Black cummerbunds are authorized for wear by male and female Sailor in the ratings of E-6 and below with the Dinner Dress Blue Jacket or Dinner Dress White Jacket uniforms (gold cummerbunds are prescribed for Officers and CPOs).
Cummerbunds are worn with the pleats facing upward, with the bottom of the cummerbund overlapping the top of the skirt or trousers by at least an inch. At one point in time, civilian wearers did not hesitate to use these pleats as extra pockets to stow away small items such as piece of paper. That practice has faded away, but it did result in cementing the tradition of wearing cummerbunds with the pleats up. Some have referred to the pleats as “crumb-catchers,” but we suspect that Naval personnel attending a formal will take extra care to ensure no food winds up on—or in—their cummerbunds.