# Who designed the SS's uniforms?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 16, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709 "2003-10-16T02:17:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/1 "2003-10-16T02:17:18Z")

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It’s probably not very _politick_ to ask this, but…who designed the uniforms of the Schutzstaffel—the German SS?

Was it just some nameless committee, or was there some grim-faced _Schneiderführer_ who came up with the designs?

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**Author:** ![Garnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@Garnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garnet)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/2 "2003-10-16T02:35:12Z")

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I read once in a local newspaper that the SS uniforms were actually modeled after the uniform of the New Jersey State Police, of all things - apparently a Nazi official visited the state at some point and was impressed by their uniform. I haven’t been able to find a cite for this on Google though.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/3 "2003-10-16T03:04:32Z")

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Try [this](http://www.wssob.com/insignia.html) site.

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**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/4 "2003-10-16T17:30:43Z")

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Ive been curious myself of the whole Nazi art/design thing. Again, probably not PC but from a graphic viewpoint cool and effective. I would have thought Hitler, being an artist, would have done this purposefully.

“Next to torture, art persuades faster”

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/5 "2003-10-16T17:42:49Z")

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“Who designed the SS’s uniforms?”

Coco Chanel.

Well…she _should have!_

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**Author:** ![\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7cd45c/32.png) [@\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Deep_F_ied)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/6 "2003-10-16T17:58:13Z")

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In a movie called “Max” I recently rented it is Hitler himself while still a struggling artist in the military who designed all the uniforms and insigna.  
Possibly artistic liscence, but I thought I’d throw it out there.  
Decent movie, by the way. John Cusak mails it in but the guy playng Hitler was pretty good.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/7 "2003-10-16T18:22:37Z")

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[Hugo Boss](http://www.adlusa.com/adl/hilknow1.htm) manufactured them, but there’s no indication they were designed in-house.

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**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-designed-the-sss-uniforms/207709/8 "2003-10-17T01:28:10Z")

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I hear German military uniforms were designed for style by movie studios over ability to function as a decent uniform.