by Leonore Dicker
 
French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte will forever be remembered as a ruthless military and political leader – but did you know that he also influenced fashion?
 
Legend has it that Mr. Bonaparte demanded that his troops be clean in appearance and grew tired of seeing his soldiers wipe their noses on their sleeves. To prevent them from doing so, he consequently had buttons stitched on the sleeves of their uniforms – a detail still present centuries later!
 
Napoleon –who was known for being a perfectionist– did redesign his men’s uniforms at least a dozen times over the years.