translation help

[Krystyna Steiger]

Dear list members,

in my P'etsukh text there is a photo of an old man dressed in a "штатский мундир" (shtatskii mundir)  of the pre-Revolutionary period, with brass buttons, and on which there is pinned a St. Stanilaus cross.
Any ideas on how I should translate "в штатском мундире" (v shtatskom mundire)? Do the two terms not contradict each other?  Is there such a thing as a "civillian full-dress uniform"?
Any help would be great, on or off list.
with best wishes to all,
Krystyna
steiger at rogers.com 

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