The naval officer's dress uniform of the early twentieth century: midnight-navy barathea wool so dark it reads near-black, carrying gold rank lace, gilt anchor buttons and a pure-white cap cover. This is the tailoring aesthetic that gave "navy blue" its name.

A 1900–1950 Western-European military-formal language of dark wool, metallic gold and crisp engraved-capital lettering — strict vertical lines, symmetric button rows, and gold that catches the light against a field that is almost, but never quite, black.