Footwear
Getting the right footwear is essential. Follow the steps below to get what's right for your cadet:
Parade Shoes (gents)
- Original RAF issue shoes are almost impossible to buy brand new, as they are not for retail sale. That's not to say some don't find their way onto the market. These are the best shoes and will be referred to as DMS.
- Copy DMS shoes are available, and would be the second best option (see picture below).
- The most cost effective option are the Cadet Parade Shoes. These are what most cadets wear, although not as sturdy as those mentioned above. If your cadet is on a growth spurt, get these shoes.
Parade Shoes (ladies)
- These are different to the gents shoes, as you can see below
- Again, if you can find original RAF shoes then they are the better option (they'll have a NATO code inside them)
- Otherwise, Cadet Parade Shoes will do the job.
Boots (ladies and gents)
- The dress regulations state you can use either brown or black boots.
- We recommend black boots only
- The boots will need to be mainly leather (or faux-leather). Desert style suede types are not acceptable, nor are walking shoes.
- Black boots can be worn with blue uniform under certain dispensation rules, such as outdoor activities where parade shoes would be damaged.
Polishing Shoes and Boots
We only recommend normal black polish, such as Kiwi. Other brands are available, some are not very good, hence we normally use Kiwi.
DO NOT USE PARADE GLOSS
We do regular nights on how to look after uniform, including how to polish shoes and boots. The general rule is that shoes are polished all over, but the toecap is highly polished (a good mirror finish is the gold standard).
DO NOT USE PARADE GLOSS
Boots just require a regular polish, we do not polish a shine into them. This does not mean that cadets do not need to bother polishing their boots.
