British Army Battle Dress Uniform

Some things are worth repeating

Well, the British Army Battle Dress Uniform, or BD, was the go-to fashion statement for British soldiers from the late 1930s until the 1960s. This sartorial masterpiece was designed to be more practical and durable than previous uniforms because you never know when you might need to roll around in some mud or take a tumble in a barbed wire fence before attending the officers’ mess for an aperitif.

It was made of tough, khaki-coloured wool serge fabric, which was perfect for hiding in the European countryside but not so great for the dusty sands of Africa which is why they probably introduced a cotton herringbone twill to keep the temperature down in the trouser department whilst troops were touring in hotter climes.

The BD jacket had four patch pockets, which were perfect for storing all sorts of soldierly things, like spare ammo, small animals or spare engine parts.

And the trousers! The trousers were a thing of beauty, with a large map pocket on the front of the left thigh and a smaller pleated pocket for field dressing on the right-hand thigh. Perfect for er, maps and bandages..

All joking aside, the BD uniform was a practical and functional piece of military clothing that served British soldiers well for many years. And who knows, maybe it'll make a comeback in the world of high fashion - after all, military chic is always in style and is still worn by some ceremonial units today.

With this in mind, we subverted the BD to our own version of the Battle Dress Blazer and Chino Taper Fatigues. A deconstructed blazer with extra attention to detail, features that make it worthy of its name.

Firstly the pocket detail from the pants moved to the jacket, two map pockets and the field dressing pocket which you don’t have to carry small animals in.. You can also button it right up and pull across the throat latch if it gets a bit fresh on an evening. Those are just a couple of the details along with lined seams, elbow patches and corozo nut buttons to name a few more.

Wear it with a tee or layer up as it is a relaxed fit to make this a real multi-season jacket. Tough enough for the great outdoors, with style enough for any social. Check out the other details here

Now we’ve paid homage with our British Army Battle Dress Pants in 13.5oz Organic Cotton Selvedge Denim