View Full Version : USMC dress cover.
Being a former Marine I'm looking for a white dress cover.However,I've not found one exactly as I want it,i.e. like those worn by the Marines on the Silent Drill Team.Size 6 3/4 or 6 5/8.I'd appreciate your assistance!
Semper Fi !:flag:
CarolinaMarine
10-19-08, 10:30 PM
I would guess they would be wearing the white vinal covers. I wish i could help you out as for ordering online, but i don't have first hand experience with anyone online. I know for a fact that they are sold at Lejeune, PI, any Marine Corps base if you are close to them. They sell them "premade" in these places. Meaning the vinal cover already on the frame.
You might try this site for online orders of one.
http://www.usmcblues.com/dressbluescovers.html
bigdog43701
10-20-08, 07:34 AM
check out the Marine shop. possibly just a standard barracks cover with the Sea Duty Dip in it.
http://www.usmc-mccs.org/uniforms/index.cfm
that's where I got my Dress Cover from. Get Kingform Cap, it's really good.
Maybe Sgt Grit has the cover for you,try it out..:cool:
SGT7477
10-20-08, 07:38 PM
USCCUSTOMER SERVICE @nexweb.org or 1-800-368-4088 you will also need your DD-214 cheapest place I have found, Semper FI.
Marine84
10-20-08, 08:01 PM
Try EBAY
DevsDad
10-21-08, 11:08 AM
Nope.. no white vinyl.. they wear the linen shell. I know cause Dev is constantly building covers cause they have to be squeaky clean.
STILL NEED HELP!!I have yet to find a dress cover like those worn by the Marines at 8 & I.See the cover on the cover(!)of Leatherneck Magazine,July 2009.That's what I need!
https://www.nexnet.nexweb.org/pls/nexauth/nexauth.wg_login_proc?p_app_id=9021
there you go.
My application failed!All info was correct.Now what?
I was enlisted 30 years ago.
All Marines at 8th & I wear cloth covers, and we build them ourselves to specifications. It's just a regular cover like we'd pick up at the PX.
I understand that they're standard covers.However,the way that the 8&I Marines "style" their covers give them a superior look.How do they do it?
You'd need a metal coat hanger, cut in half. It gets bent at a 90 degree angle and put across the top (basically making a V in the top of the cover) and bent around the screwposts at the bottom. Called a cheater bar.
The metal strip on the halo gets flattened (with a hammer, or any blunt tool) then bent backwards (so the 'back' side of the halo is actually the part touching the cloth) at the same angle of the bill of the cover. Wrap the black part of the frame with electrical tape.
Sometimes another halo (minus the front metal strip) is put in the cover to help it keep shape.
Hard to explain, would be easier to show with pictures but I don't have access to my personal camera/computer/cover right now.
Old Marine
09-17-09, 08:19 AM
Are you looking for a 30 mission dip in the cover?
I appreciate your response!You're right,showing pictures would make it easier.Again,look at the cover of Leatherneck July this year.I probably will try to do it according to your explanation.Semper Fi!
polizei
09-25-09, 04:44 PM
Anyway someone could please upload some pictures? I would love to be squared away for the ball this year, as it will be my first.
josephd
09-25-09, 05:36 PM
I would like tos ee what is so special about what the silent drill guys do to their covers..??...
I just got a Kingform a few weeks ago and I don't think it gets much nicer
polizei
09-25-09, 08:44 PM
Hrmmm, I just ordered one this week, mine should be here Monday. I hope it looks as nice as everyone says they do. I paid $58 for it!
i would really like to know how to style my cover the way 8th and I do it. That would really be awesome to look sharp for my ball. any pictures or videos would be greatly appreciated.
http://i36.tinypic.com/t8audl.gif
polizei, it will, just don't set it done upside down, it'll make the vinyl dirty.
itz, I don't see what's so special about that.
Supersquishy
09-29-09, 10:13 AM
itz, I don't see what's so special about that.
probably because its not "gull winged", seen that on a few turds who wore them that way, its an easy fix.
DocGreek
09-29-09, 10:36 AM
:D...Didn't know you Grunts had covers for your DRESSES!!!:p
polizei
09-29-09, 10:52 AM
I just got my cover yesterday, it does look great! It's much more stiff and "pressed," which of course keeps the form and makes it look a lot better! The overall fit is much better as well, and the Kingform is much more comfortable to wear.
yeah, you won't have a headache after putting it on.
8th&I Marine
09-29-09, 12:36 PM
Everyone at 8th & I built there cover. Our covers in Color Guard were a little different we also had plastic in the top of the cover so you didnt sweat through it. Semper Fi
Cantrell
:D...Didn't know you Grunts had covers for your DRESSES!!!:p
haha funny doc.:p atleast we're not seamen
Everyone at 8th & I built there cover. Our covers in Color Guard were a little different we also had plastic in the top of the cover so you didnt sweat through it. Semper Fi
Cantrell
one, how did you build them?
two, how do you sweat through vinyl?
one, how did you build them?
two, how do you sweat through vinyl?
