Lampasse

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Lampasse(s) (German: Lampasse(n)) are trouser stripes adorning the dress uniforms of many armed forces, police, fire and other public uniformed services. In German-speaking countries the uniforms of general staff–qualified officers featured distinctive double-wide lampasses.^[1]

For a comparable feature of civilian dress, see galloon.

Ancient Scythians often decorated the seams of their trousers with lampasse-like elements,^[2] but the modern fad for lampasses originated in civilian fashion in the early years of the 19th century and soon passed into military use - by 1815 in Prussia, for example.

The lampasses of the General Staff–qualified officers up to colonel were in carmine. However general uniforms featured lampasses in corps colour (German: Waffenfarbe.), e.g. Air Force in Skyblue.

For general officers of the German Bundeswehr the tradition to use lampasses was given up^[3] in 1956. However, general officers of the National People's Army, Volkspolizei and Stasi, as well as flag officers of the Volksmarine wore double-wide lampasses on uniform trousers in the appropriate corps colour until 1990.

See also

Main article: Corps colours (NPA)

In Germany today the general officers of the Bundespolizei wear double-wide Lampasses in deep green. Since 2010 Lampasses are also worn by the police forces of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (2017).

• 
  Red double-wide lampasses of the Wuerttemberg 3rd Kavalery-Regiment, 1825.
• 
  Red double-wide lampasses of the Prussian General officers.
• 
  Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood VC, GCB, GCMG with gold-lampasses.
• 
  Mounted officer with red lampasses.
• 
  Friedrich Wilhelm III with red double-lampasses.

Lampasses are worn even today in a large number of national armed forces on dress uniform, full dress uniform, or duty uniform of general officers. The gold coloured lampasses of the US Cavalry are also well known.

• Waffenfarbe
• Blood stripe