Much thanks to BosGuy.com reader, Angel, for sharing this photo with me earlier this spring for my weekly Vintage Gay post. I’m assuming this may have been taken in a photo booth since many gay men would / could use these to catch a quick kiss or embrace away from prying eyes. You can see how happy the guy on the left is – his eyes say it all. Anyone recognize these navy uniforms to be able to date and place them?
I dedicate this weekly post, featuring vintage gay photographs, to the men and women who lived in a more critical time where being true to yourself and loving who you want wasn’t always an option and came at a great price. Do you have a photo you would like to share? Email me at bosguymail@gmail.com.
BosGuy 
Hi Joe!!!
I tried to leave a message on your blog, although I’m not sure I got it because I don’t quite understand how these things work and I didn’t see anything that said “contact me” or similar.
I’m not very good at these things, sorry.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Ángel
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While usually I can tell you something about the military uniforms since I work in a museum with hundreds of US military uniforms in the collection, but the US Navy is one of the most traditional services. The “crackerjack” uniform has been around since the 19th century and has changed very little since then. The only major change was that the trousers which traditionally featured a broad-fall opening was changed in 2012 to add a zippered fly (the buttons are still there but only decorative). Since the uniforms don’t really tell much about when it was taking, I think you’d have to look at the hairstyles to date the picture, and in that case, my guess would be this is the 1940s, probably during WWII.
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Greetings from the city of Oviedo, in the north of Spain!
I found very interesting your comment in which you mention that you work in a museum of uniforms… I would be happy working in a museum and even more if its theme is uniforms.
I am a researcher on nursing history and I collect nursing uniforms and in particular nurse caps.
In your country there is a lot of tradition with nurse caps. Not in Spain.
You have the nurse caps that identify the Nursing Schools, each School had its own design and the graduated nurse proudly wore her nurse cap.
Although the museum where you work is of military uniforms, I dare to ask you a favor: if you find nurse caps whose design is very unique, out of the usual designs, even extravagant, let me know and I would gladly buy it.
Best regards from Spain.
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Angel,
My mother was a nurse, so I am very familiar with the nursing cap tradition, though nowadays, they have a pinning ceremony instead of a capping ceremony. I woke at a university museum. We are at a military school, which also has a nursing school, so we have a cap from the 1970s. We have nursing uniforms too. I would love to discuss this more with you, if you’d like. I can be reached through my blog. If you click on my name, it will take you there. Because my mother was a nurse, I have always had an interest in nursing uniforms and the caps. I believe there is a nursing cap museum in Canada, where they may still have the capping tradition.
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There have been some changes (branch marks, right arm rates, jumper pockets, flat vs rolled neckerchiefs, flat hats, how dixie cups were worn, etc) but there’s just not enough detail here to tell. I agree with you about hair styles. WW2 era, & definitely a dangerous and therefore private photo.
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