Since the first cadets at USMA belonged to the artillery and engineers, they wore their uniform--a dark blue cutaway coat with scarlet facings, brass buttons, white or blue waistcoat and tight pantaloons, black leather boots, a large cocked hat with a black cockade and a scarlet feather.

In 1815 Brigadier General Joseph Swift, the Academy’s first graduate in 1802, wrote to the Secretary of War advocating for the permanent adoption of the gray uniform the Corps of Cadets had been wearing for the last fifteen months. During the War of 1812, indigo was very expensive and therefore gray cloth “better suits the finance of the Cadets than one of Blue would.” The Secretary of War approved the cadet gray uniform in January of 1816, and a detailed cadet uniform order was issued in September. There are few uniforms the world over so renowned as "cadet gray."

Cadets spend much of their time in some type of uniform or other. There is a different uniform for just about every activity and phase of a cadet's daily program. The basic uniform is the dress gray uniform.

In 1889, the gray blouse (jacket), trimmed down the front, around the bottom and up the back with black mohair braid one inch wide, was adopted to replace the gray shell and riding jackets. This same coat is worn today as a semi-dress uniform with either white or gray trousers. For many years it was the coat cadets knew best, for they wore it to class and most of the day.

The full dress coat was adopted in 1816 and has remained almost the same throughout the years. It is of swallow-tailed style and many of the small details of 1816 still exist today: black silk core on the breast, cuffs and coattails in herringbone form and three rows of gilt bullet buttons. This coat is made by hand in the Cadet Store Tailor Shop by highly skilled master craftsmen in much the same manner as their predecessors did a century and a half ago.

The cadet white uniform has been worn here since 1886. White pantaloons and trousers of various cuts and designs have been worn at the Military Academy since 1802. Authorized in 1913 and redesigned in 1959 to provide for conventional length and single rear vent, the current white uniforms are used primarily for social occasions during the May-September period. At the summer Camp Buckner encampment, they are worn for Saturday inspections and parades.

A combination of both the dress gray and white uniforms, the dress gray over white uniform used to be a familiar sight to visitors during the summer period. It consists of the dress gray coat worn over the dress white trousers or skirts if women cadets prefer. The more common uniform in the summer months is white over gray with white service cap, a uniform consisting of Mock Elastic Trouser and a white button-down shirt.

Traditionally, cadets wore their dress gray uniform trousers and a gray flannel shirt to class. In 1947, the gray flannel was replaced with a tropical worsted wool shirt colored dark blue. Since that time, it has been worn with the dress gray trousers as the regulation class uniform in lieu of the traditional dress gray uniform. When weather conditions necessitate, the gray gabardine jacket, authorized in 1946, was required for class formations. It was replaced by the black jacket in the late 2000s.

The drill uniform is the same as the class uniform except that it is worn under arms. The expression "under arms" mean that the cadets are carrying certain weapons and equipment, which may include sabers and sword belts, rifles, bayonets, and cartridge belts.

The winters are long and hard at West Point, so some type of heavy overcoat is needed much of the academic year. Overcoats were first issued to cadets in 1828; before that they wore any kind they pleased. "Such a mixture of scotch-plaid and camlet cloaks and cloth surtouts was probably never seen elsewhere on parade," one graduate recalled. Superintendent Thayer adopted the long gray overcoat in 1828, and it has changed only in the fact that the present overcoats are double-breasted.

The long gray overcoat is a traditional part of the cadet's uniform and has been copied by military schools throughout the country. It, like the full dress coat, is still made by hand in the Cadet Store Tailor Shop.

Rubberized raincoats (called mackintoshes) were first introduced in 1894 to supplement the long overcoat. Worn today with a dress cap and rubber cap cover, it still supplements the long overcoat, in inclement weather. The raincoat is the only article of clothing that may be loaned to visitors.

In addition to the purely cadet uniforms, cadets also wear uniforms that are utilized Army-wide.

Cadets have a uniform for physical workouts and games called the gym uniform. It consists of black gym shorts and a black T-shirt with tennis shoes.

The cadet at West Point is nearly always in uniform during the academic week, and the Army sees to it that uniforms are always the smartest and best uniforms that can be made. "A uniform for every day and the pride to wear it standing tall."

Crest Colors Worn

Cadets wear distinct color crests based on their class year at the academy.

• Firstie - Black
• Cow - Gray
• Yearling – Gold
• Plebe - Nothing

A full listing and explanation of cadet rank is included in Bugle Notes.