Question Gesellschaftsanzug( evening dress Uniform)

[DIRKIO]

Dear friends,

looking thru old books I saw several times the black evening dress uniform also called Gesellschaftsanzug.
All pictures show high ranking officers wearing it, so I woundered staring which rank was this type of uniform allowed? I looked at my ref books and also M Beavers, but could not find an answer.
So I am asking here for help:
starting which rank was this Uniform allowed and did also NCOs wear it? The armband seems to have an silver cord on both sides, is this the same as the one on the collar? The buttons I saw were one jut peppeld and the others had the runes on it? So I guess there are different kind of styles, time periods?
I have not found good color pictures /close ups on the armband in any shop?
Thanks for the help and have a great day!
Dirk

[DIRKIO]

Well, does nobody have an idea?
Regards Dirk

[Dr. Strangelove]

antwort

Okay, Dirk v. Mannheim,

1. Untersturmführer and up
2. 3mm piping on collar, 2mm piping on Brassard. If the Tailor had no 2mm he would use 3mm, manchmal.

[DIRKIO]

Hello Dr,
thank you very much for your assistence I really apreciate it! In wich Vorschrift did you find it?
Regards
Dirk

[derek]

To add to the good Doctor's post I was just going through some documents and found the order introducing the SS-Gesellschaftanzuges. It was from May, 1938 and interestingly included this directive:

"The purchase of the SS evening dress uniform is optional; it will initially be necessary only for SS leaders, SS-Standartenführer and above, in the big cities (Berlin, Munich, etc.), whose service imposes on them the participation in a great number of social obligations."

The two versions of the formal evening dress are not to be confused with the SS-Gesellschaftsrock (mess dress tunic) that was introduced two years earlier in 1936 and available for all ranks.