For Female Chief Petty Officers (E-7 and above) and Junior Enlisted personnel (E-6 and below), the Dinner Dress White Jacket Uniform (DDWJ) is an optional uniform that may be worn to official functions for which the Dinner Dress White Uniform is prescribed and the civilian equivalent is Black tie. Despite the similar sounding titles, there is a vast difference between Dinner Dress White and Dinner Dress White Jacket, particularly for Junior Enlisted Sailors: the first is the Service Dress White “Crackerjack” with the mere addition of a belt and miniature medals replacing ribbons, while the second features a sophisticated bolero-style jacket and cummerbund and can include a floor-length gown.
The construction of the Dinner Dress White Jacket worn by CPOs and Junior Enlisted is identical to the Jacket worn by Officers, with the only differences being how rank/rating is displayed—sleeve stripes and devices for Officers, rating badges and service stripes for CPOs and Enlisted—and the color of the 22.5-ligne buttons (gold for Officers and CPOs, silver for Enlisted) and cummerbund (gold for Officers and CPOs, black for Enlisted.
Our Uniform Builder takes many of these regulations into consideration and when possible makes the appropriate selection based on your rate rating. Enter your information into the drop-down selection boxes and it will select the appropriate jacket, cummerbund, rating badge, cuff links and shirt studs. To learn more about any particular DDWJ component, just click on its image.