Brussels Airport, February 16, 2010
Losing post title: If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium.
The passport check official greets us with "Ah, here come two Americans." The ensuing chit-chat includes him telling me that the origin of metal sleeve buttons, like those on my blazer, was military; soldiers used them to wipe their noses. (But see Wikipedia)
One gift shop sold packages of what we call Belgian Waffles.
Terrance:
ReplyDeleteI hope you're having a great trip. I believe your Belgian customs guy is conflating different military clothing geneologies.
The 'blazer' is indeed said to be based on the uniform of the officers of the HMS Blazer. In the days before the Royal Navy had a standard uniform, each ship set its own uniform standards (if it enforced any standards at all).
As to buttons on sleeves: I heard it was Napolean that started that fashion in order to KEEP his soldiers from wiping their snot on their sleeves.
Faird winds, etc.
Regards,
Agim