 Several features of the RAF uniform distinguished officers from airmen; their cap badges were different, airmen's being all brass while officers' were gold-embroidered fabric; airmen wore the RAF eagle patch on both shoulders while officers did not; and the fabric of airmen's wool uniforms was thick and heavy, while officers' uniforms were of "smooth blue" barathea fabric.Another distinction was that while the British Army shod its men only in ankle-high boots the RAF after 1945 also issued its airmen with ordinary shoes for everyday working wear.The shoes maintained the class distinction in that only officers wore shoes with toecaps.