Starfleet had 4 types of uniforms that were used from around the mid-2250s to the early 2270s. The general tailoring of these uniforms was a "tunic and pants" design and was worn by Starfleet service people. This design was maintained throughout this period, but with changes in collar, rank insignia, and revised colors for Starfleet divisions and departments. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver")
In the 2250s, a previous uniform design was also being used concurrently with this one at least until 2258. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello", "Brother", "Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2")
All uniforms of this era were made of an organic, algae-derived fabric called xenylon. (TAS: "The Terratin Incident") In addition, they had built-in temperature controls to accommodate for cold weather environments. For example, upon beaming down to the surface of Sigma Draconis VI, Captain Kirk instructed his landing party to set their "suit temperatures to 72[° Fahrenheit]." (TOS: "Spock's Brain")
These uniforms were drastically replaced in the 2270s, with a change of many uniform variants sometime after 2270. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Standard duty uniform
Type A
This style of uniform lasted from before 2254, to provisionally at least 2268. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello")
This uniform was used by the crews of the USS Enterprise, the Antares and officers visiting Deep Space Station K-7. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Charlie X", "The Trouble with Tribbles") In the late 2250s, this uniform design had been somewhat phased out, but it made a resurgence briefly around the mid 2260s. By 2267, it only saw occasional use and was for the most part replaced by newer variants. (TOS: "Friday's Child", "Dagger of the Mind")
The standard duty uniform consisted of dark gray or dark blue trousers and a division-colored top, following the color code below. 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 that they were two distinct colors. The remastered episodes restore the original colors and clear distinction between the uniforms.
High collar variant
One uniform style had a cowl neck collar and closed with a zipper down the back. This uniform also had black trousers similar to the regular uniform. This variant was mostly worn by women at the time. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
Seamed variant
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".
Type B
This style, in use by 2254, is a simplified evolution of a variant of an earlier uniform. It did away with the zipper and collar, and was designed to be more causal and comfortable. (DIS: "Brother"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds", "Among the Lotus Eaters")
In 2254, at least some officers on board the Enterprise used this uniform, although it only went into wide use around 2259. (SNW: "Among the Lotus Eaters", "Strange New Worlds") By 2265, the crew of the Enterprise had abandoned this design to briefly revert to the original version before adopting a new version the next year. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
Variants
Some officers wore variant versions of the uniform with black tunic sides, sleeves and shoulders in addition to division colors. Additionally, officers of either gender could wear a skant or jumpsuit version of the uniform. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds", "Spock Amok")
Type C
"This little thing? Just something I slipped on."
This style is a further simplified evolution of the previous version from 2259. It was initially put into use on some starships by 2265, but other starship crews or individual service members continued to wear the older style until 2268. (TOS: "Charlie X", "Dagger of the Mind", "Friday's Child", "The Trouble with Tribbles"; TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident")
As with earlier Starfleet uniforms, the divisions were distinguished by color, and were generally described as gold (or green) for command, red for operations (engineering/special services), and blue for the sciences. (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
According to uniform-designer William Ware Theiss, "The colors were chosen purely for technical reasons. We tried to find three colors for the shirts that would be as different from each other as possible on black-and-white [television sets] as well as color." (Star Trek: Costumes, p. 17)
Into the 24th century, scholars of Starfleet history will note the division colors of this era. Miles O'Brien and Benjamin Sisko told Julian Bashir of the different practices when, in posing as "contemporary" Starfleet officers during an unplanned visit to 2268, the doctor, admitting he was no historian, initially did not understand why the captain wore a "gold" uniform and the engineer a red one, as the uniforms of his career conformed to a different standard. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
While dialog corresponds with what visually appeared on screen, the gold command uniforms' color were actually a shade of green. (The World of Star Trek, p. 95)
Theiss explained, "It was one of those film stock things. It was photographed one way – burnt orange or a gold – but in reality, the Command shirts were definitely green." (Star Trek: Costumes, p. 17)
The standard duty uniform consisted of a tunic and pants worn with standard issue black leather boots.