The current ones come already put together. The older ones came with a frame and a cover. Whether cotten or vinyl you got a cover one size smaller than the frame. You took the frame and pinched it in the center then folded it into a C. You then placed that into the cover and let it uncoil. Stretched and pulled until it was tighter than a drum. Put the chin strap and two screw in EGA's on. Done building. If you got some sort of stain on the vinyl one that is it ... it's there forever. The cotten ones you could usually bleach it out in the wash then put it back together. Even then the cotten ones never looked quite as squared away after they had been washed.
well, yeah. they still issue those in Boot Camp, but I was wondering what this talk about building the cover is all about. I'm slightly confused. 75% of the MC uses the kingform covers.
Supersquishy
09-29-09, 04:41 PM
well, yeah. they still issue those in Boot Camp, but I was wondering what this talk about building the cover is all about. I'm slightly confused. 75% of the MC uses the kingform covers.
I was issued the one with the metal band that was adjustable, with a cloth top, after boot camp, I bought a vinyl top and it looks 100% better then the cloth. I still have it and I just looked at it to see what manufacturer it is, its a Bernard CO. frame. Whats the difference of Kingform and Bernard?
one is a leather band and a different angle for the EGA on the front while the other is cardboard band with a more vertical angle for the EGA.
Supersquishy
09-29-09, 04:53 PM
Just checked mine again, looks like it has a fake leather wrapped heavy plastic head band, no wonder it hurts like a b1tch after 10 minutes, and the EGA is slanted foward, looks sharp though.
nice... so you never bought a new one huh...
currently i wear a kingform, it looks great and all.
But i just love how crisp 8th & I covers look. from what i hear they use a regular frame and cloth cap, but they build them differently to look clean and sharp.
Supersquishy
09-30-09, 05:16 AM
nice... so you never bought a new one huh...
Yeah, im cheap like that. even bought a used pick up with no AC in Yuma, AZ, nobody wanted to ride with me either.:D
that's the way to do it!!! haha.
usually people buy a standard cab and have it loaded with junk (me) so you can give people lifts! :D
fespar...you should just purchase the cover and ship it out to one of us former 8th & I marines and we'll whip it into shape for you.
While on the Drill Team, my cotton cover was washed twice a week. Each time, it remained partially damp from the incomplete drying. This allowed me to stretch it with the double halo frame I constructed. We always used to halo frames but removed the angle-mount bar from the second. A wire clothes hanger was clipped just long enough to form a crescent half circle on each end that was wrapped around each emblem post over each ear. The hanger (cheat bar) went from each post around the front of the cover-bill. This allowed us to force the entire cover into a pinching form that fit our individual heads and helped in forming the dip in the cover. Once I inserted the reinforced halo's into the clothe cover, I then inserted the one remaining halo mounting bar into its holder on the cover. Then I would stretch the clothe over the entire cover. The washing usually shrinks the material a bit, so thats why you do everything while it is still a bit damp. Over time we would get a bit of rust forming from the wire hanger (cheat bar). If it was significant, we would use white chalk to cover it up, or just get a new clothe cover. Keep in mind that each new clothe cover would usually be washed several times before it was workable on the cover. Most of us had several of them so we would have overlap when one got torn from the front site post or stained or rusted from grass or cheat bar.
Most important is the fact that our covers on the Drill Team were not very comfortable. As "8th & I Marine" stated, every marching marine kept plastic in the top of the cover to keep you from sweating through the cover. We also put tape in on the plastic so our covers would stick to our heads. This was just another way to avoid your cover from getting knocked off or blowing off in the wind. Most of us would have red impression marks on our foreheads by the time we took them off. Again, we built them for looks and staying power only, not comfort.
I still have mine. If I get around to getting into storage, I'll pull it out and take some pictures for you if you wish.
S/F
that would be nice if you could take a photo of it.
Give me 'til the weekend and I'll load it up.
SergeantSlayton
12-26-10, 04:49 PM
You'd need a metal coat hanger, cut in half. It gets bent at a 90 degree angle and put across the top (basically making a V in the top of the cover) and bent around the screwposts at the bottom. Called a cheater bar.
The metal strip on the halo gets flattened (with a hammer, or any blunt tool) then bent backwards (so the 'back' side of the halo is actually the part touching the cloth) at the same angle of the bill of the cover. Wrap the black part of the frame with electrical tape.
Sometimes another halo (minus the front metal strip) is put in the cover to help it keep shape.
