Military uniform

A military uniform is a standardised form of dress worn by members of an armed force or paramilitary unit to identify their service, rank, role and affiliation.

Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamented clothing until the 19th century, to utilitarian camouflage uniforms for field and battle purposes from World War I (1914–1918) on. Military uniforms in the form of standardised and distinctive dress, intended for identification and display, are typically a sign of organised military forces equipped by a central authority.

Military uniforms differ not only according to military units but tend to also be offered in different levels of formality in accordance with Western dress codes: full dress uniform for formal wear, mess dress uniform for formal evening wear, service dress uniform for informal wear, and combat uniform (also called "battle/field dress") which would equal casual wear. Sometimes added to the casual wear category is physical training uniforms. The study used to design and produce military uniforms is referred to as military textile science.