The duty uniform top was a long-sleeve, division-colored tunic, with a closing seam from the collar to the left shoulder. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", "Charlie X") Furthermore, tunics typically bore rank insignia, displayed as sleeve stripes, and an assignment patch on the left breast was worn by all personnel. The tunics had either a black collar with a V-shaped bottom, or were collarless, allowing for the wearer to instead wear a black undershirts. Though generally worn under the short-sleeved tunic and jumpsuit uniform tops, they were not strictly required for everyday wear. (TOS: "The Naked Time", et al.) The black boots rose above the calf and zippered along the inside. (TOS: "Charlie X", "Obsession", "Wink of an Eye"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
Black pants were worn that ended in length midway down the shank of the boot and terminated in a one-inch-wide flare, similar to the style worn by sailors on old Earth.
According to actor James Doohan, "Personally, I didn't like the flare legs on the trousers. I didn't like the way they stuck out, I thought that they came on kind of fey. But after a while, it worked out, I got used to it. I think though, that it might have been just as good if they had just had a band of red down the trousers, you know, red for engineering, blue for scientific, green for command, and so on." (The World of Star Trek, p. 95)
Skant variant
"And women wore less."
Crew members could choose between a standard uniform tunic with pants, or a one-piece uniform that continued down into a miniskirt over matching high cut shorts, worn with black hose and boots, though this uniform was mostly worn by females at this time. Skant uniform tunics also had a large open collar, the seam closed right at the assignment patch. There were two variations of the skant tunic: one with a black collar and another version which had the collar colored the same as rest of the tunic. (TOS: "The Man Trap", "Charlie X", "The Naked Time", "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")
Some later variants of the skirt uniform seem to have been two-piece uniforms. (TAS: "The Lorelei Signal")
Wraparound tunic
Similarly to type B, Captains had a choice of more casual clothing to wear when on duty. Both Christopher Pike and James Kirk favored a green wrap-around tunic. Kirk favored two variations of a green wrap-around tunic, the first with rank stripes spread across the left and right shoulder, and the second with sleeve rank stripes like the standard uniform. Unlike the standard uniforms, the assignment patch was used as a fastener near the waist. Charles Evans wore a beige version of this uniform with a cream colored undershirt. Evans' uniform didn't have any rank insignia. (TOS: "The Enemy Within", "Charlie X", "The Doomsday Machine"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; SNW: "Spock Amok", "Charades")
It isn't entirely clear where Evans got the beige uniform, either from the ship's stores or if he made it himself, so it remains unknown if it was Starfleet issue.
The tunic worn by Evans was an early version of the costume originally designed for Kirk. (The Star Trek Compendium)
Kirk's wraparound jacket was light green, one variation in "Charlie X" with captain's braid on one shoulder, two other variations in TOS Season 2 with gold trim only with rank on the sleeves appearing only in "The Doomsday Machine" and with both gold and black trim with rank on the sleeves for the remainder of the season. The mirror universe Jonathan Archer wore this variant uniform in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly". This style was not seen at all in TOS Season 3.
Outpost variant
The uniforms worn by some outpost personnel, as opposed to starship and starbase personnel, varied in form of having a shinier fabric, with a dull beige color worn over a standard black undershirt, and lacked rank insignia on the sleeves. (TOS: "Balance of Terror", "Arena")
Cadet's uniform
Starfleet cadets who were serving at outposts and starbases 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 a ten-pointed star patch insignia was worn on the left breast. These uniforms had been introduced by 2252 and were still in use by 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."
In the late 2250s, cadets assigned to starships wore standard duty uniforms. In place of the standard officer badge, a cadet badge was worn on the left breast indicating Academy year, similar to those used in the previous uniform style. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds") By the mid 2260s, cadets still wore the same badge but sported a unique uniform, consisting of a two-tone long sleeve top and black trousers and boots, with the shoulders and outer half of the sleeves colored to indicate division. (DIS: "Through the Valley of Shadows")
Medical attire
Medical uniform
In the 2259 variant, medical personnel wore special uniform colors – light blue for doctors and white for nurses. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")
Lab coat
A lab coat could be 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")
Short-sleeved tunic
A short-sleeved "smock" tunic was often worn by medical personnel. It appears to have been made from a fabric similar to that of the jumpsuits and gave the user more free use of their hands than the standard long-sleeved tunic. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Naked Time", "Mudd's Women", "The Changeling", "Journey to Babel")
As scripted for "The Corbomite Maneuver", this uniform variant was instead to have been "a white smock".
