Two Different Types Of Starfleet Uniforms?

[All Seeing Eye]

I was always under the impression that the uniforms warn in TNG were replaced by those warn in the first seasons of DS9 but i've just realised I was wrong.

I never noticed before but the uniforms worn by people on Starships were still the TNG uniforms yet the people on DS9 wore different uniforms.

We can see this during the beginning of DS9 when Sisko speaks to Picard. We all see this in the episode where the Odyssey gets destroyed. The Odyssey crew are wearing TNG style uniforms and yet the DS9 crew are wearing the new ones.
There are other episodes where we see Starship crews wearing TNG uniforms.

So i'm led to believe that DS9 had there very own uniforms that nobody else wore? or were the DS9 uniforms only worn on space stations?

Did space station crews have different uniforms to starship crews? and if so why was that do you think?

 

[Anwar]

The DS9 Uniforms were the "Type B" or more casual Starfleet uniforms. The VOY crew wore them as well.

 

[C.E. Evans]

IIRC, the DS9 uniforms were originally designed to be general (or "garage") work uniforms that could be worn both aboard starships and starbases at the discretion of a commanding officer. They weren't meant to replace the TNG uniforms, which I believe were still the standard duty uniforms up until First Contact...

 

[All Seeing Eye]

The DS9 Uniforms were the "Type B" or more casual Starfleet uniforms. The VOY crew wore them as well.

Oh yeh good point, Voyager crew wore them so why did other ships still keep wearing the TNG style?

 

[Elias Vaughn]

It was a gradual transition.

In Generations, the crew of the Enterprise wore both.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

DS9 (and TNG) used them as "space station" and "starship" uniforms respectively. In fact, all non-DS9 Starfleet personnel appearing on "Deep Space Nine" wore the TNG uniforms.

That included Sisko, Dax, Bashir, and O'Brien at the beginning of "Emissary", the crews of the USS Prometheus, the USS Odyssey, and the USS Lexington, Tom Riker in "Defiant", Worf in "The Way of the Warrior", and finally the Starfleet Command personnel (including Capt. Sisko) in "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost".

This all got a bit murky with "Generations" and "Voyager", when starship crews suddenly started to wear the DS9 uniforms as well. Here it was implied that those were simply alternate uniform versions which could be worn optionally. However, if I'm not mistaken the personnel of the Enterprise-D (in "Generations"), Voyager, and Equinox were the only starship crews ever seen to be wearing DS9's "space station" uniforms (well, and the crew of the Defiant ).

Of course, this whole issue became irrelevant when they introduced new uniforms in "First Contact"/DS9's 5th season, which were worn by all Starfleet officers (except for those lost in th Delta Quadrant ).

 

[barnaclelapse]

Which is good because I never really liked those uniforms from Generations.

 

[NIUPonyBoy]

Personally I liked seeing the Bridge crew in Generations in the the 18th Century US Navy officers uniforms on the bridge of the refit Ent-D.

 

[captcalhoun]

Of course, this whole issue became irrelevant when they introduced new uniforms in "First Contact"/DS9's 5th season, which were worn by all Starfleet officers (except for those lost in th Delta Quadrant ).

and some background extras in S6 and S7. particularly in the peace treaty signing scene in WYLB. and Admirals kept wearing the old ones until they finally designed an admiralty uniform.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Personally I liked seeing the Bridge crew in Generations in the the 18th Century US Navy officers uniforms on the bridge of the refit Ent-D.

Allow me to strongly second this.

I love anachronisms like that. I also wanted an excuse in the script for Captain Christopher from the TOS episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday" to take the captain's chair in his contemporary uniform (or Kirk to wear one while sitting there), but, alas....

 

[Crewman47]

I always wondered what the Voyager crew would look like in TNG uniforms. I've tried photohop myself but I can't seem to get it looking right especially when trying to colour the black part and blacken the coloured part.

 

[Warp Coil]

I was never a big fan of the early DS9/VOY style jumpsuits. I didn't think they looked particularly flattering on any of the cast, and they looked a little too casual to serve as an official uniform. I didn't like the turtleneck that was worn under the uniform because sometimes it looked gray, while in other light it looked very purple-ish. The big stripes of color across the uniform tops made everyone's shoulders look too big. I thought that the DS9 crew looked great in the TNG-style uniforms (see "Emissary", and Sisko in "Homefront"/"Paradise Lost"). They should have just kept them. There was no reason to create the new uniforms, except as a way to differentiate TNG from DS9 to viewers.

The FC-style uniforms were much better. They're probably my favorite.

