Officer 1829

The bell-topped shako that was worn by the infantry regiments from 1816 grew in height from 7.5 inches to 8 inches in 1828 but an order of December 1828 brought it down to 6 inches. The plume is a white upright hackle, 8 inches high in a gilt socket. This was changed to a ball tuft in 1834.
The illustration is a detail from one of a series published in the Gentleman's Magazine of Fashion and this plate appeared on 1st August 1829. The complete picture shows the officer of the Buffs standing next to an officer of the 2nd Queen's Regiment who is also dressed in review order but has silver lace and epaulettes on his coat. The fact that the Buffs officer is wearing gold epaulettes and lace is evidence that the Buffs changed from silver lace to gold lace before the order of 1830 when all regular regiments were, at the command of King William IV, to have only gold lace. The date that this change took place is not known but it occurred at some time in the 1820s.
The tight-fitting coatee has buff facings which appear only on the collar and cuffs. Earlier in the 1820s the coat had wide buff lapels but by 1828 these had disappeared so that the double breasted front was all red and the gilt buttons placed in pairs. The gold lace on the collar appeared as slim buttoned loops with the cloth facing showing between. On the round buff cuffs there was a scarlet slash flap with four buttoned loops. The tails of the coat also had false pocket flaps with four gold loops. The epaulettes, now worn on both shoulders, were only worn by battalion company officers while the flank companies wore wings. There is a small gorget at his neck which is not mentioned in the dress regulations but had been discontinued in the 1830s. The white sword belt has a round gilt belt-plate that is indistinct but appears to have a silver dragon device.

Uniforms | Regimental Details