It was later described as a "short-sleeved smock-type medical tunic." (Star Trek: Costumes, p. 37)
Surgical gown
A long-sleeved surgical gown was worn during surgery. (TOS: "The Naked Time")
Medical gloves
White or blue medical gloves could be worn during medical procedures or laboratory work. (SNW: "Charades"; TOS: "The Naked Time")
Flag officer uniform
From 2259 to about 2265, flag officers wore blue-gray uniforms with golden epaulets. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")
Dress uniform
Starfleet dress uniforms of this period were typically worn for diplomatic or court functions.
Type A
In the early 2250s, a dress jacket, edged with gold trim, with matching epaulets, was 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)."
Type B
This version was in use in the late 2250s. (SNW: "Ad Astra per Aspera")
Type C
A new version of the dress uniform was introduced in the mid-to-late 2260s. (TOS: "Court Martial", "The Savage Curtain")
Doctor Leonard McCoy was not especially fond of the entire hoopla that went along with meeting dignitaries, including the "dress uniforms, spit and polish," going on to describe his dress uniform's affect on him: "I feel like my neck's in a sling." Later, during the arrival of the Vulcan delegation, he asked Spock to review how to do a Vulcan salute; upon his attempt to replicate it, he said "That hurts worse than the uniform." (TOS: "Journey to Babel")
Fully dress uniform consisted of a tunic with a Nehru collar worn with standard pants and boots in the male version and a miniskirt with a back collar, similar to the standard skant uniform but with a longer skirt and gold piping along the collar, for the female version. Variations on each uniform's style depended upon rank:
- Lieutenant dress uniforms bore an assignment patch, with a thin gold piping around the collar (and running down the front of the high-collar version) and their rank stripes;
- Lieutenant commanders wore the tunic with similar piping, but decorations were worn in lieu of the assignment patch and rank stripes for lieutenant commanders and above;
- Commanders had a much thicker braid around the collar;
- Captains had additional piping down their shoulder seams;
- Commodores and above had an additional gold piping running the length of their sleeve.
A kilt and sporran was also optional dress uniform attire. (TOS: "The Savage Curtain")
According to actor James Doohan, "Actors can put a lot of things into a show. I remember, for instance, I suggested Scotty's dress uniform be a kilt. They immediately grabbed onto the idea. They sent to Scotland for the Scott tartan, which is one of the really old tartans. There are really only about four, and the Scott family is one of the originals. They sent to San Francisco for some other stuff and had the uniform made and it look pretty good. It was only too bad they didn't have it earlier. There were other episodes when it might have been used." (The World of Star Trek, pp. 94-95)
Dress uniforms appeared in the TOS Season 1 episodes "Court Martial", "The Menagerie, Part I", "The Menagerie, Part II", and "Space Seed", the TOS Season 2 episode "Journey to Babel", the TOS Season 3 episodes "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" and "The Savage Curtain", and the TAS Season 2 episode "The Counter-Clock Incident".
Outerwear
Heavy jacket
A heavy jacket, in blue-gray, was standard issue for landing parties during the early 2250s. 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."
Each of the cuffs of these jackets were either adorned with a white stripe, a blue stripe, or no stripes. The white stripe was on jackets worn by officers and the chief petty officer; the blue stripe was worn by technicians (as indicated in the script); the yeoman wore no stripes.
