Aiguillettes

Gold Colour Aiguillette

An Aiguillette is derived from French words to listen and needle. It is a heavy cord, pleated with metal tips. It is a fantastic ornamental shoulder cord.  
In times gone by it was used to hold armour and  clothing together but in modern times it is purely decorative and used in uniforms as part of the dress code to signify an honour and is mostly worn over the shoulder. These cords are not lanyards but made from heavier knotted cord with metal tips that are decorative and are usually the same colour as the cord.

Different Styles.

There are different types that are worn by Armed Forces. in the United Kingdom. 1st Class or Royal are made from gold wire cord for over the right shoulder and worn by high ranking officers such a Field marshals and Admirals,the Royal Family.  2nd Class are of gold with dark blue, light blue or red and usually  worn by  RAF, Army, Navy officers and this type is worn over the right shoulder. 3rd Class  are of gold and a darkish  blue, light blue and it depends who is wearing it.It can be worn by RAF, Navy or Army officers.  These are worn over the left shoulder. Other types of are worn by the Household Cavalry and by bandsmen in the guards

Origin

It is thought that shoulder cords symbolises ropes used in medieval times by squires to tie up horses. One school of thought is that they were needles for cleaning out the touch hole of muskets and pistols, it is thought that they were originally a type of lanyard that went around the neck.
I think the best explanation is that the needles or pins were to secure armour plates worn by of a knight and gradually became a fashion item for officers. There are other daft ideas as to what they were originally used for but they are not worth mentioning.