29 October 2008
Girl Scouts Official Uniform Policy
Posted by admin under: policies .
The GSUSA National Board updated the Girl Scout uniform policy as of October 2008 to reflect the changing needs of our members and transformation of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.
Girl Scouts at each level have one required element (Tunic, Sash or Vest) for the display of official pins and awards which will be required when girls participate in ceremonies or officially represent the Girl Scout Movement.
For girls ages 5 to 14, the unifying look includes wearing a choice of a tunic, vest, sash for displaying official pins and awards, combined with their own solid white shirts and khaki pants or skirts. Girl Scouts in high school can also wear a scarf that unites their look with the sisterhood of Girl Scouts around the world.
For adult members the unifying look of the uniform is a Girl Scout official scarf or tie for men, worn with the official membership pins, combined with their own navy blue business attire. Girl Scouts at the Daisy and Brownie levels will continue to have a full uniform ensemble available.
Navy blue. I can do that. I’ll opt for the tie, though; scarves have never been my fashion statement. If you’re wondering where all the pins and patches go, click here to go to the national site that will allow you to click on your girls’ uniform icon to get detailed information.
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5 Comments so far...
Dan - Scouting News Says:
29 October 2008 at 3:42 pm.
Please excuse my ignorance on this topic but I had a question. The reason I’m asking is that we hold a Girl Scout Program at our Boy Scout camp during our “Adventure Session”.
Prior to this the uniform was just the sash, vest, etc.? correct? Troops could have their own shirt made and such? (It always looked funny in our dining hall having all the Boys in Field Uniform shirts and some of the Girl Scout Troops wearing tie dye shirts)
So with the new policy the uniform equivalent to the Boy Scout Field Uniform shirt would be a white shirt? Not sure that will fly. Is there a policy on an activity uniform?
LauraB Says:
29 October 2008 at 11:32 pm.
From what I understand, Dan, this uniform is only required for official activities, so while at camps and such the girls can wear whatever.
Before this each program level (five in all, now six) had a full range of formal uniform to wear. Daisies wore tunics with a daisy shirt and daisy pants, Brownies wore a brown skirt/pants, a light blue or light yellow shirt with their vest/sash, Juniors had a white shirt and either khaki pants or a skirt/skort in the same color as their vest/sash, Cadettes had a light blue shirt and khaki pants/skirt/shorts, Seniors had the same uniform as Cadettes but with a navy blue shirt instead, and of course their vest/sash. An ‘oatmeal’ colored shirt was available for Seniors as a more active wear uniform. Some components were considered “camp official” according to the catalog, but I’ve yet to see a camp that actually expected or required uniforms of any sort.
Adult Girl Scout females could choose from a shirt dress or a business suit in a dark green color. And I do mean business suit, skirt, shirt, and jacket (pants were available) with a scarf. Men had only a blazer/jacket in the same color and a tie. The women’s uniform cost around $250 for a skirt, shirt, and jacket, virtually no one actually had one other than council staff, and not many of them, either!
Most girls past Brownies didn’t have a proper uniform and looked sloppy, so GSUSA is attempting to put a little bit of uniformity back into the program. Apparently expecting a full new uniform every three years was too much. Many girls thought the uniform was not “cool” and wouldn’t purchase it. I don’t quite see how khaki pants and a white or blue shirt was all that different from what they wear to school and such every day, but apparently that’s the reasoning.
admin Says:
30 October 2008 at 10:16 am.
No, Laura. It was me. I complained so much, even on the survey that national sent out, that they had to put a better uniform policy in place. The funny thing, though, is that it isn’t being communicated down to my local level. I wonder how many national policies aren’t being followed just because the volunteers don’t hear about them.
Dan, the former uniform, and I saw this in print somewhere as well as being taught it during my leader training, was a small tab worn on the left side of the chest with a pin representing the level of the girl. This seemed ludicrous to me at the time especially since I saw all these nice uniforms in the Scout shop. Apparently, the uniforming had become pretty lax because there were complaints about how the uniforms were not something the girls cared to wear. The policy, and maybe it was just locally here in Los Angeles, was that you couldn’t require the girl to wear a uniform. Her tab was enough. That would be why you’d see all different manner of uniforming for Girl Scouts. They were basically allowed to make their own decisions on what they thought the uniform was. However, there was a national uniform sold with documentation to back it up so anyone who really wanted to look like a proper Girl Scout was able to do so.
What you’re referring to as field uniform corresponds to the “official” uniform for Girl Scouts. As I said, that old policy was very elastic. Now the field uniform for Girl Scouts is what I originally posted. The activity uniform for Girl Scouts is whatever each unit decides. You’ll see a lot of tie-dye. We’ve done it ourselves. It’s fun! Currently, our activity uniform is jeans and Troop T-shirt, which is a dayglo pink. Shucky darns. They didn’t have my size. I had to go with a powder blue (whew!). Actually, my troop has a mid-level uniform, too, which is any shirt and paints, but with the sash and tab (bonus points if your shirt is the troop T-shirt).
Thanks for the question.
Dan - Scouting News Says:
30 October 2008 at 1:27 pm.
Thanks for the response. I guess I did know there was a “very formal uniform” available.
I have a feeling our camp policy for the girls will stay the same, just have the whole troop wearing the same shirt.
Our camp staff wears polo shirts, and each year we vote on the color for the year. Each year I’ve campaigned for tie-dye or cow print (we are from Wisconsin), and each year I get voted down. I think a tie-dye polo shirt would be sweet…
LauraB Says:
30 October 2008 at 2:40 pm.
Oh don’t worry, I complained, too. And I (and my siblings) have always had a formal uniform, and wore it to meetings. Most girls in our troop would sort-of follow suit.
From it’s beginning GS never required a uniform. Early girls could purchase arm bands in the uniform fabric with GS and their troop’s crest on it if they were not able to afford a full dress. The new pin tabs weren’t even really required, but were expected when cookie selling, etc. Since the troop generally buys the Membership pin and WAGGGS pin, I suppose National expected that girls had those.
We actually had a council staffer telling leaders that the white shirt thing wasn’t actually required. I pulled up the same policy you posted here and gave it to my coleader and girls so they wouldn’t listen to that nonsense. Of course, this is the same woman who while she was the camp director I nearly got fired as a counselor because she kept shooting off about the evil BSA and I argued, silly me….
