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An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or condition. Sprung armbands, known as sleeve garters, have been used by men to keep overlong sleeves from dropping over the hands and thereby interfering with their use. [1] Armbands may also refer to inflatable armbands used to assist flotation for swimmers or for use with sphygmomanometers, in which case they are generally referred to as cuffs. [2]
Bronze Age armbands have been found made from bronze (sometimes gilded) and jet. [3] Some were constructed so that it would have been impossible to remove them. [3]
When used as part of a military uniform it is called a brassard. Uniforms serving other purposes such as to identify members of clubs, societies or teams may also have armbands for certain ranks or functions. An armband might identify a group leader, a team captain, or a person charged with controlling or organizing an event.
Police departments in Asia use armbands for a "traffic reflection armband" or marking a type of unit.
Journalists in Asia use an armband to mark themselves, similar to a press badge.
Armbands are sometimes used to indicate political affiliations or to identify the wearer with an ideology or social movement.
Large corporations sponsor athletes and teams in an effort to get advertising when the athletes exhibit the corporate logo visibly. Armbands, headbands, handbands and wristbands are common forms of such advertising.
The phrase to wear your heart on your sleeve , meaning to show your feelings, to display an emotional affiliation or conviction, is supposedly related to armbands. In medieval jousts, ladies of the court were said to tie a piece of cloth — a scarf or kerchief — around the arm of their favorite knight, who thus displayed his affection for the lady.[ citation needed ]
Armbands are often used to hold a smartphone or a portable music player on a wearer's arm while doing activities such as lifting weights, running, etc. A hybrid type of armband and handband combination is now also widely used by runners.
In some cultures, a black armband signifies that the wearer is in mourning or wishes to identify with the commemoration of a family member, friend, comrade or team member who has died. This use is particularly common in the first meeting following the loss of a member. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wore a black armband mourning the recent death of his mother at the time he signed the declaration of war against Japan in December 1941. [4] In association football, it is common for a team to wear black armbands in their next match after the death of a former player or manager. This may also be accompanied by a moment of silence at the start of the match.
The phrase "black armband view of history" was introduced to the Australian political lexicon by conservative historian Geoffrey Blainey in 1993 to describe views of history which, he believed, posited that "much of Australian history had been a disgrace" and which focused mainly on the treatment of minority groups, especially Aborigines. [5] The term was used by Prime Minister John Howard, whose perspective on Australian history strongly contrasted with what he called the black armband view. [6]
A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather, plastic, or heavy cloth, worn around the natural waist or near it. The ends of a belt are free; and a buckle forms the belt into a loop by securing one end to another part of the belt, at or near the other end. Often, the resulting loop is smaller than the hips. Belts come in many lengths because of the variety in waist sizes, and most belts can be adjusted at the buckle to suit the wearer's waist.
A sweater or pullover, also called a jersey or jumper, is a piece of clothing, typically with long sleeves, made of knitted or crocheted material that covers the upper part of the body. When sleeveless, the garment is often called a slipover, tank top, or sweater vest.
The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel attached to the centre. In the UK and the US, it is commonly referred to informally in conjunction with an academic gown as a "cap and gown". It is also sometimes termed a square, trencher, or corner-cap. The adjective academical is also used.
The Windsor uniform is a type of formal dress worn at Windsor Castle by male members of the British royal family.
The uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel (SS) served to distinguish its Nazi paramilitary ranks between 1925 and 1945 from the ranks of the Wehrmacht, the German state, and the Nazi Party.
A brassard or armlet is an armband or piece of cloth or other material worn around the upper arm; the term typically refers to an item of uniform worn as part of military uniform or by police or other uniformed persons. Unit, role, rank badges or other insignia are carried on it instead of being stitched into the actual clothing. The brassard, when spread out, may be roughly rectangular in shape, where it is worn merely around the arm; it may also be a roughly triangular shape, in which case the brassard is also attached to a shoulder strap. The term is originally French, deriving from bras meaning "arm".
A personal flotation device is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suit that is worn by a user to prevent the wearer from drowning in a body of water. The device will keep the wearer afloat with their head and mouth above the surface – they do not have to swim or tread water in order to stay afloat and can even be unconscious.
Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan. Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with clan badges and other devices indicating family and heritage.
Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the performer must use a sport equipment, it can also be serve for protection.
Shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) are distinctive cloth patches worn on the left sleeve of the United States Army uniform just below the shoulder seam by soldiers assigned to divisions, corps, armies, and other specifically authorized organizations. They are also worn on the right sleeve by soldiers to indicate former overseas service with certain units during periods of U.S. military operations in hostile conditions (MOHC).
Inflatable armbands, usually referred to as simply armbands, water wings, swimmies, or floaties, are swim aids designed to help a wearer float in water and learn to swim.
A tippet is a piece of clothing worn over the shoulders in the shape of a scarf or cape. Tippets evolved in the fourteenth century from long sleeves and typically had one end hanging down to the knees. A tippet could also be the long, narrow, streamer-like strips of fabric - attached with an armband just above the elbow - that hung gracefully to the knee or even to the ground. In later fashion, a tippet is often any scarf-like wrap, usually made of fur, such as the sixteenth-century zibellino or the fur-lined capelets worn in the mid-18th century.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) prescribes several types of military uniform to distinguish its service members from other armed services, depending on the situation.
Star Trek uniforms are costumes worn by actors portraying personnel of a fictitious Starfleet in various television series and films in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. During the various series, the costume design has often changed to represent different time periods and for reasons of appearance and comfort. Sometimes different styles were deliberately mixed to enhance the sense of time travel or alternative universes.
A black armband is an armband that is coloured black to signify that the wearer is in mourning or wishes to identify with the commemoration of a family member or friend who has died.
The uniforms of the Royal Navy have evolved gradually since the first uniform regulations for officers were issued in 1748. The predominant colours of Royal Navy uniforms are navy blue and white. Since reforms in 1997 male and female ratings have worn the same ceremonial uniform.
Tactical recognition flash (TRF) is the British military term for a coloured patch worn on the right arm of combat clothing by members of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. A TRF serves to quickly identify the regiment or corps of the wearer, in the absence of a cap badge. It is similar to, but distinct from, the DZ Flashes worn by members of Airborne Forces.
Regimental police or regimental provost (RP) are soldiers responsible for regimental discipline enforcement and unit custody in the British Army, other Commonwealth armies and some armed forces structured in the British tradition. They belong to the regiment or corps in which they enforce discipline rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent.
Corps colours, or Troop-function colours, were worn by the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic from 1956 to 1990.
A basketball uniform is a type of uniform worn by basketball players. Basketball uniforms consist of a jersey that features the number and typically the last name of the player on the back, as well as shorts and athletic shoes. Within teams, players wear uniforms representing the team colors; the home team usually wears a lighter-colored uniform, while the visiting team wears a darker-colored uniform.