The introduction into armies of Slavonic irregulars, tended to restrict line infantry and cavalry to parade drill and to pitched battles in parade order. This stiffened their costume until it became "soldierly." The flapped cuffs have become plain round cuffs, above which are embroidery stripes and buttons which at one time laced the flaps of the cuff together and now survive as the "guard-stripe." This may be called the first instance of the dummy adornments, which are so marked in modern full-dress uniforms. Similarly the former cloth turnback on the front of the coat has even in 1756 been cut off, the buttons and embroidered loops that retained it being kept as decorations.
Many of these specially military adornments were borrowed from the national costumes of the irregulars themselves. Their head-gear in particular drove out the cocked hat. The grenadier cap, now a towering bearskin, was its first successful rival, the shako the next. The grenadier cap was, in the first instance, a limp conical cap (identical with the hussar cap), edged with fur and having a tassel at the end. Soon the fur became more promi nent in the front, and the tail disappeared. Then the cloth mitre cap appeared. This was originally a field-service cap, with ear flaps and sunshade. From the narrow and forward-pointing bear skin of Peninsular days, it evolved into the great fur cap of grena diers and fusiliers of the present time. As early as 1755, a conical leather cap with a large brass plate in front had come into exis tence. This held its ground for some time, and the grenadier cap of the modern Russian and German armies was a metal copy of the mitre field-service cap itself.
The Hungarian hussars introduced the jacket and the busby. The latter was originally a conical cap with fur edge, but the fur became higher until there was nothing left of the cap but the ornamental "busby-bag" of to-day. The lancer cap, which, origi nally the Polish czapka, was a cylindrical cap with a square top, the upper part of which could be pushed up or down after the fashion of a bellows or accordion. The line infantry and cavalry coat, full-skirted in the first instance, retained its original length until about 1780, but from that time onwards it becomes, little by little, shorter and scantier until at last it is a "coatee," not as long as the present-day tunic or a swallow-tailed coat. This did away with the protection afforded by the full skirt, and necessi tated the introduction of the great coat. The white breeches and gaiters, retained to the last, gradually gave way to trousers and ankle boots in 1800-1820.
Meanwhile another form of head-dress came into vogue. This was the helmet, which had disappeared from the infantry about 1650-1670, and the cavalry thirty years afterwards. It took two
forms, a small helmet with sausage-shaped ornament from front to back, worn chiefly by British light dragoons and artillery, and the towering crested helmet worn by the French, British and Austrians. The French cuirassiers and dragoons had long horse hair tails dependent from the crest.
At the beginning of the 19th century gaitered breeches were replaced by trousers and cavalry uniforms were increasing in brilliance. After Waterloo, indeed, all traces of the old-fashioned coat disappeared, and, the soldier was more showy and worse off in comfort and convenience than previously. The hussar furred pelisse, originally worn over a jacket had become a magnificently embroidered and laced garment, always slung and never worn, and the old plain under-jacket had been loaded with buttons and lace, and differed from the pelisse only in the absence of fur. The dress regulations of 1855 introduced the low "Albert" shako and the tunic, and abolished the epaulette.
The tunic, accompanied by a spiked helmet of burgonet shape, had been introduced in Prussia and Russia about 1835. The French adopted the tunic in 1853, the Austrians in 1856, and in both countries the shako became smaller and lighter. From about 1880, when the spiked helmet replaced the low shako in England, no radical changes were made in full dress uniforms, except that the Russian army, abandoning the German pattern uniforms formerly in vogue, adopted a national uniform. In 1906-1909, however, this attempt to combine handsomeness and comfort was given up, full dresses being made more decorative, and light green grey service dresses being introduced. Lastly, subsequent to the South African War and its revelation of the development of in fantry fire, the attempt to wear full dress uniform on active serv ice was practically given up. Great Britain first of all adopted the Indian khaki, and then a drab mixture for "service dress." Ger many, Italy, the United States and other countries followed suit, though each has chosen its own shade, and the shades vary from light grey blue in Italy to deep olive drab in the United States. The details of the present-day uniforms in the principal states are given below. (X.) The uniforms of the British Army fall into two main categories (a) full-dress and (b) service dress. From 1881 to 1914 full dress had not undergone any radical change, although minor altera tions had been sanctioned in a few cases to express some regi mental tradition or national sentiment. On the outbreak of the World War full-dress ceased to be worn and up-to-date (1928) it has only been re-introduced for the Household Cavalry, Bri gade of Guards and regimental bands.