The purpose of the original DS9 uniforms

[tim0122]

Can someone explain to me the original purpose of the DS9 uniforms in-universe? Like under what circumstances they were to be warn as opposed to the TNG uniforms? Sisko, O'Brien, and others where the DS9 uniforms while on the station and the Defiant, but not on Earth or while on the Enterprise. Were the DS9 uniforms meant as the uniforms for non-ship-based assignments? If so, was it ever explained in any Trek extraneous material why they were changed to shipboard uniforms (as seen in Generations and Voyager)?

 

[Turtletrekker]

My head canon at the time was similar to what you said about ship board assignments and shore assignments. The real world reason, of course, is that they wanted to have the two shows be as visually distinct as possible. Why they eventually abandon the original TNG uniforms comes down to the same reason why the Enterprise D sets were so dimly lit in Generations, both the sets and uniforms had a lot of years and miles on them, and it was beginning to show on screen.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I don't think we get a definitive explanation on screen. They seem to distinguish the type of post that DS9 was, as Siski changes into it upon docking and back into the TNG uniform when back on Earth in season 4.

 

[Firebird]

Head-canoning based on what we saw for the first four seasons of DS9 is that starship duty requires the "Class-A" uniforms, which is the TNG Eisenhower jacket style uniforms.

Space station duty requires the "Class-B" jumpsuits. More utilitarian in style, but still with the tailored yoke and shoulder pads. Appropriate for multiple types of situations one might encounter aboard a run-down space station.

Dirty work (clean-up, maintenance, etc) gives us the "Class-C" basic jumpsuits that we typically see in engineering or the Jefferies Tubes. These are like one-size-fits-most, no real tailoring. Simple and basic. Not intended to be worn around "important" people.

 

[publiusr]

I loved the scene where the captain of the Odyssey had the TNG uniform…I thought the DS9 uniforms were for stations.

Monster Maroons for Starfleet Admirals, TMP for ground stations—that would be my choice.