An Honest to Goodness Colonel’s UNIFORM
The call from Keith Jacobson of San Diego was a most welcome surprise. Keith was attempting to research the history of a “uniform” found among the treasures he inherited from his grandfather, Sidney Brockman. A fried of Keith’s had told him it might be a Kentucky Colonel’s uniform. And, indeed it is!! To our knowledge, only a handful of the uniforms were made. The year was 1931. The detail in Keith’s uniform exactly match the uniform description found in the May 1931 minutes of the organizational meeting of what was then The Kentucky Colonels. Here’s the photo(s) Keith was kind enough to send us. The inserts at the bottom show the detail of the braiding, buttons (the seal of Kentucky), and the “aide-de-camp” insignia worn on the sleeve. By the way, a tag inside the jacket indicates the uniform was made for Colonel W. B. Dunlap. THANKS KEITH!
August 17th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Good day my fellow Colonels.
Our small group of Kentucky Colonels in Toronto – Canada – and those affiliated to us have been doing research as well. Colonel Lautens found a picture – showing Colonel Arthur Dwight MARTIN wearing the uniform – and it matches the uniform Colonel Jacobson found.
How do I post the picture so you can all see it?
Regards
Arjeh van der Sluis
Kentucky Colonel
August 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Colonel van der Sluis is right – the photo appears in the 1947 issue of “Howdy, Colonel!” by Marion Porter – a great book on the Colonels’ early history and members.
The Canadian Encampment of Colonels (an unofficial but growing group of us north of the 49th parallel) is seriously pursuing a supplier of the 2nd model uniform – which is much more wearable in the modern age. It is described on this website (http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=13) as:
“… a dark blue jacket much shorter than the Tuxedo coat, silk faced lapels, gold buttons, gold braid epaulets on the shoulders, gold aigulette (braided cord) suspended from the right shoulder, five narrow embroidered gold stripes extending halfway up the sleeve from the cuff and intertwined in a circular pattern, and the aide-de-camp shield with the small letters ‘KY’ worn on the cuff. Trousers are dark blue evening dress trousers with a gold stripe down the outer seams. A stiff bosom white shirt, wing collar, black bow tie, blue military dress cap, blue officers evening cape and black shoes completes this uniform.”
It is not the frock coat shown in the photo, but more like a modern short tux jacket or military mess kit.
When we get the details worked out, we’ll be happy to share where our Colonels can get one, if interested.
Best regards,
Col. Stephen
December 30th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
As an ex Army officer, I think it would be great to have a ceremonial uniform / mess kit for special occasions. Please let us know when these become available!
Best Regards
Col Christopher Alam
January 6th, 2009 at 6:32 am
I have to agree with Col Alam, I too am ex Army, non commissioned tho. But I too would love to see a official uniform for the colonels to wear for special occasions.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I am 30 year Air Force vet and I too would like to see a uniform for special occasions to reflect the prestige of the commission
Col. Dallas Ratliff
May 6th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
i like the idea of a uniform for women as well.It is truly an honor to be a Kentucky Colonel a military type uniform would suit me just fine…instead of a wearing a big fancy floral hat!
June 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I have to agree with everyone else, I like the idea of a formal uniform. I think it stands out and makes an elegent statement about who we are. I also agree that a uniform should be available for both men and women.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I like the idea of a formal uniform. It will serve as a good attraction for more honorable people to join our Order.
KC Leznik.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Does anyone know where to find sewing patterns to have one of these uniforms made? Also, where could I find the appropriate buttons and aide-de-camp insignia? I think it would be wonderful to have a uniform available for special occasions and will certainly get one made if I can track down the right information.
October 30th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
It’s great to see such interest in such a fine, old tradition as the Kentucky Colonel uniform.
I am happy to say that thanks to Colonel Chris Winkelmann, we are closer than ever to having a supplier who can provide them complete with all insignia as a quality dress uniform and not just a “costume”.
Colonel Winkelmann has found an excellent manufacturer of uniforms and we are now working together to supply all the many, many details to them to produce a historically accurate and very wearable sample. I appear to be the guinea pig for the first commercially made Kentucky Colonel’s uniform in three quarters of a century, and hope to be able to model it for everyone in the next few months.
Once we are happy with it, we’ll be pleased to provide ordering details of any of our fellow Colonels who would like to show their colors.
Warmest regards,
Colonel Stephen
August 24th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Well, it’s been a while, but I am close to having my Kentucky Colonel uniform – probably within the month. It has been a lot of work to make the prototype – not to mention more initial cost than I thought. My wife refers to it as “Stephen’s Folly”.
I chose the most recent version as described in the May 1931 minutes of meeting of The Kentucky Colonels:
“… a dark blue jacket much shorter than the Tuxedo coat, silk faced lapels, gold buttons, gold braid epaulets on the shoulders, gold aigulette (braided cord) suspended from the right shoulder, five narrow embroidered gold stripes extending halfway up the sleeve from the cuff and intertwined in a circular pattern, and the aide-de-camp shield with the small letters ‘KY’ worn on the cuff. Trousers are dark blue evening dress trousers with a gold stripe down the outer seams.”
The older style of double-breasted frock coat usually seen on Kentucky Colonels from the 1800s to just after World War I is certainly less wearable, so I chose the more modern version which is more like evening wear or modern military “mess kit”.
Here is what it should look like when completed:
http://www.lautens.com/images/coloneluniform.jpg
Once all the changes and alterations are done (I’ve driven the supplier crazy with attention to detail), we’ll have a template if anyone else would like one. The cost should go way down as I’ve absorbed most of the trial and error expenses.
I hope to have photos to post soon.
Warmest regards,
Colonel Stephen
October 2nd, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Dear Colonels,
I am pleased to say that I now have my Kentucky Colonel uniform after much back and forth and it does not disappoint. I have sent Col. Glen Bastin the photos, so watch for them to be posted soon.
Warmest regards,
Col. Stephen
October 7th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Dear Colonels,
Here’s a sneak preview of my uniform worn to a recent event: http://www.lautens.com/colonel.html
Warmest regards,
Col. Stephen