hat By the 20th century, the term cocked hat had come to be used more often than not in official British usage (uniform regulations etc.) with reference to that shape of hat (particularly when worn as part of a uniform), but in the rare instances that hats were directed to be worn side-to-side ('athwarts') rather than front-to-back, such as by footmen in full state livery, the term bicorn tended to be preferred. In its most commonly-seen form at the time, the cocked hat was pinned up at two sides to form a hump-back bridge shape and was worn perpendicular to the shoulders, with the front end above the face and the back end over the nape. A cockade in the national colours might be worn at the right side (French tradition), and a plume might be attached to the top (British military c. 1800). Cocked hats were often trimmed with gold or silver bullion lace and tassels. Naval officers wore them without further decorations, but those worn by military and civilian officials might be lavishly decorated with coloured ostrich or swan feathers. The cocked hat still remains the "Full Dress headdress of General and Staff Officers and certain others" and is worn in public by certain office-holders such as the Major-General commanding the Household Division, Gold Stick and Silver Stick and the Constable of the Tower. Current use Members of the Académie française wear the habit vert (green habit) at the Académie's ceremonies. The habit includes a black jacket and a bicorne in the cocked-hat style, each embroidered in green. Students at the École Polytechnique wear a bicorne as part of their Grand Uniforme (GU). Female students used to wear a tricorne hat but now also wear a bicorne. The bicorne also formed part of the historic black and red full dress of cadets at the French Military Medical School (École de Santé des Armées) until this uniform was withdrawn in 1971, except for limited use on special occasions. The bicorne is still worn by the members of the Cadre Noir in full dress uniform. The uniform of the horsemen of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna includes a bicorne. Diplomatic uniforms, worn on such occasions as the presentation of credentials by ambassadors, normally included bicornes worn with feathers and gold or silver braiding. Until World War II such uniforms were worn by even junior embassy staff but now survive