Presidential sash

A presidential sash is a cloth sash worn by presidents of many nations in the world. Such sashes are worn by presidents in Africa, Asia, Europe and, most notably, in Latin America.

The sash is an important symbol of the continuity of the presidency, and is only worn by the president. Its value as a symbol of the office of the head of state can be compared to that of a crown in monarchies. When the president leaves office, he or she formally presents the sash to his or her successor as part of the official inauguration ceremony.

Presidential sashes are usually very colorful and very large and designed to resemble the nation's flag, especially those of Latin American presidents. They are usually worn over the right shoulder to the left side of the hip. The national coat of arms is also usually placed on the sash. A national order's star or chain of office can also be worn.

Washington at Princeton by Charles Wilson Peale (1779)

George Washington, who served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later served as the first President of the United States, was noted for wearing a blue ribbed sash, similar to that of the British Order of the Garter, early in the war, as he had in 1775 prescribed the use of green, pink, and blue sashes to identify aides de camp, brigade-majors, brigadiers general, majors general, and the commander in chief in the absence of formal uniforms. He later gave up the sash as "unrepublican" and "pretentious for all but the highest-ranking aristocracy," according to historians. Washington is seen wearing the sash in Charles Wilson Peale's 1779 painting Washington at Princeton.[1][2]