A variation of this heavy excursion jacket remained in use on an individual basis as late as 2266. It consisted of a black mock turtleneck with a ribbed collar and a blue-gray jacket with a split cowl collar. It was paired with black pants and black boots. An insignia was worn on the left breast. It also featured five brass or gold decorative studs on each shoulder. (DIS: "Through the Valley of Shadows")
Field jacket
This black leather jacket, worn over the standard issue uniform, was used by landing parties during the late 2250s. It was often worn with a pair of black gloves. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria")
Winter jacket
Winter jackets were black heavy jackets with an emblem shoulder patch on the left side. (SNW: "Strange New Worlds")
Utility jumpsuit
In the mid-2250s, 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")
Later, everyday work jumpsuits were usually worn with no assignment or rank patches visible (even if the jumpsuit was worn by a senior officer). Duty jumpsuits came in a division color. Some versions had embroidered writing and insignia on the left breast. The jumpsuit had medium length sleeves and was worn open in the front, sealing at the waistline. A standard black undershirt was worn underneath, in contrast with jumpsuit uniforms of the previous style with division-colored undershirts. The jumpsuits came in red (operations), green or brown (command), and blue (sciences). (TOS: "The Naked Time", "The Enemy Within", "Mudd's Women", "Balance of Terror", "Dagger of the Mind")
When Technician Fisher beamed aboard with an unknown magnetic ore on his jumpsuit in 2266, he was instructed by Montgomery Scott to "decontaminate that uniform." Later, while explaining a subsequent transporter malfunction, Scott made note of said substance on Fisher's "suit". (TOS: "The Enemy Within")
Later that year, when the stowaway Simon Van Gelder was discovered aboard the USS Enterprise, wearing such a jumpsuit, it was simply stated that he was "someone in engineering uniform." ("Dagger of the Mind")
Environmental suit
- See: Environmental suit
Galley vest
Workers in the ship's galley, such as the galley chef, wore a tan colored vest over their uniform. (TOS: "Charlie X")
Hazard vest
A hazard vest, seen in beige, was in issue for excursions or technical personnel, such as during maintenance work on the shipboard atmospheric system. Sometimes the hazard vest was worn in conjunction with protective gloves and head cover, and could be worn over the uniform tunic or the uniform undershirt alone. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Man Trap", "Dagger of the Mind")
This vest was previously used as part of a radiation suit seen in the The Outer Limits episode "Production and Decay of Strange Particles." [2]
The final draft of the script for "The Man Trap", dated 16 June 1966, described the crewman as wearing a "highly identifiable costume".
Protective suits
At least four types of protective suits were available for the wearers' protection. They were relatively flexible in design and were suitable for hazardous environments. (TOS: "The Man Trap", "The Naked Time")
The suit worn by a dead Psi 2000 crewman was described in the final draft of the "The Naked Time" script, dated 28 June 1966, as "heavy gear."
The suits worn by Spock and Tormolen were described (in the same script) as "cold weather gear."
Combat uniform
Black uniforms with division-colored sleeveless undershirts were worn in combat situations, often under body armor. They were usually worn without armor by medical and science personnel during the Klingon War. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War", "Hegemony")
Body armor
Protective tactical gear with flashlights on the shoulders could be worn in combat situations over the uniform. It was mostly black, with a division-colored breastplate and worn over the black combat uniform. (SNW: "Lost in Translation", "Hegemony") Some personnel, like special operations officers, wore a version with a black breastplate instead. (SNW: "Under the Cloak of War")
Casual wear
Pajamas
Starfleet crewmembers wore black regulation pajamas to bed, consisting of either long-sleeved or short-sleeved shirt and pants or boxers. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria")
Durag
Crewmembers could also wear a cloth with Starfleet insignia tied around the top of the head to protect their hair during sleep. (SNW: "Ghosts of Illyria")
Sportswear
Athletic wear was available for use during sporting or other leisure activities. Several varieties were issued, in various colors from black to red. (SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", "Charades"; TOS: "Charlie X")
One set included red leggings, black socks, a tunic, and a belt. The belt was colored, possibly indicating a certain ranking within a sport. Another option was a red unitard. The assignment patch was placed on the left breast of the tunic, and on the left side of the leggings or unitard. (TOS: "Charlie X")
Accessories
Belts
Equipment belt
Equipment belts were worn with the standard duty uniforms, often by security personnel to carry laser pistols or phaser pistols. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Miri", "The Galileo Seven", "Arena", "The Savage Curtain"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
The original belts, described as "a light-brown suede wrap-around belt via Velcro," were early on in TOS Season 1. They were later replaced by what was described as "a wide black leather-type waistband." (Star Trek: Costumes, p. 24)
Life support belt
- See: Life support belt
Headwear
Hat
Officers had an optional service cap that could be worn along with their uniform. (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I")
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 headgear.
Knit cap
A regulation beanie knit cap with a Starfleet delta badge could be worn along with the uniform. (SNW: "Charades")
While only seen on screen worn by Spock while trying to disguise his ears, it can be assumed to be an actual optional headwear for cold weather environments.
