Dating a French military uniform
By Augustin, founder of Athena Militaria Published
A uniform is dated from the inside. The cut and the colour give a wide range, often thirty years wide; it is the label sewn into the lining, the buttons and the collar tabs that narrow it. Provided you look at them before washing anything, because washing erases exactly that information.
First of all: do not wash it
Water sets certain stains, shrinks wool and erases the ink markings applied inside garments. Those markings are often the only dated information the piece carries. A dirty uniform stays identifiable; a washed uniform often does not.
Likewise, unpick nothing, replace no button, and do not remove sewn insignia, even those that look added. The detail of what to avoid is in caring for militaria without destroying its value.
1. The cloth and the colour: the wide range
It is what catches the eye and it is the least precise, but it places the piece.
Thick wool cloth, heavy to the touch, belongs to the oldest uniforms. Horizon blue, that pale blue-grey, appears during the Great War and characterises the French army of that period. Mustard khaki covers the following decades. Close-woven cottons, satins and light canvas correspond to more recent, post-war dress.
Rub the cloth between two fingers: old wool scratches and felts, modern cotton slides. Look at the lining too, often of a different cloth, which ages differently.
2. The inner label: the exact date
This is the decisive place, and the one nobody looks at. Search the lining, at the bottom of the back, under a skirt, in an inside pocket, or under the collar.
Depending on the period you may find: the name or initial of a clothing establishment, a size expressed in an older system rather than in centimetres, an acceptance stamp, and sometimes a year written plainly. A year printed or stamped on the label sets a boundary: the garment cannot be earlier.
A soldier's name, in ink or embroidered, is a different and more valuable case: it opens the possibility of tracing a service record. Note it exactly, without correcting the spelling.
3. The buttons
Turn a button over. Many carry a maker's name on the back, sometimes a town, occasionally a number.
The material matters as much as the marking: gilt brass, painted metal, corozo, plastic. A replacement button often shows in the thread, of a different colour or thickness from the others, and in the mark left by the previous button on the cloth.
Never replace a missing button to “complete” a garment. A piece missing an original button is worth more than one whose buttons are all wrong.
4. The collar tabs and insignia
Collar tabs generally carry a number and a coloured piping. The number refers to the unit, the colour to the arm of service. It is the combination that places the piece, not either taken alone.
Look at the stitching. Original tabs were sewn once, and the cloth holds the memory of that single sewing. Added tabs often reveal earlier needle holes, thread that is too new, or an area of cloth less faded than the rest of the collar, because it was covered by a different insignia.
Any metal insignia fitted are read by the method in identifying a French military insignia: the back before the face.
What makes a uniform valuable
- Completeness. A full set, with its headdress, belt and accessories, is nothing like a tunic on its own.
- Homogeneity. Every element of the same period, from the same maker where possible.
- Original condition, including period repairs, which are part of the garment's history.
- Named attribution, when a name allows the soldier to be traced.
- The size. Large sizes are rarer and interest re-enactors as much as collectors.
As everywhere, there is no official price guide: the range is built on sales actually concluded, a method set out in valuing a piece and illustrated by the sales archive.
Keeping a uniform
On a wide padded hanger, never on a thin wire one, which distorts the shoulders. A cotton cover, never plastic: plastic traps moisture and yellows the cloth. A normally heated room, away from direct light, and certainly not the attic or the cellar.
Against moths, prefer regular inspection and a vacuum passed gently through a piece of gauze rather than aggressive products. And never leave a uniform in prolonged contact with leather: tannin attacks the fibres and the metals beside them.
What I cannot tell you here
I cannot attribute a tunic to a regiment from a front-on photograph. French uniforms span a century and a half, with production variants, repairs and reuse from one period to the next.
Photograph the garment laid flat, the inside of the collar, the label, a button front and back, each collar tab close up, and any repairs. Then ask the community. The catalogue is arranged by period: WW1 uniforms, WW2 uniforms.
Frequently asked questions
Should an old military uniform be washed?
No, never. Water sets certain stains, shrinks wool and erases the ink markings applied inside, which are often the only dated information the piece carries. A dirty uniform stays identifiable, a washed one often does not.
Where is the date of manufacture on a French tunic?
On the inner label, to be looked for in the lining, at the bottom of the back, under a skirt, in an inside pocket or under the collar. It may carry a clothing establishment, a size in an older system, an acceptance stamp and sometimes a year written plainly, which sets a boundary for the manufacture.
What does horizon blue mean on a uniform?
That pale blue-grey appears during the First World War and characterises the French army of that period. It gives a wide range, to be narrowed afterwards with the inner label, the buttons and the collar tabs.
Should a missing button be replaced before selling?
No. A piece missing an original button is worth more than one whose buttons are all wrong. An added button shows in the thread, of a different colour or thickness, and in the mark left by the previous one on the cloth.
How can you tell whether the collar tabs are original?
Look at the stitching and the cloth around them. Original tabs were sewn once, with no earlier needle holes. Added tabs often reveal old piercings, thread that is too new, or an area of collar less faded than the rest because it was covered by a different insignia.
How should a uniform be stored?
On a wide padded hanger, under a cotton cover and never plastic, in a normally heated room away from direct light. Neither attic nor cellar. Against moths, inspect regularly and vacuum gently through a piece of gauze rather than using aggressive products.