Red Serge

It consists of a military pattern scarlet tunic tailored from serge fabric, with the high collar, blue breeches with yellow stripe identifying a cavalry history, a Stetson hat, a Sam Browne belt, and high brown leather boots with a white rope.

[1] Constables (Cst) and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) wear the red serge tunic with midnight blue gorget patches on their collars and epaulettes in the same colour.

In "review order," the riding breeches (jodhpurs) are "midnight blue" (virtually black) which bulge at the thigh in keeping with traditional cut with a yellow strapping (stripe) down the outside seam of each leg, and laced closed beneath the boots.

Female RCMP members formerly wore a modified version of the Red Serge for review order without the high collar but now wear the same pattern of tunic as their male colleagues.

Or Forage cap; scarlet serge tunic; blue overalls; congress boots; box spurs; brown leather gloves; ceremonial belt and buckle; medals and decorations as ordered.

[2] Commissioned officers (inspectors and above) wear similar pattern red serge tunics to non-commissioned ranks.

The yellow stripe on officers' breeches and males' overalls is finer material and wider than for constables and NCOs.

The Red Serge is also worn by RCMP members during special personal events, such as the wedding ceremony of a fellow officer, where it is not uncommon for an entire detachment of a small community to wear the Red Serge as an honour guard for the bride and groom at their wedding ceremony.

While comfortable and practical, the Norfolk jacket lacked smartness and it was replaced after 1876 by scarlet full-dress and undress tunics manufactured by British suppliers.

The red serge was by now sufficiently well-established to serve as an icon of the NWMP, though increasingly relegated to dress and garrison wear.

A dark-blue, patrol "frock tunic", of the same design as the red serge, was adopted in 1904 as alternative wear for ordinary duties.

[citation needed] In the Canadian-American produced TV drama series When Calls the Heart, the character Constable Jack Thornton of the Royal North-West Mounted Police is usually seen wearing a red serge.