Since thousands of years man has been known to wear clothes to protect himself from nature and as a sign of modesty. Later on clothes were worn in different styles, pattern, and colours as a fashion statement. Clothes have also been used to show differences in the classes in society. They help in differentiating ranks among military orders too. The Military Order Collar of Saint Agatha is no different. The classes of members within the Militare Ordine Collare are Knight Grand Cross with Collar, Knight Grand Cross, Dame Grand Cross, Knight and Dame and each of them wears different clothes, arms and cross.
The gala uniform of a Knight of Justice and Devotion consists of a mess jacket of white gabardine; trousers of black cloth with a yellow-red-yellow stripe; gold epaulettes of an approved design bearing the Cross of the Order on a red eight-pointed star; white shirt, black neck tie, black boots and white gloves. The lapels and cuffs of the mess jacket shall be faced with carmine red silk to an approved design and the cuff facings shall be edged with gold fillets.
The gala uniform of a Knight of Grace and Devotion is same except that the epaulettes are carmine red and there is no gold fillet on the sleeves.
The alternative uniform of the MOC Orden Collar consists of a white mess jacket of an approved design, black trousers and white waistcoat and tie.
As an alternative to the uniform, a Professed Knight may wear a white robe with wide sleeves turned up at the cuffs and a shirt-type collar, fastened at the neck with a cord passing through six eyelets, and with a girdle or sash of white linen passed twice around the waist. Alternatively a plain white clerical alb may be worn. The robe carries the Cross of the Order embroidered upon the left breast.
A Professed Knight of the Militare Ordine Collare wears under the robe in summer, knee breeches with white stockings and in winter, black trousers. Black shoes are worn in all seasons.
On occasions when it is impractical to wear the uniform, a Knight of the MOC Ordine Collare can wear in daytime, either morning dress or a dark lounge suit at the discretion of the head of jurisdiction; in the evening, either evening dress or dinner jacket or a dark lounge suit.
There is no uniform prescribed for Dames of the Military Order Collar. Dames of the Order wear on all formal occasions a suitable dress preferably of black or some other dark colour with black shoes, white gloves and a black mantilla or some other head covering.
Serving members of the Hospitaller Service wear the same dress as Knights or Dames of the Military Order Collar. The companions or helpers of the Hospitaller Service may wear a dark lounge suit in the daytime and either a dinner jacket or a dark lounge suit in the evening.
In the case of nobility, clothes do maketh a man!
Find more information please visit us at http://www.articlesnatch.com/