Liberty cuffs are a strictly unofficial bit of US naval uniform tradition that once was quite popular with shipboard sailors from WW2 through the 1980's. During this time, enlisted sailors were required to wear their issue naval jumpers to and from the ship and while on board. No civilian clothes were allowed on the ship. This gave birth to the "Liberty Cuff" tradition. Sailors being the rebellious bunch that they are, could not pass up the opportunity to sneak a bit of flagrant individualism under the noses of the officers and the ever present Shore Patrol. The Liberty Cuff was born. It was traditional for a sailor to have his jumper tailored and additionally embroidered with art inside.......... against all US Navy regulations, of course. Once the sailor was off the ship and on liberty, he could turn up the cuffs of his jumper and sport his Liberty Cuffs. But, while he was on liberty, and looking so salty, he had to keep the ever vigilant eye open for the dreaded, and ever present, Shore Patrol. These tough Navy cops would bust a sailor in a minute if he was caught "out of uniform" with his Liberty Cuffs turned up.....................................
Here are my cuffs. They date somewhere in the WW2 to 1980's time period and are new and unissued. For a great write up on the history of this naval tradition, take a look at this wonderful web page: Liberty Cuffs
To finish things up, lets take a look at a few period photos of these cuffs in the fleet. The first two photos are of Steve McQueen in the movie "The Sand Pebbles"...............
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| Middle sailor, back row....... |
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