Hard to explain, would be easier to show with pictures but I don't have access to my personal camera/computer/cover right now.
I still have my dress blue cover from my time at 8th & I. Below are some photos of it showing the exterior as well as the interior construction, including the double halo and the coat hanger wire.
Please forgive the discoloration and the age to the visor; the cover is almost 25 years old. It is the same one I am wearing in my avatar.
Apparently I can only attach five files at a time so I will attach the rest in another post.
SergeantSlayton
12-26-10, 04:54 PM
Here is the second set showing the double halo and the hanger wire.
The last photo is of me at the War Memorial practicing for the 1989 NCO Parade, where I was the Adjutant. That's the same cover in this photo as well.
Hope this helps.
Semper Fi.
EDIT: I had forgotten to mention in my first post that we also used thumbtacks behind the chin strap (see photo #4) to keep the cloth cover from creeping up and to keep it taut and straight.
Thanks a lot! I appreciate your help very much!
Semper Fi!:flag:
SergeantSlayton
12-26-10, 06:50 PM
You are welcome.
I had forgotten to mention but Bdchi1 had, was that we would have to wash the cloth cover at least once or twice a week in order to to keep it clean. Unlike Bdchi1 I was not a member of the marching companies but was assigned to MCI Company. I marched in three NCO Parades and was the Time Orderly/Flag Popper for both the Evening Parades and the Sunset Parades during my time at 8th and I (1986 - 1989).
Also, we bought cloth covers one size smaller than the cover frame for it to fit even tighter (example: frame = 6-1/4; cover = 6-1/8). That, and assembling it while still wet and allowing it to dry made it tight as a drum. I used to have an adapter for my clothes dryer that was a little shelf designed for tennis shoes to sit on (to keep them from tumbling) that I would place my assembled cover on and let it dry in the dryer.
You had mentioned you were enlisted 30 years ago - sounds like you were in during the time was.
I noticed that the photos uploaded to this website are small - would you like me to email the full size copies directly to you? If so just give me the address and I will send them ASAP.
You bet!Being overseas it's now 0215 A.M. so I need to hit the rack!I'm 60 years OLD today.It sucks.My email is peder.g@telia.com
Did you ever get a reply on how to achieve the 8th &I look on your dress blues cover
josephd
10-19-14, 11:19 PM
Did you ever get a reply on how to achieve the 8th &I look on your dress blues cover
this is almost 4 years old!
advanced
10-20-14, 10:20 AM
Though this is an old post I see fespar is still here. As an MP back in 67 we styled our MP white barracks covers differently in that we went with the sea going crease (old school Marine Corps). It's actually very different and easier to get this old salt look.
We only used the white cloth covers because in my time there was no plastic or patten leather. We bought a white barracks cover that fit our heads. Next you need to purchase a wire frame grommet "2 to 3" sizes too big for the cover. Wash the white cover several times (We did this by hand with scrub brushes and soap) and you'll assemble the cover while the white cloth is still wet or damp. Also spit shine the visor to the frame.
With your oversize grommet only $3.00
http://www.marineshop.net/browse.cfm/covers-accessories/2,1274.html?VIEW=ALL&sortby=NAME
you'll find the part that attaches to the frame is bent away from the round part of the grommet.
28181
You'll want to bend this part so that it is in line with the "ring" of the grommet. You want the grommet to look like a circle without the the metal attachment piece hanging down. Now take the grommet and pull the back toward the front and place the cloth cover over the grommet matching the hole where the EGA will go, then push the back of the grommet into the back of the cloth and because of the oversize of the grommet you will see an arching of the grommet and the cloth cover.
Now, do not bend, just pull down the attachment bar (the part you pushed up previously) at the front of the grommet and you will notice a strong resistance, that's what you want. Stick the attachment bar into the slot at the front of the frame and pull the sides of the cloth cover over the rest of the frame, it should fit snugly and with the cloth cover being damp it will stretch. Make sure your hands are clean as you want no dirt or grease on the cover making it dingy.
You now have a sea going crease where the front of the grommet will stick straight up like a german SS officer and the top will no longer be flat as it will curl in an arch. This is old school Marine Corps which you will not see anymore.
Back in 84 I helped my one of my X nephews with his cover when he went to the ball that year. He was still on active duty and he was a little afraid to wear it because he said the MC had out lawed the crease. He wore it anyway. He said no one said anything to him till his regimental commander walked over to him and asked him why he was wearing a restricted and outlawed cover. He told the Coronal what I told him to say if he was questioned, he said he was wearing it in honor of his uncle. The coronal asked who his uncle was and my nephew told him my background. The Coronal than told him "very well, only for tonight, and I never want to see it again." My the MC has changed. Hope this helps.
Old Marine
10-20-14, 10:58 AM
Sounds like a 50 mission dip to me.