Captain's Mess Jacket & Waistcoat c1895

The mess kit worn by the Royal Artillery was blue with scarlet collar and cuffs, and gold lace edging. The grenade badge on the collar was embroidered in silver. The cuffs were decorated with a gold Austrian knot for subalterns and further decorated with gold Russia braid in small circles for captains, as seen here. Majors and colonels had a broad gold lace pointed cuff with gold braid figuring. The jacket was worn open but loosely fastened at the neck with a loop of gold braid.
The waistcoat was scarlet with gold lace edging and braid which formed circles and twists. The waistcoat fastened with hooks and eyes all the way up to the neck. The trousers were tight fitting blue with a broad scarlet stripe. They were referred to as overalls, a cavalry term which originated at the turn of the 18th/19th century when breeches and knee boots were covered with overalls to protect them from wear and tear on campaign. But the overalls soon replaced the breeches and were worn with short ankle boots. In the early 1900s the style of mess dress was changed to a roll collar lapelled jacket and white shirt.

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