This officer of the 10th wears his undress shell jacket as mess dress. The 1864 Dress Regulations for officers includes a description of the waist-length shell jacket; scarlet with yellow collar and pointed yellow cuffs. Ten small regimental buttons down the front. Only field officers were authorised to have rank badges on the collar. This jacket was normally worn buttoned up on duty, but at mess they wore it open to show a waistcoat, and the collar folded down to form lapels.
The 1864 Regulations do not say how mess dress is to be worn and don’t mention a waistcoat. It is clear from the photo that mess dress was well established by the 1860s. The 1874 Dress Regulations, however, is more explicit and add details of gold braid edging around the top and bottom of the collar. The 1874 shell jacket also differed in that it had a row of gilt studs down the front instead of the 10 buttons. There was also authorisation for gold shoulder cords which can be seen in this 1865 photo. The jacket was lined with scarlet silk.
The cuffs in the photo have an edging of white but the 1874 Regulations describe an edging of gold braid which became more elaborate with rank, as seen in the 1886 photo of an officer of the 13th LI. The colour of the facings worn by the 10th was yellow which does not show up as pale in old photos, so it is difficult to ascertain the colour of the waistcoat. According to the 1874 DR the mess waistcoat for regiments with white, buff or yellow facings could be scarlet, which seems to be the case here. The waistcoat is edged with gold braid and has gilt studs down the front.