Embellishments
Station personnel insignia
In 2259, while conducting an inspection and upgrade of the USS Enterprise's systems, Commander Pelia's Starfleet delta badge was mounted on a black trapezoid with curved corners and a gold border. (SNW: "The Broken Circle")
Assignment patches
Starfleet personnel of this era wore an assignment patch on their left breast. These patches varied in design by the service person's posting. An icon representing the wearer's division or department was located in the center of many of these patches. (TOS: "Charlie X", "The Omega Glory", "The Tholian Web"; DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly", "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")
Type A
Circa 2254 | Circa 2265 |
Until 2266, it was not uncommon to see personnel with a mismatched uniform color and assignment patch icon. The following uniform color / assignment patch icon 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. By 2265, this insignia was dropped in favor of the standard operations insignia. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
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. [3]
Types B and C
The above assignment patches were used by the crew of the Enterprise from 2266 to 2270, and are typical of the era's ship assignment patches. They depict the usual divisional insignia patches used on corresponding color uniforms, although these were absent from some other styles of patches.
Although the division symbols and colors were standardized by this period, Uhura is depicted wearing a sciences patch on her early command gold uniform in "The Corbomite Maneuver". This is presumably a holdover from the mixed-division practice still in use as late as 2265.
Nurse Christine Chapel's unique patch was initially a sciences patch with a red cross painted or attached to it, as the circles of the sciences design were visible. (example) She later received an updated red cross patch. Furthermore, though labeled above as "medical", this patch was only seen worn by nurses during the series. [4] Other medical officers, such as Doctors Leonard McCoy and Joseph M'Benga, wore standard sciences division patches. The red cross patch was designed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. Relayed Richard Arnold, "[She] said that (as she remembered it) Gene [Roddenberry] asked her to come up with something special for her uniform as Christine Chapel – and that's what she came up with." (Star Trek: Communicator issue 151, p. 75)
According to an anything but canon account, one operations division officer wore a uniform with a division insignia with a depiction of a Phillips head. (VST: "Skin a Cat")
Rank insignia
Throughout this uniform's use, rank was indicated by cuff stripes of various styles. In the 2250s, enlisted personal had no rank stripes and all commissioned officers wore a single gold stripe. Chief petty officers wore a specially-patterned stripe. By 2265, the system remained unchanged, except that captains would wear two stripes. (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No One Has Gone Before")
Enlisted | Chief petty officer | Commissioned officers | Captain |
---|---|---|---|
No insignia |
In the type B uniform style, the cuff stripes generally matched the division color – gold stripes for command division officers, red stripes for operations division officers, and blue stripes for sciences division officers. Medical officers' ranks were indicated by silver stripes. In this system, each rank had its own insignia instead of one for all commissioned officers. (DIS: "Brother"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds", et al)
Division | Cadet | Ensign | Lieutenant junior grade | Lieutenant | Lieutenant commander | Captain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Command | No insignia | |||||
Operations | ||||||
Sciences | ||||||
Doctor variant | ||||||
Nurse variant |
Type | Fleet captain | Commodore | Vice admiral | Fleet admiral |
---|---|---|---|---|
Badge | Unknown | Unknown | ||
Epaulet | No epaulet |
In the mid 2260s, the rank system was updated. Full-width stripes were replaced by a slightly more intricate design while half-width stripes became dotted. (TOS: "The Corbomite Maneuver", et al)
Enlisted | Ensign | Lieutenant junior grade | Lieutenant | Lieutenant commander | Commander | Captain | Commodore | Vice admiral |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No insignia | No insignia |
The cuff braids were reminiscent of the "scrambled eggs" used by modern, real-life military uniforms. Uniform-designer William Ware Theiss recalled in a 1988 interview, "The rank on the old show was a braid we had custom-made and was based on our current naval ranking." (Star Trek: Costumes, p. 24)
These charts represent the rank insignia seen on screen throughout these uniforms' appearances.
Epaulet
In 2254, at least one Starfleet uniform Starfleet bore an epaulet, possibly indicative of rank. (TOS: "The Cage")
It is unknown if this indicates admiralty; the officer in question was wearing one stripe.
