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Source: Uniforms of Napoleon

At the beginning of his career, Napoleon was a soldier and wore the uniform of the French Revolutionary Army. In 1793 he was promoted to Général de brigade, in 1795 Général de division, and in 1796 he became commander in chief of the Army of Italy. In those capacities, he wore the uniform of a French Army general as promolgated by the regulations of January 1796. This was (as shown in the pictures below), a double breasted blue (woollen) coat with red collar, red cuffs with white flaps, gold oak-leaf embroidery on the collar, cuffs, pickets and fron tand rear openings, and a red and white sash with gold trim. There does not seem at this point to be any differentiation between grades of general. Napoleon wore this in Italy, Egypt, and at the Battle of Marengo in 1800 (see the portrait below "Napoleon Crossing the Alps").

When Napoleon became First Consul through a military coup d'etat on the 18 Brumaire, he aceded to the primary military and civil authority. The position was considered by the constitution of the Year VIII a civil one. He eschewed his general's uniform. The consuls had their official state uniforms of scarlet velvet from Lyon embroidered in gold. During his everyday work, Napoleon had started wearing the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval of the Consular Guard. They were Napoleon's personal guard.

Napoleon very rarely wore elaborate clothing, but euring his Coronation he had special robes made of a white velvet vest with gold embroidery and diamond buttons, a crimson velvet tunic and a short crimson coat with satin lining, a wreath of laurel on his brow.: 54 Before entering Notre Dame, Napoleon was vested in a long white satin tunic embroidered in gold thread and Josephine similarly wore a white satin empire-style dress embroidered in gold thread. During the coronation he was formally clothed in a heavy coronation mantle of crimson velvet lined with ermine; the velvet was covered with embroidered golden bees, drawn from the golden bees among the regalia that had been discovered in the Merovingian tomb of Childeric I, a symbol that looked beyond the Bourbon past and linked the new dynasty with the ancient Merovingians; the bee replaced the fleur-de-lis on imperial tapestries and garments. The mantle weighed at least eighty pounds and was supported by four dignitaries.: 299

As Emperor, in his daily work, Napoleon wore very simple but well made clothing of a colonel of his guard, a large but plain bicorne hat with an army cockade, and grey greatcoat. He designed elaborate costumes for his marshals, officers, and senior functionaries that formed the military aristocracy of his empire. Not only did this establish an immediately recognizable image for Napoleon, but the contrast between him and the rest of the court emphasized where the real power lay. The effect can be seen in the portrait of the Battle of Austerlitz below.

Napoleon continued from his consular days to wear daily and on campaign the uniform of a colonel of regiment of the Chasseurs à cheval de la Garde Impériale (Vieille ) which had been his Consular Guard and provided Napoleon's personal guard. He also wore on Sundays and special occasions (accounts differ) the uniform of a colonel of the grenadiers à pied de la Garde Vieille. On his uniform jacket he always wore the star (usually embroidered into the coat) and medal of the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour with the red sash under his uniform coat. After the establishment of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (1805) he also wore the medal of the Order of the Iron Crown.

For warmth, Napoleon wore his famous calf length gray greatcoat. Sometimes he wore blue or green ones. in the winter, as in Russia, he wore a longer fur lined great coat.

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