Men in uniform have played a vital role in history and the influence has been translated into fashion. Military appeal is so mighty that civilian fashion has utilized every single detail of the uniform, from epaulets to ball buttons, field jackets, anoraks, khakis, bomber jackets, aviator shades, navy blue, sailors’ drop-front bell-bottom trousers, pea coats, and commandos’ knit sweaters. This season, military has staged yet another coup d’état.

Diana Vreeland, the iconic American fashion editor of the late 20th century, called uniforms “the sportswear of the 19th century.” Burberry’s iconic trench coat was originally made for the Boer war and World War I officers. The protective coat with latched wrist and collar has now become a civilian wardrobe basic. The waist-cropped field jacket (M-1944), popularly known as the Eisenhower jacket, and the multi-environment combat M-43 field jacket have inspired countless fashion incarnations.

As women changed roles in American society and the military, so did the uniforms. In World War I they wore street uniforms worn with straw or felt hats. Army and navy nurses wore blue, while female marines wore forest green. Mainbocher designed sailor hats for the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and Coast Guard SPARS. Women Marines matched Montezuma-red lipstick to the cords attached to their forest-green service caps. Then uniforms became even more fashionable with Christian Dior’s New Look, a calf-length skirt. In 1951, designer Hattie Carnegie designed a taupe army uniform and Mainbocher updated the Marine ensemble.

Not only fashion has experienced the shift from function to fancy but also the military uniform. What used to be functional military details are now used as embellishments. Take, for instance, the braid, which was a feature to deflect sword blades from the chest, and later became a hierarchal symbol. The now-decorative ball buttons were originally attached to the uniform as backup ammunition during battle. Plastrons, or double-breasted-chests, served as added protection for the heart and sashes used to carry the wounded from the battlefield. The primarily practical details became a part of military pomp and circumstance. Tradition has remained a constant in military uniforms, but the continuous changes in missions, cost, efficiency, comfort and materials have consequently driven an evolution.

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