General Discussion

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https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/news/pomp-and-circumstance

.... Influenced by the pageantry he experienced during his 1969 European visit, President Nixon hoped to bring a certain amount of formality to his own state occasions by soliciting a redesign of the White House Secret Service Uniformed Division’s attire. Designed by Washington, DC tailor Jimmie Muscatello with input from the Secret Service, the division was outfitted in “double-breasted white tunics trimmed with gold braid and gold buttons and stiff plastic shakos decorated with the White House crest.” The uniforms, a $16,000 investment, debuted on January 28, 1970 when Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson visited the White House to attend a National Security Council Meeting.

Much to the chagrin of the officers and media alike, the uniforms transformed from traditional police blues to what was likened to an usher at an “old‐time movie palace.” The ensemble received a mostly negative public reaction and was largely ridiculed in the press. Nixon friend and Chicago Tribune columnist Walter Trohan called the uniforms “more comical than splendid.”

The uniforms were retired in stages by the mid-1970’s only to gain notoriety once again when they were repurposed. Some of the jackets and the black caps had a second life as band uniforms for the Meriden-Cleghorn High School Band after being purchased for $10 each from the United States General Service Administration in 1980. Tom Roller of the Iowa Federal Surplus Division beat out rocker Alice Cooper in acquiring the uniforms. Cooper, who was unable to purchase due to federal regulations, wanted the uniforms to outfit his roadcrew. He lost gracefully and hosted two Meriden-Cleghorn graduates (dressed in full regalia) at his concert in Los Angeles, California on June 17, 1980.

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