Style guru reveals reason for shoulder straps on coats: ‘That’s what those are for?!’
Strapped for hacks.
Julles, who goes by @theboldbudget on TikTok, revealed a surprising hack to wearing an old-school trench coat with an epaulet.
“When your coat is vintage, so you don’t have to worry about your bag falling from your shoulders,” the style writer captioned her clip.
In a 23-second clip posted on Feb. 7 that went viral with 2 million views, the crafty creator demonstrated how she secured her bag, pulled down the epaulet, placed her bag on her shoulder and looped the fabric around the button.
She revealed that the straps on a coat’s shoulders can be used to keep bags in place — which can be difficult while wearing thick winter coats.
“I <3 epaulets,” she captioned the viral clip.
“Epaulettes, from epaule an old French word for shoulder, seem to have started out as cloth straps worn on the shoulders to help keep shoulder sashes and belts in position,” explained Naval History and Heritage Command.
Julles wore a vintage khaki Burberry trench coat with epaulets, accessorized with a pink Balenciaga Neo Cagole City Handbag strapped on her shoulder.
The resurfaced meaning behind epaulets has the style expert’s followers shocked about the hidden fashion hack.
“This is literally a huge problem in my life lol,” declared a watcher.
“THATS WHAT THOSE ARE FOR????!!!!” wrote a confused woman.
“Why did jackets stop having this,” questioned one person.
Julles explained that “people were no longer carrying rifles and swords to war — the epaulets were almost an adornment so factories started just sewing together the other end.”
The self-proclaimed “fashion nerd” continued describing the piece as “ornaments to military uniforms, later used for practical things like carrying their weapon.”
Meanwhile, some TikTokers were already ahead of the game with the coat hack.
“I just got three my aunt gave me that were my grandma’s after she passed all in my size! I was thrilled about this detail! Such a special coat,” a viewer wrote underneath the clip.
“A lot of coats have these and aren’t vintage I know [because] I have an old and new one,” added another.
“Imagine someone trying to steal it and you just get dragged with it,” quipped a jokester.
