend, Brass, Silk
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command

The blue service coat, blue skirt, and black tie are components of both the Service Dress Blue A and Service Dress Blue B WAVES uniforms. The full uniform included a black purse, black shoes, blue service coat, blue skirt, hat or garrison cap, blouse, black tie, and beige hose. White gloves were authorized if the occasion required. 

The only difference between the Service Dress Blue A and Service Dress Blue B uniforms was the hat. The A uniform had a blue hat while the B uniform had a white hat. Both served as the working uniforms for WAVES. 

The blouse could be either short or long-sleeved. It could be white or light blue, also called reserve blue. Both white and reserve blue blouses were worn with a black tie. A navy blue shirt was also authorized but only when worn with a reserve blue tie. 

The shoulder insignia marks the owner of the uniform as a Yeoman Chief Petty Officer. As her rating indicates, this woman was a senior non-commissioned officer who performed administrative and clerical work. The five service stripes on the left arm indicate twenty years of service. 

The gold buttons on the coat indicate that this uniform dates from after 28 December 1944. At that time Chief Petty Officers were authorized to wear gilt buttons on their blue and white service coats rather than the plastic buttons required for all other enlisted personnel.


Yeoman Chief Petty Officer insignia on a WAVES Service Dress Blue uniform. Silver bullion embroidered eagle above a rocker and three chevrons. Two crossed silver bullion keys are embroidered between the rocker and the chevrons.


Black single-piece necktie for WAVES uniform.

Gilt button worn on the Service Dress Blue uniform coat of a WAVES Chief Petty Officer. Standard Navy button design.

Published: Thu Nov 01 11:18:58 EDT 2018