Dress & Insignia

IN RESPONSE TO MANY REQUESTS, the following summary of the official rules and regulations governing the wearing and use of the Society insignia and related items as prescribed by the General Council, is published for the information and guidance of our members. It is earnestly desired that all conform therewith, to the end that the prestige and esprit of our Society be maintained, and the dignity of its proud background be enhanced.

Evening attire (dinner jacket or full evening dress) is customarily worn to all Courts and Banquets of the Society. It is desirable that members officially participating in such occasions wear full evening dress.

Attire for formal day occasions follows the dictates of good taste and social usage. Meetings of the Council are considered informal.

Uniforms of the armed forces, service or dress, may be worn by those entitled to do so, to any social function of the Society.

The insignia of the Society are worn only as prescribed below in accordance with the regulations of the General Council:

a. Rosette: Worn only on informal occasions in the left lapel of the sack coat or dinner jacket provided no other insigne of the Society is worn at the same time.

b. The Society Medal: Miniature or full size. Worn on formal occa­sions, centered on the left lapel or breast of the coat, about four inches below the top of the shoulder. It is never worn on the waistcoat or over­coat. Members who are or have been officers of a State Society, includ­ing Gentlemen of the Council, may wear the medal pendant from a neck ribbon in the Society’s colors. In such cases the medal is to be drawn up close below the knot of the tie.

c. War Service Cross: Miniature or full size. Worn on formal occasions on the left breast or lapel of the coat to the left of and on a line with the Society Medal. May be worn when the medal is not worn. Those mem­bers who participated in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or the First or Second World War, are entitled to wear a bronze star on the ribbon of the War Service Cross. This applies even if the individual joined the Society of Colonial Wars subsequent to the termination of these wars.

d. Color Guard seven-year medal: Worn on formal occasions on the left breast of lapel of the coat to the left of and on a line with the Society Medal and/or War Cross. May be worn when other medals are not worn. 

e. Governor’s Star and other star orders. Worn by the Governor on the left front of the jacket to just below the medal bar. Other order stars (but no more than four) are worn below. However, when attending an occa­sion when these orders take precedence, the Governor’s Star is worn below them. For example, if attending a French government function, one would wear the Legion d’Honneur in pride of place over any other orders, decorations or medals.

f. Governor’s Medal: Worn by the Governor upon official occasions of formal ceremony. May also be worn by a special representative of the Governor when in official attendance at functions of other Societies.

g. Ex-Governor’s Star: Worn by ex-Governors of this Society pursuant to the provisions of (e) above.

h. General Officer’s Sash: Worn only by officers and past officers of the General Society on formal occasions. The sash extends over the right shoulder diagonally to the left hip with the Society medal pendant from the bow at the intersection of the ends over the hip. With full evening dress, the sash is worn under the coat and over the waistcoat. With for­mal day wear (cutaway coat), the sash is similarly worn. With uniforms, the sash is worn over the coat. The sash is not worn with dinner jacket or sack coat.

i. Chaplain’s Cross: Worn by the Chaplain upon formal occasions.

j. The Mace: Carried as a staff of office by the Chairman of the Stewards when participating in official occasions of formal ceremony.

k. Stewards’ badge: Worn by the Stewards when engaged in the duties of their office. A special neck ribbon is provided for the Chairman of the Stewards.

l. Stewards’ batons: Carried as staffs of office by assistants to the Chairman of the Stewards, as designated by him.

m. Color Guard fourragère: Worn by members of the Color Guard when engaged in the discharge of their official duties. The knot is pinned at the point of intersection of the left shoulder seam of the coat and the outer edge of the collar. The braided portion passes under the left arm; the two single cords hand over the outside of the upper arm, and the ferrule is pendant over the left breast. The fourragére may be worn with the overcoat at official functions out of doors.

n. Other insignia: When other insignia or medals are worn with the Society’s insigne on ceremonial occasions, all should be in one horizon­tal line on the left lapel or breast of the coat. To assure proper alignment the medals should be mounted on a single bar; this bar should never be longer than the distance between the fold of the left lapel of the coat and the left armhole seam; the medals may be overlapped on the left edges to conserve space if necessary. 

The foregoing applies whether the insignia in question are full size or miniature. It should be noted moreover that when more than one medal is worn, all must be of the same size; miniature and full size insignia are not aligned together. (This restriction does not apply to neck ribbon insignia and the Color Guard Medal, which are always full size and are worn independently of other insignia.)

o. Order of wearing: Orders, decorations and medals are worn in the following order, from the wearer’s right to left:

(1)          Orders;

(2)          Decorations of honor;  

(3)          Federal decorations of honor or valor in order of precedence;  

(4)          Federal campaign medals in chronological order;  

(5)          State decorations;  

(6)          State campaign medals;  

(7)          State organizational and long-service medals;  

(8)          Insignia of patriotic and veterans societies, in order of precedence.  

p.          (5), (6), (7) and (8) above are never worn on Federal uniforms except on appropriate occasions of related significance.  

q.         Insignia are never worn on the overcoat except when specifically so ordered.