Starfleet uniform (2250s-2260s)

A group of officers in Starfleet uniforms in 2265

For the alternate reality counterpart, please see Starfleet uniform (alternate reality).

The Starfleet uniforms worn in the mid-23rd century, which were phased out around 2265, shared similarities with later designs. The main difference of this era was a different set of rank stripes, division colors and division patches. (TOS: "The Cage")

This uniform lasted from before 2254, to provisionally at least 2268. In the 2250s, a previous uniform design was also being used concurrently with this one at least until 2256. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")

This uniform was used by the crews of the USS Enterprise, the Antares and officers visiting Deep Space K-7. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Charlie X", "The Trouble with Tribbles") Beginning in 2265, the uniform began to be replaced by a new design. (TOS: "Friday's Child", "Dagger of the Mind")

Cadet's uniform

Starfleet cadet uniform

Starfleet cadets wore a uniform that consisted of a tunic top made out of a reflective gray material with a black V-shaped collar, and black trousers. A Starfleet assignment patch insignia, a ten pointed star, was worn on the left breast. These uniforms were worn from the minimum timeframe of 2252 to 2268. (TOS: "Shore Leave", "The Trouble with Tribbles", "Wolf in the Fold")

The script for "Shore Leave" stated that Finnegan was "Dressed in Cadet's Uniform. Quite different from anything we've ever seen on the Enterprise."

Duty uniform

Command division (2254)

Operations division (2265)

Sciences division (2265)

The standard duty uniform consisted of dark gray or dark blue trousers and a division color top, following the below color code. The previous Earth Starfleet-style of wearing a patch based on assignment continued, but the patch was moved to the chest. Rank was displayed by sleeve stripes. (TOS: "The Cage") The top's collar was initially designed with a mock turtleneck appearance but many of them came straight up on the neck later on. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

The original command "greenish-gold" uniforms were actually lime-green off camera, away from the stage lights. [1] Also, some have described the "khaki-beige" operations uniforms as "gold", leading to confusion over the fact they they were two distinct colors. The remastered episodes restore the original colors and clear distinction between the uniforms.

Female variant

Front view of female operations duty uniform variant, 2254

Rear view of female sciences duty uniform variant, 2265

Women's uniform style had a cowl neck collar and closed with a zipper down the back. They also wore black trousers similar to the male uniform. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

Seamed variant

A command division officer in a duty uniform in 2265 (left)

A variant worn by certain personnel included a closing seam radiating from the side of the neck. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

According to The Making of Star Trek, a zipper was added to make it easier to get actor Leonard Nimoy out of his uniform shirt with his Vulcan makeup still on. George Takei also wore this type of shirt in "The Corbomite Maneuver".

Outerwear

Dress jacket

A Starfleet officer in a dress jacket in 2254

There was a dress jacket, edged with gold trim, with matching epaulets, worn over the standard issue uniform top and pants. (TOS: "The Cage")

The only indication as to the intent of this uniform, as stated in the script of "The Cage", was that the man in question was "a uniformed space officer (not from the Enterprise)."

Heavy jacket

USS Enterprise geologist, 2254.jpg

Excursion jacket in 2254

Utility harness worn underneath jacket in 2254

A heavy jacket, in blue-gray, was standard issue during the 2250s for landing parties. A utility harness was worn underneath, and is where the individual's laser and communicator were held. (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I", "The Menagerie, Part II")

With regards to this attire, the script simply stated that the landing party prepared, "Heavy boots and jackets have been added to regular uniforms, and all are putting on Laser belts and holsters."

These jackets were adorn with either white stripes, blue stripes or no stripes around each of the cuffs. The white stripe was on jackets worn by all officers and the CPO, the blue stripe was worn by technicians (as indicated in the script), and no stripes were worn by the yeoman.

Lab coat

Lab coat

A lab coat was worn by the chief medical officer for consultations with patients. The short-sleeve coat was worn over the standard uniform. It appeared in pale blue with the ship's decal on the upper breast. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

Utility jumpsuit

Work coveralls, with assignment patch embroidered on the breast, were issued in all division related colors. Instead of the brighter colors of the duty uniform, they were in muted colors of olive (Command), khaki (Operations) and blue-gray (Sciences). (TOS: "The Cage")

USS Enterprise transporter assistant, 2265.jpg

A command division jumpsuit in 2265

USS Enterprise operations transporter chief 1.jpg

An operations division jumpsuit in 2254

Philip Boyce in utility jumpsuit.jpg

A science division jumpsuit in 2254

Accessories

Equipment belt

Laser pistol on belt in 2265

Equipment belts were worn with the standard duty uniforms to carry laser pistols. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

Hat

File:ServiceHat.jpg

A uniform hat in 2254

Officers had an optional uniform hat that could be worn along with their uniform. (TOS: "The Cage")

The captain's uniform hat was never worn, but was only seen on a console in the captain's quarters. It was originally created as Robert April's officer cap mentioned in an earlier version of the script of "The Cage."

