Hot answers tagged clothing
18
They were not supermen by any means :)
But yes, temperatures were higher, by more than 1 degree (Kent and Wales were famous for their wines, right now it's far too cold there for that for example).
And don't forget that in the Roman era, wars were fought in summer almost exclusively, later expanding into spring and autumn as the conscript army was replaced ...
14
We have essentially three references on this topic. Of these, only Caesar's could have had political motivations, as he was engaged in a campaign against the Britons. His account, however, is only marginal compared to the others, in that he does not clearly state that the Celts went to battle naked. On the other hand, both Polybius and Diodourus Siculus look ...
8
Actually, for a brief span of seven years there was such an army (or, strictly speaking, a corps) - the Palmach, founded in 1941. Its officers wore no special insignia (and in fact, there were no ranks in the usual sense, only command-titles such as "platoon commander"), got the same pay as the privates - and ate together with them.
This all makes a lot of ...
8
George Washington made a point of NOT wearing a military uniform in civilian life. In his First Inaugural speech, he pointedly wore a "cloth coat" to set an example for other citizens of the fledgling Republic.
Source
http://suite101.com/article/washingtons-american-made-inaugural-clothes-a213962
6
http://www.romanarmy.net/coldweather.htm Seems to address cold weather clothing very well. It seems they did what we did, scarfs, multiple layers, hats, enclosed boots etc but with the exception of trousers, which they saw as barbarian. They went for lower leg coverings instead. I would point out these guys seem to manage without trousers.
Except actually ...
6
Wikipedia to the rescue: This article on caligae (military boots) states that
Socks were not normally worn with caligae, although in colder climates
such as Britain, woolen socks were used.
This one on Roman military personal equipment mentions that
[The sagum and the paenula] were made from wool, which insulated and
also contained natural oil ...
6
Wigs became almost instantly fashionable after Louis XIII started wearing one in 1624 to hide his baldness, and were almost universal for European upper & middle class men by the beginning of the 18th century. Their main purpose was to mask receding or graying hair, and as a fashion item.
One excellent source is the very detailed diary of Samuel Pepys ...
5
The French Légion étrangère has the closest interaction between officers and soldiers that I know of. For example, they all spend Christmas or any other official holidays together. Officers are as well expected to be able to do what the soldiers do and frequently have to. My experience of Legionary officers and homme du rang is that they share more in ...
4
Washington conspicuously respected the subordination of military to civilian power as a general, and at his inaugurations and other official appearances as president, always wore civilian clothes. Still, that does not mean he never donned his uniform again. At least one surviving uniform is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, and to quote ...
4
I know that in the British armed forces there has always been a difference in equipment/clothing/food/messes between officers and enlisted men/women.
For example, the British Army at it's earliest was constructed of militia etc. commanded by the local nobility/land owners - which was an extension of the feudal system. As things have modernised and developed ...
3
I agree with @spyder in that I think equality never happened for both historic (officers' roles descended from noble men's) and practical (clear separation helps discipline at least in certain situations) reasons.
Perhaps communist countries subscribed to nominal equality in their lower ranks to some degree. However, here is one anecdotal evidence from ...
2
The answer to this varies considerably by region and class of soldiers. The soldiers from some higher social classes had limited armor that was made of brass plates sewn over fabric, but they represented a minor segment of the assorted militaries.
The more common foot soldier was much more limited in what constituted "armor". It would be more accurate to ...
2
The website of Library of Congress provides us with a following description regarding the overall problem with uniforms during the First Battle of Bull Run:
As Union and Confederate troops met for the first great land battle of
the war, confusion was the only constant. Lack of standardized
uniforms made it difficult to tell friend from foe.
Still, ...
2
First of all, tt was the age's fashion.
But the main purpose was to cover the unhygienic hair. The general hygiene was really on a low level in Europe from the beginning of the dark ages until the end of the 19th century when people started to realize that most of the diseases can be prevented by simple methods like taking bath, washing hands, and by ...
1
In theory, there were no ranks in the People's Liberation Army in 1965
As a result of the Cultural Revolution, ranks were abolished in May 1965.
Technically I suppose that doesn't fit your question - since there were no officers, Officers weren't fed equally. I am also skeptical that the innovation worked very well.
1
Just looking over that wikipedia link, I'm seeing a lot of references to British monarchal eras and Highland fashion. So it could be that this was an item primarily prevalent in England and Scottland.
England is not exactly famous for its sunny climate, and average temperatures there even in the summer appear to be a few degrees cooler than in Poland (where ...
1
I doubt a whole army would have gone into battle en masse naked, but there is enough hearsay to assume that there were some naked warriors. I think it almost impossible to prove or disprove this, but I believe it likely that there were celtic warriors who fought naked. Where they Viking style beserkers who had too many hallucinogens, or where they slaves ...
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