Uniform musings, Part 4 - New Uniforms in '07

Originally a DCP forum post, I thought this warranted its own entry. From the Annapolis show - After seeing the corps as a whole wearing the new unis., I present my best an worst of the new looks.

Best new uniforms - Cadets -
A return to the traditional look. Cummerbund now rides over the jacket again and dominates the look more than in the past four years. The jacket now appears even shorter, making the legs appear very long and tall. Gauntlets are gone (thank god) and the accents are back. FJM unis oversimplified the detail that gave the Cadets their unique uniform flavor. These new ones capture the original 80s look very well while updating certain aspects (better material for summer).

Worst new uniforms - Spirit
These unis are all over the place. The busy front and the weird light colored/blue/white front piece cuts across the jacket in a strange way. I it looks like someone didn't use colorsafe bleach and the dark blue bled all over the nice white shoulder piece. The horizontal white lines on the other half of the jacket dont do anything for them. There is no definition to the new look making their already sloppy drill look even worse. In bright sunlight, they may look slightly better, however nighttime is not their friend.

Worst uniform change - Bluecoats
two-tone blue??? honestly?? I did kind of get used to it by the end of the show, however from the uniforms they came from, this has to be the worst move in all of DCI. Their previous uniforms were so clean cut and nice to look at, with the white and blue. The white made a nice clean contrast with the field and made their marching look clean and clear. The black pants feel like a cop-out, an easy way to hide dirty feet instead of working to improve fundamentals. The black and two tones of blue make them too dark on the field...and there is really no need for it. They look like BD or Blue knights now...not really a good thing.

Best uniform change - Glassmen
The addition of the gold chain adds a little variety and reflective flare into a very "blah" uniform. Before the uniform looked very uninteresting and bland, especially with that flimsy reflective triangle on the right shoulder. The chain falls asymmetrically over the black abyss that is the lower 4/5ths of the uniform and breaks it up nicely. in addition they now make a nice "clank" sound when they move their horns down to "parade rest"

Most unnecessary uniform change - Crown
I really like the cream and purple...might be a bit of overkill to cash in the purple for the gold. Gold and cream are too similar in tone to really contrast at all. The brown plumes are a nice touch (for the horse show). The most unnecessary part of the uniform is the tassel that hangs down from the front of the jacket just above the crotch. WHat is THat thing?!?! It is nice to see a top 12 corps staying with white or cream colored pants...shows they are not trying to hide anything about their marching technique.

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I will have more uniform reviews as I see them this season.

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Musings on Band and Corps Uniforms in Visual design...

Well for my first installment of what I hope to be many postings, I am focusing in on something that I have been thinking about for some time. Uniforms are the most basic, recognizable aspect of a corps - even defining part of their heritage or tradition. Sometimes there uniforms even affect the development of a corps visual and marching styles. Often, this most basic part of a corps identity is overlooked with regards to the visual aspect of the performance. The guard is what we think of mostly as defining the visual design of the show, but what we don't always realize is how much this is affected by the type and style of the uniforms of the corps. I will start out looking at different uniforms and showing how they define the visual characteristics of the corps. Then I will turn my attention to the future of uniforms in the marching activity.

The Cadets (Allentown, PA)
The "West-point" style maroon and cream uniforms date back to the oldest incarnations of the corps. This design (with the notable exceptions of 2005 and 2006) has remained largely intact throughout the years. It has become an icon for the oldest corps in America and is a symbol of pride for those who wear it. The picture is somewhat dated as it depicts the uniforms worn from 2003-2006. The current uniforms have slight changes in the detailing.

Visually, the most striking parts of the uniform are the cream colored pants with the maroon stripe running down the side and the reflective buckle on the cross-belt. The uniform is designed to enhance the height of the performer, mainly through the long light colored pants, the short jacket, and the high yellow cummerbund. An interesting tidbit is the shrinking drop sash over the years. Back in the 60s and 70s, the sash came down to about the knees of the performer. This had the effect of shortening the performer visually. The sashes of the 80s shrunk a bit, coming to around the mid-thigh region. Gradually over the years it has been shortened to its current length, ending around the "crotchal" region. The elongated vertical line created by the uniform is accented by the classic plume that emerges straight from the top of the shako.

Anyone who knows the Cadets know they are famous for their straight-legged marching style. The uniform accentuates this style by drawing the eye to the cream colored pants with the maroon stripe. Theoretically the maroon stripe is never supposed to be broken while marching. Watching the Cadets perform, it is clear the visual impact the technique and uniform create. The drill focuses mostly on form development such as pass throughs and evolving amorphous forms that serve to bring out the movement of the lower body. Rarely will one see an effective upper-body movement with the cadets (I'm thinking of the terrible ones added into the 2003 show as an example) because there is no striking visual impact to be had from the upper body movements.

Due to the focus on the lower body, timing is extremely important for this corps. Lagging visual scores have been almost a signature for the corps in recent years as the cream pants do not forgive even the slightest timing errors. Spacing errors are also highlighted by the tall vertical cream pillars seen on the field.

That's all for tonight, more tomorrow! - Next post - the Uniforms of the Cavaliers!

drum corps ; DCI ; marching band

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