Spartan Service Dress Uniform

So I had really been wanting to do up a set of ODST armor for Halloween, had attempted a Mjolnir MK VI helmet previously. That project was eventually scrapped, but not without quite a bit of knowledge gained. However with the daily requirements for things like eating, sleeping, and going to work, I realized there was no way of hitting my target date. On a fluke, I'd happened to find a US Army service dress uniform in a local thrift shop, and decided on a new costume: Spartan dress uniform. As far as I've seen, there's no canonical reference for a Spartan uniform. The only possible examples I've seen are the dress whites at the beginning of Halo 2, and the funeral dress the ODST's wear in the "We Are ODST" short. Soooo as it appears, I'm free to improvise. The existing uniform is green with gold buttons, so I'm sticking with that colour scheme.





Found some Marine Corps EGA's at a yard sale, seems fitting as Marines have a closely related history with the Navy.





Wanted to do something similar to the ODST short as far as the shoulder braid goes. Keeping with the gold colour scheme.











I've also ordered a pair of gold parachute wings as well as a Spartan unit patch off of Amazon, eagerly awaiting their arrivals. As far as it goes, this has been a pretty quick project to put together, not an awful lot of work, but I'm pleased by it so far.

Looks cool! Though, I did a search and found this on Halopedia. Might help!

"As depicted in Issue #7 of Halo: Escalation, the dress uniform for the Spartan branch is nearly identical to the service uniform used by the cadets at Corbulo Academy of Military Science, only colored navy blue and black as opposed to the white and black coloration of the Corbulo uniforms."

I wouldn't go wearing the Eagle Globe and Anchors around, man. I'm a Marine Corps Sergeant, and it's just one of those things that shouldn't be done. It's earned, you know. Not trying to be an *******, but if any other service member, whether Marine or any other branch saw you, they'd probably think you were committing stolen valor (I know you made this as a costume and I completely understand), just trying to protect you from any scrutiny from anybody.

My personal recommendation, replace the EGA's with something not affiliated with the real military. I would make maybe some UNSC symbols? Or maybe ONI?

Like I said, not trying to be mean about it, but from an active duty Marine, I could definitely forsee people taking it the wrong way, as I would have, if I didn't know you were just making a costume for Halloween. Best of luck.

SA260 said:

Looks cool! Though, I did a search and found this on Halopedia. Might help!

"As depicted in Issue #7 of Halo: Escalation, the dress uniform for the Spartan branch is nearly identical to the service uniform used by the cadets at Corbulo Academy of Military Science, only colored navy blue and black as opposed to the white and black coloration of the Corbulo uniforms."

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Aach, can't believe I missed that....thanks for the tips. I loved the look of the CAMS uniforms in Forward Unto Dawn, that's definitely another project I've got in mind.

Tmack674 said:

I wouldn't go wearing the Eagle Globe and Anchors around, man. I'm a Marine Corps Sergeant, and it's just one of those things that shouldn't be done. It's earned, you know. Not trying to be an *******, but if any other service member, whether Marine or any other branch saw you, they'd probably think you were committing stolen valor (I know you made this as a costume and I completely understand), just trying to protect you from any scrutiny from anybody.

My personal recommendation, replace the EGA's with something not affiliated with the real military. I would make maybe some UNSC symbols? Or maybe ONI?

Like I said, not trying to be mean about it, but from an active duty Marine, I could definitely forsee people taking it the wrong way, as I would have, if I didn't know you were just making a costume for Halloween. Best of luck.

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I want to thank you for your honesty and the heads up. I hadn't even considered it that way, it just hadn't occurred to me, but that totally makes sense. I had no desire to offend anyone or belittle a symbol of sacrifice and dedication, and in light of what those symbols mean, it could be construed that way. Appreciate the advice! I'll be replacing those with some UNSC emblems of some sort.

On that note, Amazon came through for me really impressed with the level of detail the patch has.


Super excited for this. just waiting on the gold jump wings, and then I can take care of final details. Want to incorporate ONI details somewhere, somehow. Was hoping to get an ONI patch for the opposite shoulder, but my timeframe doesn't allow an order by paypal before halloween, and all the custom embroidery shops in the area want $40+, more than a little outside my budget at this time. Gonna keep digging around.

You can find ONI patches reasonably cheaply on eBay; I'm sure you'll be able to get one ordered in within a week or so.

As for the pin/buttons idea; try replacing them with gold buttons. I'm fairly sure that'd go with the style you're looking for.

Unfortunately, the problem is with the 5-7 days it'd take to transfer debit funds to a paypal account, then the 9-16 day shipping time :/

seadrick said:

I want to thank you for your honesty and the heads up. I hadn't even considered it that way, it just hadn't occurred to me, but that totally makes sense. I had no desire to offend anyone or belittle a symbol of sacrifice and dedication, and in light of what those symbols mean, it could be construed that way. Appreciate the advice! I'll be replacing those with some UNSC emblems of some sort.

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No problem, man. I hope you get a good finished product!

So the jump wings have arrived, and I had a couple pins made, two lapel ONI pins and one UNSC badge for the garrison cap. On a side note, I've recently been let go from my current job, so while I'm bummed I won't have that halloween party to wear this to, I'll find something good! Pleased with the way the small details contribute to this costume.

















Kinda disappointed that I've had to shave my viking beard, but new job interviews require a clean and tidy look. And besides, who ever heard of a bearded Spartan?

Dude, thank you for posting this.

I needed this guide.

Wow, this looks great I can't wait to see more of your projects! Side note, if you want to see a bit more detail of I think what you are making or what SA260 said; sorry its been a while since I've watched it so I'm a bit fuzzy on details and I can't seem to find a reference picture/video of this scene at the moment, the "Halo: The Fall of Reach" series has a funeral scene where the cadets are wearing the formal outfits.