See also: Mid-22nd century Starfleet head gear.

Embellishments

Assignment patches

Circa 2254	Circa 2265

Assignment patches were worn on many of the uniform styles, and were individual depending on a serviceperson's posting. A departmental insignia of the person's position was located in the center of many of these patches

During this period, it was not uncommon to see department insignia which did not correspond to a specific departmental color uniform, as was standardized by 2266. In particular the following division color/insignia combinations have been seen: command/operations, operations/sciences, sciences/operations and sciences/command. In addition, security personnel circa 2254 wore blue uniforms with a unique insignia resembling a squared-off letter "C". However, by 2265 this insignia was dropped in favor of the current operations insignia.

• NOTE: In 2018, costume replica company Anovos released a replica version of the above-mentioned "C" insignia patch as part of their first "Official Patch Collection", listing it as a "Cadet" insignia rather than for security.

Examples of rank insignia

Chief petty officer insignia Chief petty officer (2250s)

Commissioned officer insignia Commissioned officer (Ensign - Captain) (2250s-2260s)

Captain insignia Captain (2260s)

This chart represents the rank insignia seen on screen throughout these uniforms' appearances. No admiral rank, enlisted crewman rank, nor petty officer rank were seen.

Epaulet

Dress uniform epaulets. (2250s)

In 2254, dress uniforms of high-ranking Starfleet personnel contained a certain epaulet, likely indicative of rank. (TOS: "The Cage")

It is unknown if this indicates admiralty, but the officer in question was wearing one stripe.

Appendices

Appearances

• TOS:
  • "The Cage"
  • "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
  • "The Corbomite Maneuver"
  • "The Man Trap" (stock footage)
  • "Charlie X"
  • "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
  • "The Menagerie, Part I" (footage from "The Cage")
  • "The Menagerie, Part II" (footage from "The Cage")
  • "Catspaw" (stock footage)
  • "Wolf in the Fold"
  • "The Trouble with Tribbles"
• DS9:
  • "Trials and Tribble-ations" (stock footage)

Background information

In the original pitch for the series, Gene Roddenberry generalized their design, stating "Crew uniforms are 'naval' in general appearance, attractively simplified and utilitarian. Again, surprise variations are possible here too."

The Starfleet uniforms worn during I AM ERROR were designed by William Ware Theiss.

Although the standard command division uniform tunics looked gold on most color TV sets, the costumes were actually lime green [2]. The greenish hue of the command tunics can be seen more clearly in the third season, when the fabric used for the tunics was changed from satin velour to a double-knit nylon that reflected the set lighting differently. The dress uniforms, made of a silk material, were always clearly green by comparison, and some darker green jumpsuits and wraparound tunics that were more clearly seen seemed to confirm that all the "gold-to-green" variations were part of the same color scheme. The so-called "beige" uniforms which originated with "The Cage" were ironically a much more yellow color, but likewise appeared beige or pinkish under the lights.

This uniform was in use only for the two Star Trek pilots, with the tunics appearing in several later episodes (see above) and the matched pants having been worn by extras in several early first season episodes, with the new updated tunics.

Apocrypha

Engineering officers in the 2250s (Crew)

File:EarlyVoyagesFemUni.jpg

Female officer dress (Early Voyages)

In the IDW comic series Crew, engineering officers were depicted as wearing a red uniform, with a red collar, alongside the beige uniforms as depicted in "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before". In particular, these uniforms were depicted as only being worn in engineering, rather than elsewhere on the Enterprise, suggesting that since the engineering section of the Enterprise was never depicted during this era of TOS, such uniforms could have actually existed side-by-side with the beige Operations uniforms, thereby continuing the red division color established in Enterprise.

In the Marvel Comics series Star Trek: Early Voyages, an alternate female duty uniform was depicted as a short dress with a high-necked collar, similar to the variant worn by Nurse Chapel during the late 2260s.

Starfleet officers in the late 2230s

Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness, Issue 2 depicts the alternate reality version of the next style of prime reality uniform was already in use by 2239. This would make it seem that this uniform style was never adopted in the alternate reality, unless it was used briefly after 2233.

The I AM ERROR novel Desperate Hours reveals that both this variation and the previous one were worn concurrently and that the uniform design seen here was only worn by personnel that served onboard Constitution-class starships.

External links

• Starfleet uniform (2240s-2265) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Starfleet uniform (2245-2265) at Spike's Star Trek Page
• 22nd and 23rd century Starfleet uniforms at Ex Astris Scientia