NYC Veterans Day Parade 2026: what to wear on Fifth Avenue

On closings, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management decides for federal offices, while state and local governments, schools and businesses decide for themselves. For the parade, plan for the curb: dress for standing still in November, wear one piece of red, white or blue, and keep the flag off your body.

The Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. § 8, says "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel". Outside a uniform, the one way it describes wearing the flag is a pin, "worn on the left lapel near the heart".

The Flag Code carries no penalty, but I would pick the pin.

Quick facts

• The date: Wednesday 11 November 2026, and the Department of Veterans Affairs says the day is always observed on 11 November.
• The parade: Fifth Avenue, with 280+ marching units, 20,000+ marchers, 25+ floats and 150+ vehicles, by the organiser's count.
• Still to come: the 2026 route, the step off time and the Grand Marshal, none posted on 18 October 2026.
• The weather: Central Park's 1991 to 2020 normals for November are a 54.0°F high and a 42.0°F low.
• On within: Gramicci 46 pieces from $35, Canada Goose 79 from $49 and Homme Plissé Issey Miyake 78 from $216, all shipping to the United States, read 18 October 2026.

For the curb, dress to stand still

Gramicci started in a garage in Ventura, California, and has made clothes for the outdoors since 1982. The Gramicci Down Bomber Coldfront in navy, $360, is 80% down and 20% feather, with a hood and an inside zip pocket.

For wool, the Coor Hairy Peaked Lapel Coat in grey costs $583: double breasted, 74% wool with 9% alpaca, natural horn buttons. Coor is short for Common Origins, a South Korean brand.

Then the feet: the black Stutterheim Leather Patrol Boot has a waterproof rubber lug sole and a water repellent leather upper, $159, in case the sidewalk is wet.

For the ceremony, keep the left lapel free

If your day starts at a service or a school assembly, wear a dark jacket under the coat. Homme Plissé Issey Miyake, started in 2013, is built on garment pleating, and the brand says its clothes resist creasing, dry quickly and wear light.

At $938, the Homme Plissé Basic Pleated Jacket in black is 100% polyester, pleated and then sewn again to hold its shape. More of the line is on the Homme Plissé Issey Miyake shelf.

For a classic cut, the Undercover Tailored Blazer in black is 100% wool, lined in cotton and silk and made in Japan. I would buy it at $1,912 only if it will see many more days than this one, and the Undercover note has the label's story. Keep its left lapel bare for the pin.

For the colours, one piece and never the flag

Les Deux began in a Copenhagen bar in 2011, when one young man noticed another's T shirt: "plain white with military patches sewn on by hand". That is the right size of gesture for this day, one detail and no costume.

My pick is the Les Deux Light Oxford Shirt in red: a vertical stripe on 100% cotton oxford, a button down collar, mother of pearl buttons, $134. Add the MM6 Maison Margiela ribbed scarf in white, a rib knit wool blend made in Italy, and a navy coat completes the three colours. At $466 the scarf is a buy for the whole winter, not one day.

For the children, a clip on the mitts

Canada Goose began in 1957, when Sam Tick founded Metro Sportswear in a small warehouse to make woolen vests, raincoats and snowmobile suits. Today it runs seven manufacturing facilities in Canada.

The Canada Goose kids' Arctic Down Mitts in black, $70, are white goose down with pull handles at the wrist and a clip that keeps the pair together. (The clip is the reason to buy them, because a mitt dropped among hundreds of thousands of spectators is a mitt gone.)

Also $70, the kids' merino scarf in Pacific Blue is 100% merino wool with a water resistant finish, and it gives a child the blue.

Red, white and blue are yours to wear; the flag goes on a pin, near the heart.

Armistice Day against Veterans Day

The armistice with Germany took effect "on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918, which is where the date comes from. President Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in November 1919, and it became a legal holiday on 13 May 1938.

Congress renamed it Veterans Day on 1 June 1954, for American veterans of all wars. A 1968 law moved it to a Monday, and the first one fell "with much confusion" on 25 October 1971. In 1975 President Ford signed a law returning it to 11 November from 1978.

The council traces its line to groups founded by veterans of the Spanish American War of 1898. A group of Vietnam veterans revived it in 1985 to save a parade then "on the verge of extinction".

Before you go, and before you order

Check the council's Parade page for the route and the step off time before you choose your spot.

Every piece named here ships from one of two shops in Toronto, priced in US dollars, with duties left to you. Due West charges $45 standard to the continental states, up to 9 business days, or $59 for 3 Day Select, up to 4; Alaska and Hawaii are $99. WDLT117 charges $40 in Canadian dollars, free from $400.

Read duty on clothes into the US first, and count the business days back from the 11th yourself. In the city that week, the New York shop directory lists 161 shops, and its Midtown page lists 8.

On Fifth Avenue, A La Vieille Russie and Verdura are luxury jewellers at 745, and Kentshire at 608 and Aaron Faber Gallery at 589 are vintage jewellers. Christine Alcalay at 316 5th Avenue is designer womenswear.

Common questions

Why are red poppies worn on Veterans Day, and where can I obtain them?

In the United States, the VA says poppies are "traditionally" worn on Memorial Day, not on Veterans Day. The custom comes from In Flanders Fields, the poem John McCrae wrote in 1915. Many Canadians wear red poppies on 11 November for Remembrance Day, which what to wear to a Remembrance Day service covers.

What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

Memorial Day honors those who died in service, and the VA says Veterans Day is largely meant to thank living veterans for their service. That is also why the VA ties the poppy to Memorial Day.

Which is the correct spelling of Veterans Day?

Veterans Day, with no apostrophe. The VA explains the spelling in one line: the day is "a day for honoring all veterans."

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