Royal Navy to spend £200,000 on redesigning female officers' ceremonial uniforms

The Royal Navy has allocated up to £200,000 (nearly $270,000) to redesign female officers’ ceremonial uniforms, citing concerns that the buttons on the jackets were “inappropriately placed,” according to an internal document obtained by The Times.

The current jacket, worn by women officers at ceremonial events, features four rows of two buttons, with the top row positioned at nipple level. This has reportedly been the subject of jokes within the service. The redesign plans to move all eight buttons lower on the jacket.

More than 950 female officers are expected to receive the updated uniforms in phases, with the rollout beginning later this year. The change has been described as a “positive step for women” in the internal document.

However, some personnel have questioned the decision to spend taxpayer money on what critics deem a minor cosmetic adjustment, especially at a time when the Navy is under pressure to improve combat readiness and modernize its capabilities.

“The button placement on the jacket has always been a bit of a joke within the service,” a Royal Navy source told The Times, describing the measure as “clearly absurd.” The source added that “the obvious answer would have been to simply cut off the offensive nipple buttons on the existing uniforms.”

The document seen by The Times states that the majority of the planned cost, £185,000, would eventually be offset through reducing the number of uniforms issued in future cycles.

This plan emerges as Britain’s armed forces face mounting financial pressure and are being urged to cut spending, with a projected £28 billion ($37 billion) defense budget shortfall anticipated over the next four years.

Despite these financial constraints, London continues to expand its military commitments abroad, particularly in support of Ukraine. London has pledged to deploy troops on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and has announced plans to provide 120,000 drones to Kyiv. This drone package, described by the Ministry of Defence as the largest delivery of its kind, is backed by the UK’s wider £3 billion (approximately $3.8 billion) in military support for Ukraine this year.

This initiative is part of the UK’s broader commitment of around £21.8 billion ($29 billion) in total support to Kyiv, which covers military, financial, and humanitarian assistance since the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022.