Retired personnel who desire to wear any of these items are required to be a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and adhere to official Legion dress. The Legion dress code follows (information thanks to the Royal Canadian Legion).
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LEGION DRESS
The official Legion dress is as follows:
- Navy beret complete with Legion crest, worn with the band one inch above the eyebrows, crest over the left eye and beret smoothed to the right side;
- Navy blazer complete with Legion crest on the top left-hand pocket, Legion buttons on front and sleeves;
- Grey pants for men and grey skirt or pants for women;
- White shirt and official Legion long striped tie. The bow tie or crested tie may be worn with uniform on informal occasions only;
- Black shoes and black socks or dark grey hose;
- Topcoats may be worn for outside ceremonies during inclement weather;
- Only one Legion lapel badge may be worn at any time, regardless of the number held by the member; however, recipients of a discharge button or the Canadian Forces Service Pin may wear this pin to the left of the Legion badge;
- Name tags are worn on the right breast of the blazer above Legion medals; and
- White gloves are worn for official participants in Legion ceremonial occasions.
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SUMMER DRESS
The official summer dress is as follows:
- The summer dress code will be comprised of black socks (or dark grey hose for female members) and black shoes, grey pants (grey skirt or pants for female members), dress white shirt (long or short-sleeved), with Legion shirt crest or associate shirt crest or affiliate shirt crest on the left hand breast pocket and a Legion beret. A legion tie is optional. No epaulettes, shoulder badges, medals or ribbons are to be worn; and
- The Parade Commander may authorize a Parade to remove their blazers when considered necessary and appropriate.
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BERET - INDOOR WEAR
The Legion beret shall be worn on the following occasions indoors:
- By members of the Colour Party and the Sergeant-at-Arms and those members being installed during installation ceremonies; and
- Other ceremonial occasions as directed.
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SERVICE MEDALS
Service medals are worn on Remembrance Day, at Convention parades, and other ceremonial functions. All service medals shall be worn on the left breast, in order of precedence from right to left. When there are more than five, they shall be overlapped. Medals shall never be worn in more than one row. On no account shall the bar on which the medals are mounted extend beyond the centre of the body nor the seam of the left sleeve. The bar shall be placed centrally on the left breast and fastened at a height level with the base of the lapel buttonhole. When medals are worn, the blazer or jacket shall always be kept buttoned.
Miniatures are not to be worn on parade. They may be worn on a mess or dinner jacket and it is also permissible to wear them on a Legion blazer or ordinary jacket when attending indoor functions, such as banquets, etc.
It is illegal for anyone to wear another person's Service Medals, including those of a relative. The Criminal Code of Canada states that medals must only be worn by the person to whom they have been awarded.
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LEGION MEDALS AND LAPEL BADGES
All Legion medals should be worn on the right breast and on the same horizontal line as Service Medals, and in order of precedence from left to right. Only one Past Officer's Medal shall be awarded at any one level regardless of whether the member concerned may have held more than one office at that level. When a member has held more than one office at the same level, the subsequent offices are indicated by "bars" to the Past Officer's Medal. Only one bar shall be worn for a specific office at each level, even though the member may have held the office for more than one term.
Only one Legion lapel badge may be worn at any one time on a blazer, regardless of the number held by the member; however, recipients of a discharge button or the Canadian Forces Service Pin may wear this pin on the blazer to the left of the Legion lapel badge.
Legion medals are worn with Legion dress and Ladies Auxiliary medals are worn with Auxiliary dress.
It is also improper for a member to wear Legion medals to which he is not entitled.
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CANADIAN ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS
The awarding of orders, decorations and medals is a time honoured tradition as a means of recognizing achievement, bravery and service. In order to ensure the person entitled to wear them is accorded the respect deserved, they must be worn correctly and on appropriate occasions. In addition, they must only be worn by the recipient.
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Military personnel in Canada wear uniforms only while they are on duty or are participating in an event where the wearing of military garb is deemed appropriate. Dress guidelines for active personnel are published in "Canadian Forces Dress Instructions", DND publication A-AD-265-000/AG-001. Active personnel, at least up to the Captain and Major ranks, tend to wear fatigues for everyday use, particularly on base. More senior ranks, as well as personnel working at headquarters and/or in contact with the public, generally wear their service uniforms.
I have, for example, seen US military personnel wearing uniforms on game shows on television. This is not permitted in Canada and would earn the person a reprimand. Nor do you find Canadian personnel wearing uniforms while travelling, except in circumstances where they are on duty or do not have the opportunity to change into mufti (e.g., travelling to and from business meetings).
These dress guidelines seem to be fairly typical with military personnel I have met from Commonwealth nations, such as the UK and Australia.
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