The epaulette has carried an officer's rank since 1759 and still does, though it has shrunk from a bullion fringe the size of a dinner roll to a flat gold strap on a mess jacket.
Quick answer. An epaulette is a fringed shoulder ornament, worn by officers from 1759 to show commissioned rank. A shoulder board is the modern flat replacement, worn across the top of the shoulder from the collar to the arm seam. Epaulettes carry bullion fringe; shoulder boards carry stars, pips and a crown.
Where the epaulette came from
The epaulette began as a practical shoulder knot on 17th century French court dress, a looped silk cord that held a cross belt in place. By 1759 the French army had turned it into a rank badge: one epaulette on the left for a lieutenant, two for a captain, bullion fringe for a field officer. The British army adopted the same system in 1768.
The classic Napoleonic epaulette had a flat strap in gold or silver bullion embroidery, 15 to 18 cm long, running from the collar to the arm seam, with a crescent at the outer end and a hanging bullion fringe 60 to 100 mm long. Fringe thickness marked rank: thin for subalterns, thick for field officers, braided for colonels. See our Napoleonic uniforms by rank piece for the full system.
The two national systems
Britain and France used the epaulette as the primary rank badge from 1800. One on the right (British) or left (French) for ensigns and lieutenants; two from captain upwards. A crown or badge in the centre of the strap marked major and above. In the Royal Navy, epaulettes were paired on both shoulders from captain upwards.
The Russian, Prussian and Austrian armies used the shoulder board earlier than the British and French. A shoulder board is a flat stiff strap in cloth or metallic braid, running the same length as an epaulette, but without the fringe. On a Prussian coat of 1812 the strap carried the regimental number in embroidery and the officer's rank in silver lace.
The 19th century transition
From 1830 onwards, European armies started replacing epaulettes with shoulder boards for working dress, keeping epaulettes only for full dress. The British army retained epaulettes in full dress until 1902, when khaki service dress with cloth shoulder straps displaced them for field wear.
The French kept epaulettes longer, until the First World War. The Russian army kept them in Imperial dress until 1917, when the revolution abolished them. The Red Army revived shoulder boards in 1943, and most modern armies now use the shoulder board system with stars or pips for rank.
How to read a modern shoulder board
British Army officer: a shoulder board in regimental lace, carrying pip (star), crown or crossed sword and baton depending on rank. One pip = second lieutenant, two = lieutenant, three = captain, crown = major, crown and pip = lieutenant colonel, crown and two pips = colonel, crossed sword and baton = brigadier and up.
US Army officer: metal rank insignia pinned to the shoulder strap of the service coat. Gold bar = second lieutenant, silver bar = first lieutenant, double silver bar = captain, gold leaf = major, silver leaf = lieutenant colonel, silver eagle = colonel, star = general. The strap itself is plain olive drab.
Epaulettes today
Epaulettes survive in three places: ceremonial full dress uniforms (British Household Division, French Garde Republicaine, Spanish Royal Guard), mess kit (short bullion epaulettes on the Royal Marines, Royal Artillery), and naval ceremonial dress (US and Royal Navy flag officers in dinner dress). In each case the design is explicitly 19th century: it is heritage wear, not working rank.
The sport coats and dinner jackets with 'epaulette' loops you see in civilian fashion are not epaulettes. They are shoulder straps borrowed from the Vietnam era US military fatigue shirt, repurposed as decoration. For the officer and enlisted distinction those shoulder markings signal, our officers vs enlisted uniforms piece explains the whole landscape.
Bullion, fringe and the collectors' market
Original Napoleonic bullion epaulettes are among the most valuable items in military costume collecting. A pair of French Imperial Guard colonel epaulettes in good condition can reach 4,000 to 6,000 pounds. Victorian cavalry officer epaulettes run 300 to 1,200 depending on regiment and condition.
Modern reproductions use German or Italian bullion from mills that keep the old plating. For a buyer's guide to the materials and craft, our piece on how historical uniforms are made today covers the current trade in bullion and braid.
Common questions
What is the difference between an epaulette and a shoulder board?
An epaulette has a fringed bullion end; a shoulder board is flat. Epaulettes date from 1759, shoulder boards replaced them for working dress from 1830.
How did you tell a British captain in 1812?
By his two epaulettes, one on each shoulder, in gold or silver bullion. A plain strap, no central badge: majors and above added a crown or badge.
Why do mess jackets have small epaulettes?
Heritage. Officer mess kit preserves the Victorian full dress aesthetic including bullion epaulettes, scaled down to twist cord or short fringe.
Are epaulettes still worn in combat?
No. Khaki service dress replaced them from 1902. Combat dress has plain cloth shoulder straps with embroidered rank slip-ons.
What is a crescent on an epaulette?
The curved crescent at the outer end of the strap, where the fringe hangs. Decorative, with a regimental badge or crown embroidered on top.