It is not a uniform policy that the Marine Corps gives out a lot of new “wows”, but this one qualifies: eligible female Marines have now been given the option of wearing the boat cloak, a formal garment with a long paper trail and short guest list.
A new Marine Administrative message changed the dress rules to allow some of the female officers and staff noncommissioned officers the choice of boat cloak or evening dress cape with evening dress and blue dress Alpha and Bravo uniforms. As a matter of fact, the change subjects women to the long full-length option that had been available to them long before their male counterparts and offers the shorter cape as well. Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, in an October meeting with the Marine Corps Uniform Board, approved the decision, based on the response to the 2024 uniform survey in the service.
The reputation of the boat cloak is partly based on the design and partly on the infrequent occurrence of the cloak. It is covered with dark blue broadcloth, lined with scarlet wool, a high-contrast interior, which makes it impossible not to turn heads once it moves. The garment itself is also bulky and is commonly mentioned as having a weight of approximately seven pounds and is not sold as regular clothes. Even standardized officials have described it as an optional, special-order item, which may be one reason as to why even senior leaders may years on not come across one beyond a birthday ball or a formal dinner.
That paucity has given rise to its own tradition of modernity. The cloak is seen “in the wild”, trivia shared, marines and spectators, and post-sightings are made. The social media has intensified the aura; the cloak is a recurring feature in brief films which pay less attention to regulation explanations and more to the undeniable motion of dark fabric and scarlet interiors.
The history of the garment is not as much about the style as it is about logistics. The history of cloaks began with naval outerwear which served to cover dress uniforms in passages between ship and shore by the small boat. Sleeveless, throat-binding garment might be worn over the structured components of formal uniforms, such as medals, cords, and stiff collar sections, without bulking them out or compelling them to a clumsy tailoring. The fact that the women are wearing a shorter cape is due to the effect of the fashion in the mid 20 th century when evening capes were tailored to fit around a gown instead of over it. The new regulation has the effect of eliminating that past design consideration, as women now have the option of having a full length one of the same formal events.
The boat cloak is also a heritage of some Marines. There circulate tales of cloaks, heirlooms in families or between mentors and proteges, which are worn only a few times per annum, and which are rather regarded as some kind of ritual furniture than as clothing. That the generational maintenance is not less in keeping with the larger reality: the boat cloak is as much continuity as it is style, with the current uniforms of the dress service being linked to a naval tradition that is older than most of the uniformed items.
Other realistic modifications accompanied the same administrative update. Female Marines were allowed to have even more choices of footwear in the evening dress such as the permission of black smooth or synthetic leather pumps other than suede and cloth. The service also relocated to make the tanker jacket an optional seabag item of new Marines to ease the pocket strain on an over-garment that matches in a variety of uniforms in a cold climate. Suggestions on the positioning of the medals and the ribbons were made more streamlined to make it easy to wear.
The boat cloak is unique in design and supply. The distinction now is very simple: the first time since the garment became part of the Marine uniform tradition, capable women have an option to wear it, as well.
