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Couleur (from French, meaning colour in English) is the expression used in Central European Studentenverbindungen for the various headgear and distinctive ribbons worn by members of these student societies.
Contents
There are three classes of such student societies:
Ribbon
The ribbon (so called Band) is worn over the right shoulder to the left hip. Both ends are held together by a button, often fashioned from metal or porcelain. These buttons are often engraved or enamaled with a Zirkel and at times even specific coat of arms associated with the student society in question. A lot of societies distinguish two types of ribbons. One is used by the new members (so called Fux or Fuchs, after the German "fox"), the other one is used by the elder members (so called Bursche or, if with degree, Alter Herr). The ribbons of the elder members show the original or full colours of the society, where the ribbons of the new members often show a variation of them, such as displaying only two of the three main colours.
Cap
Mostly a cap (so called Mütze) consists of:
There are various forms of caps, e.g.:
Stürmer
A special and seldom form of headgear is called Stürmer(English hotspur). It has a black peak, a black band and the top of the crown points to the front. The crown is also coloured by one of the colours of the ribbon. Sometimes a Zirkelis embroidered on the top. Traditionally, the Stürmer is only worn in the summer semester of the academic year.