"Blues" vs "Number 1s" — Are They the Same Thing?

Short answer: yes, for the British Army specifically, "Blues" and "No1 Dress" are the same uniform — just two different names people use for it. "Blues" is the informal, descriptive nickname (it's the dark blue ceremonial tunic); "No1 Dress" is the official order-of-dress name. See our full dress numbering guide for how No1 fits alongside No2/FAD and the rest.

Genuine British Army No1 Dress — "Blues" is simply the everyday nickname for this exact uniform.

Why the confusion happens

Because "Blues" is genuinely more commonly used in everyday conversation — it's shorter, more visual, and doesn't require knowing the numbering system — while "No1 Dress" is what you'll see on official documentation and genuine issue labelling. Both are correct; they're just registers, formal vs informal, for the same item. It's a bit like calling a car by its model name versus its trim level — both describe the same real object, just at different levels of formality.

Worth double-checking regardless

Where it's worth being careful is cross-service: the RAF and Royal Navy also have their own No1 Dress, which look completely different from the Army's dark blue tunic — so "No1 Dress" alone doesn't tell you which service, only "Blues" narrows it specifically to the Army version. If a listing just says "No1 Dress" without specifying Army, RAF or Navy, that's worth clarifying before you buy.

Does every regiment call it "Blues"?

Largely yes, though a handful of regiments and corps have their own additional nicknames for their specific No1 Dress — part of the same broader pattern of regimental identity and quirks covered in our regimental differences guide. "Blues" as a generic term works across the Army as a whole, even where a specific regiment has its own extra name for it.

What comes with genuine No1 Dress and what doesn't

A genuine No1 Dress jacket on its own is only part of the picture. Buttons, rank slides or insignia, medals or ribbons, a stable belt or waist belt, and the correct peaked cap are all typically sourced separately — see our peaked cap guide for the headwear side of it. It's worth budgeting for the full set of accessories rather than assuming the jacket alone completes the look, especially if you're putting together an accurate regimental impression rather than just a smart jacket.

Buttons and insignia change over time too

Because No1 Dress has been in continuous use for so long, genuine buttons and badges from different eras won't always match a jacket from a different period exactly — regimental amalgamations, royal cyphers and button patterns have all changed over the decades, so it's worth checking a jacket's approximate era against the specific insignia you're pairing it with, the same principle covered in our crowns and cyphers guide.

Not sure which No1 Dress you're actually looking at? Email us at sales@jungleuk.com and we'll help.