Is there any difference between "an epaulet" and "shoulder board" when speaking about military uniform?

Question

When I had tried to google the images for the word "epaulet" most of the pictures that popped up were the very decorated ones - mostly oblong gold braided stripes or very massive ones with fringes.

I did the same with the word "shoulder board". The results looked mostly like this:

However, in both cases, there were also lots of other types. For instance, the epaulets were just plain boards (similar to the last picture).

You know, at first, I thought the epaulets are the ones that are more fancy but then I noticed that people use them quite interchangeably. 
Moreover, Wikipedia says both words are equivalents + offers other 3 words with the same meaning: a shoulder mark, rank slide and slip-on.

My question is, is there any difference in appearence between the epaulet and shoulder board?

Davo · Answer

From Wikipedia:

Epaulettes are fastened to the shoulder by a shoulder strap or "passant", a small strap parallel to the shoulder seam, and the button near the collar, or by laces on the underside of the epaulette passing through holes in the shoulder of the coat. Colloquially, any shoulder straps with marks are also called epaulettes.

Also from Wikipedia:

A shoulder mark, also called an epaulette, shoulder board, rank slide, or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia.

So:

The shoulder strap or passant is part of the primary garment.

The epaulette, rank slide, or slip-on is attached to the shoulder strap or passant.

The shoulder board may be attached to the shoulder strap or passant, or it may be attached directly to the primary garment, without a shoulder strap or passant.

Jacob Caravaggio · Answer

What I've noticed is that shoulder boards are stiff flat boards, shoulder marks/slip-ons are the slides that, well, slide on to the strap. Epaulettes would be the fringed accessory. I've heard epaulettes being used for all three.

Answered by Jacob Caravaggio on May 28, 2021

Is there any difference between "an epaulet" and "shoulder board" when speaking about military uniform?

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