Epaulettes were invented in France and were used to identify officers in battle. They have been used as fashion statements and have come to signify military authority in the United States. They were removed from uniforms due to their visibility to snipers.
Epaulettes are the elegant, fringed decorations seen on the shoulders of military officers in full dress uniform and on the regular uniforms of some services, such as those of the French Foreign Legion.
Epaulettes are a French invention, coming from the French word epaule for “shoulder.” In the days before binoculars and “fatigue” style uniforms, soldiers needed to be able to identify their officers in the heat of battle. Epaulettes with their bangs are noticeable from a distance and help identify officers. Conventions on whether to wear epaulettes on the right shoulder, left shoulder, or both shoulders, have changed over the years, with officers deciding that French epaulettes should be worn on both shoulders.
In the United States, military officers followed the French style of epaulettes until the Civil War. After that time, however, they became less popular. The British discovered that epaulettes, impressive looking as they are, can be seen by snipers as well as the average soldier or sailor. When it became apparent that officers were being removed by snipers because their epaulettes made them more visible, the British armed forces removed them from uniform. The United States Army probably removed them for the same reason. Epaulettes are still occasionally seen on the more formal dress uniforms.
Epaulettes have also been used as fashion statements for women’s dresses. It has often been common for women’s dress to reflect uniforms when their countries are at war. Touches like gold braid and brass buttons on garments reinforce this look, and women have worn epaulettes on formal dresses to give their fashions a military air. Designers sometimes still incorporate this most recognizable insignia into their haute couture.
In the last 200 years or so, epaulettes have come to signify conspicuous military authority in the United States, and someone ridiculing an officer will often wear oversized epaulettes for comic effect. However, epaulettes, strange as they may seem now, once served an important purpose for the men who wore them and for the men under their authority.
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