Starfleet uniform styles | |
---|---|
By era: | 2140s-Early 2160s • Mid 2160s • 2230s • Late 2230s-2250s • 2250s-Early 2270s • Mid 2270s • Late 2270s-2350s • 2350s-2370s • Late 2360s-Early 2370s • 2370s-Early 2380s • Early 2380s • Mid 2380s • Late 2390s • Early 2400s • 29th century • 32nd century • 33rd century |
By type: | Casual duty attire • Alternate & parallel uniforms • Alternate reality uniforms • Fictional uniforms • Terran Empire uniforms |
Related topics: | Assignment patch • MACO uniform and equipment • Starfleet decorations • Starfleet insignia • Starfleet ranks • Terran Empire ranks • Uniform |
Appendices
Appearances
Type A
- TOS:
- "The Cage"
- "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
- "The Corbomite Maneuver"
- "The Man Trap" (recycled footage)
- "Charlie X"
- "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" (image on bridge monitor)
- "The Menagerie, Part I"
- "The Menagerie, Part II" (archive footage)
- "Catspaw" (recycled footage)
- "Wolf in the Fold"
- "The Trouble with Tribbles"
- DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" (archive footage)
- DIS: "If Memory Serves" (archive footage)
- LD: "Strange Energies" (image on viewscreen)
- SNW:
- "Children of the Comet" (image)
- "A Quality of Mercy" (image)
Type B
- SNW: Every episode
- VST:
- "Holiday Party"
- "Holograms All the Way Down" (hologram)
Type C
- TOS: Every episode except:
- TAS: Every episode
- DS9:
- "Trials and Tribble-ations"
- "What You Leave Behind" (flashback)
- ENT:
- ST: "Ephraim and Dot"
- LD:
- "No Small Parts" (image on PADD)
- "Kayshon, His Eyes Open"
- "We'll Always Have Tom Paris" (hallucination)
- "Reflections" (images on cutout)
- "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee" (on action figure)
- "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"
- PRO:
- "Kobayashi" (hologram)
- "All the World's a Stage"
- PIC:
- "Farewell" (photograph only)
- "Seventeen Seconds" (photograph only)
- "No Win Scenario" (photograph only)
- VST:
- "Skin a Cat"
- "Holograms All the Way Down" (hologram)
- "Walk, Don't Run"
Background information
In the original pitch for the series, Gene Roddenberry generalized the uniform 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 Star Trek: The Original Series were designed by William Ware Theiss, who returned to design the Star Trek: The Next Generation uniforms (which were further adapted into future versions on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and in the TNG-era films by Robert Blackman).
The "Type A" 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.
Although the "Type C" command division uniform tunics looked gold on most color TV sets, the costumes were actually lime-green. [5] This issue was made light of in an in-joke from the first draft script of DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations", in which Department of Temporal Investigations agents Dulmur and Lucsly – just prior to leaving space station Deep Space 9 – asked Benjamin Sisko one final question: what color had Kirk's uniform been. Sisko, having seen Kirk in both a duty uniform and wraparound tunic, simply answered, "Green." 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 fabric 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" Type A uniforms which originated with "The Cage" were ironically a much more yellow color, but likewise appeared beige or pinkish under the lights.
The Type C first appeared in "The Corbomite Maneuver". Chronologically, the Type C uniforms first appeared in late 2265 in the flashback scenes in "Dagger of the Mind" and the recording of Dr. Leonard McCoy's visit to Capella IV in "Friday's Child".
With a few exceptions, all women in the Type C uniforms wore the skirt variant. One uniform seen on extras in TOS Season 1 was a woman's gold command uniform with pants. It was created for a scene in "Charlie X" where a pretty crewwoman was transformed into an old hag, who might not have looked appropriate in a skirt uniform. It also made an appearance in "The Man Trap". In regards to the collars on female uniforms, blue-collared uniforms were seen in TOS and TAS on Nurse Chapel, and red-collared uniforms were seen in TAS. Female gold command uniforms were rare on both series and were never seen with colored collars.
This uniform style was last seen in TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident", although it was later recreated for DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" and ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly".
Apocrypha
In the IDW comic series Star Trek: Crew, engineering officers were depicted as wearing a Type 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 Type A 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.
The alternate reality Starfleet uniform introduced in Star Trek were based on the Type C design, though the timeframe of that film, and its sequels, has them in use when the previous uniform design and the Type A were being used. Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness, Issue 2 depicts the alternate reality version of this uniform already in use by 2239, suggesting that in the alternate reality the previous uniform and Type A were never adopted at all, unless they were used briefly after 2233.
External links
- Starfleet uniform (2240s-2265) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Starfleet uniform (2245-2265) at Spike's Star Trek Page
- Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) at Spike's Star Trek Page
- 22nd and 23rd century Starfleet uniforms at Ex Astris Scientia