3rd Marine Dress blues

[Ray42]

Hello, I am wondering if any knowledgeable individuals on the forum could help me judge the authenticity of this 3rd Marine Dress blue uniform I found recently.  The jacket is a private purchase example and appears to have once been named but is too faded to read making ID impossible. The threads seem to pass the black light test and don't glow, and there is evidence that it once had a ribbon bar attached and actually saw some use.  Is there anything else that I should look for to determine whether this is authentic or a put together?

 

Additionally, I am a little concerned about the patch, it is embroidered twill which I know I have seen in examples of for other marine divisions however I cannot seem to locate a picture of one from the 3rd Marine division online to compare it to. This is probably just an algorithm failure from google but its worth asking is this a ww2 era patch? 

[Bob Hudson]

With no name,  no medals, no ribbons, it would hardly be worthwhile to fake one of these, I think. Are the collar emblems period?

[huntssurplus]

22 minutes ago, Ray42 said:

Hello, I am wondering if any knowledgeable individuals on the forum could help me judge the authenticity of this 3rd Marine Dress blue uniform I found recently.  The jacket is a private purchase example and appears to have once been named but is too faded to read making ID impossible. The threads seem to pass the black light test and don't glow, and there is evidence that it once had a ribbon bar attached and actually saw some use.  Is there anything else that I should look for to determine whether this is authentic or a put together?

 

Additionally, I am a little concerned about the patch, it is embroidered twill which I know I have seen in examples of for other marine divisions however I cannot seem to locate a picture of one from the 3rd Marine division online to compare it to. This is probably just an algorithm failure from google but its worth asking is this a ww2 era patch? 

 

I saw this one on eBay too, it was under the title "USMC Women's Dress Blues" if i remember correctly. I thought it was pretty good, although the patch made me raise an eyebrow too. What does the outline on the inside of the sleeve look like if you put the jacket inside out? The shoulder patches don't seem to match the wear of the jacket as much I believe.

Hunt

[Ray42]

Sadly they are not, I purchased the uniform from someone who thought it was a modern woman's dress blue uniform and I suspect that since they thought it was a modern uniform they just put new EGA on them. I plan to fix that error once I have caught up with all my other uniforms that require EGA.

 

Also I am a little surprised that it would not be worth faking because I saw that as a real potential problem with dress blue uniforms such as this with no provenance.  Do you think it is not worth it because if someone would take the effort to acquire a period dress blue uniform to alter they would most likely go all out and add a name and ribbons to it to increase the value?

[Ray42]

4 minutes ago, huntssurplus said:

 

I saw this one on eBay too, it was under the title "USMC Women's Dress Blues" if i remember correctly. I thought it was pretty good, although the patch made me raise an eyebrow too. What does the outline on the inside of the sleeve look like if you put the jacket inside out? The shoulder patches don't seem to match the wear of the jacket as much I believe.

Hunt

That's the one, I thought with the seller's pictures it was really hard to get a good opinion on the patches but that it was worth a shot and they kind of look better in person.  I will post a picture in a moment but want to say that the thread on the SSI appears to match the thread on the rank.  Both are sewn in a way that has black thread on the inside and red thread against the red of the patch. It appears similar to another set of tailor made dress blues that I have which are named to a marine I have been able to research. 

[Ray42]

Here are close up pics of the front and back of the SSI.

[Ray42]

Here is a picture of the way the rank is sewn on which appears very similar. I believe the rank does match the wear of the rest of the uniform because it is well frayed around the edges and has a small moth nip.

 

PS: thank you for the quick replies both of you!

[huntssurplus]

The SSI is throwing me off a bit. It looks sort of like an Okinawa made variant, but not pinpoint. I'd think maybe it was some sort of theater made variant. I think if you can identify the patch that would help. I honestly think it's good though. The sewing and thread looks the same on the chevrons, and re-looking at the pictures I'd say the wear matches up. I don't have as much experience with USMC Dress Blues, but I'd say they are good from what I can tell. 

 

Hunt

[Ray42]

1 hour ago, huntssurplus said:

The SSI is throwing me off a bit. It looks sort of like an Okinawa made variant, but not pinpoint. I'd think maybe it was some sort of theater made variant. I think if you can identify the patch that would help. I honestly think it's good though. The sewing and thread looks the same on the chevrons, and re-looking at the pictures I'd say the wear matches up. I don't have as much experience with USMC Dress Blues, but I'd say they are good from what I can tell. 

 

Hunt

The patch threw me also but I was able to find an example in an ASMIC Trading Post article that was listed as an embroidered twill example and looked similar so I think the patch is hopefully ok. It would be really cool if it was a theater made variant because I love coming across those, but I kind of doubt it.

This is only the third dress blue I have been lucky enough to add to my small USMC collection (that will be subject to change because I find them to be very sharp and impressive uniforms) but  I am not very experienced with these either so your opinion is definitely greatly appreciated. 

[doyler]

Honest original uniform.There is nothing wrong with the patch.

[Blacksmith]

Absolutely no problem with the SSI - not sure where the concern is coming from?

[huntssurplus]

Well good to go right there. Nice find! Can someone chime in as to where the manufacture of the SSI is? I can't find a similar one on google?

Hunt

[Ray42]

9 hours ago, Blacksmith said:

Absolutely no problem with the SSI - not sure where the concern is coming from?

Thank you both for letting me know its ok, sorry my concern very likely stems from inexperience.  Since I have not been able to find an embroidered twill example online anywhere let alone a picture of one on a uniform I feared maybe the 3rd did not make a twill embroidered version.  I know I had seen twill versions for most other marine patches I just found it odd that I couldn't find an example for the 3rd and worried it was a modern patch that had been added. thank you for easing my fears on that matter.

[doyler]

Here is a twill I have on a Navy Corpsman uniform.Have his Forrest greens also

[Ray42]

Wow a USMC patched navy corpsman's jumper, that's something you definitely don't see every day.  That's a great grouping and thanks for sharing the patch.