 

[Anwar]

I think this actually would have been a better uniform for the movies:

http://www.st-spike.org/images/uniforms/noncanon/uniforms_1.gif

 

[Timo]

In fact, all non-DS9 Starfleet personnel appearing on "Deep Space Nine" wore the TNG uniforms.

Well, not exactly. The Vulcan who challenged O'Brien in darts and got a default victory when O'Brien hurt his shoulder was wearing the "Class B" jumpsuit, even though he was from a visiting starship.

Perhaps small and insignificant vessels like Voyager and the Vulcan's ship have an easygoing policy with uniforms, and allow their crew members to wear Class B (DS9/VOY style) in public - while the skippers of large and prominent vessels are more uptight, and require everybody to wear Class A (TNG style) in public. And Picard, commanding the Federation Flagship, was so uptight he required Class A all the time, even when his crew performed dirty work on a dusty planetary surface.

In ST:GEN, Picard finally loosened up a little and allowed Data to switch to Class B for the duration of his examining the Amargosa Station, and he and Riker followed suite after soiling their pants when the Amargosa star exploded. Doesn't mean they would have abandoned Class A altogether at that point - Picard himself returned to that style for the final scenes of the movie, after all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[USS Triumphant]

Well, not exactly. The Vulcan who challenged O'Brien in darts and got a default victory when O'Brien hurt his shoulder was wearing the "Class B" jumpsuit, even though he was from a visiting starship.

Perhaps small and insignificant vessels like Voyager and the Vulcan's ship have an easygoing policy with uniforms, and allow their crew members to wear Class B (DS9/VOY style) in public - while the skippers of large and prominent vessels are more uptight, and require everybody to wear Class A (TNG style) in public. And Picard, commanding the Federation Flagship, was so uptight he required Class A all the time, even when his crew performed dirty work on a dusty planetary surface.

In ST:GEN, Picard finally loosened up a little and allowed Data to switch to Class B for the duration of his examining the Amargosa Station, and he and Riker followed suite after soiling their pants when the Amargosa star exploded. Doesn't mean they would have abandoned Class A altogether at that point - Picard himself returned to that style for the final scenes of the movie, after all.

If your reasoning is correct, then I would tend to think that, rather than allowing a choice, the Vulcan captain probably mandates the 'B' uniform for his crew since it is more logical to wear the more useful uniform.

 

[USS Excelsior]

But in that Binary episode the crew of Starbase 74 were all in Class A uniforms.

And on a sidenote we never saw any Class B Admiral uniforms before the FC uniforms.

 

[J.T.B.]

Personally I liked seeing the Bridge crew in Generations in the the 18th Century US Navy officers uniforms on the bridge of the refit Ent-D.

I guess they were supposed to be US Navy, but if so they didn't do much research. The uniforms were basically British Royal Navy of the 1812-1825 period.

--Justin

 

[Timo]

If your reasoning is correct, then I would tend to think that, rather than allowing a choice, the Vulcan captain probably mandates the 'B' uniform for his crew since it is more logical to wear the more useful uniform.

To nitpick, we don't know that the captain of that ship was Vulcan. This was merely some random ship that was never seen, and the Vulcan darts master we saw might have been the only one of his species aboard. Let's remember that Janeway favored Class B (for her Vulcan and human crew members alike) despite not being particularly Vulcan herself...

But in that Binary episode the crew of Starbase 74 were all in Class A uniforms.

Just as with starships, I'd assume starbases also have differing attitudes reflecting the importance and pomposity of the facility. Starbase 74 was a giant orbiting city with no doubt thousands if not tens of thousands of personnel; DS9 was a tiny distant outpost with mere 300 crew originally, only fraction of which were Starfleet.

And if Picard's ship was enforcing Class A, then the starbase 74 personnel would probably want to don Class A as well, not to be outdone.

I guess they were supposed to be US Navy, but if so they didn't do much research. The uniforms were basically British Royal Navy of the 1812-1825 period.

Well, we know a Picard fought at Trafalgar; perhaps Jean-Luc was dressing up in the style of this forefather or a famous son of his? We don't know if said Picard fought for the French or the British there, or perhaps for the Spanish even; a family fondness for RN uniforms could well be excused. Indeed, didn't the portrait of this unknown sea captain Picard show a RN uniform? (The painting wasn't shown in the Nexus scenes as originally planned, but it was painted for such a scene, and Patrick Stewart supposedly now owns it.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[NIUPonyBoy]

Could also be just like the US Army and the ACU's. Phasing out of the BDU's (TNG uni's) and going to the ACU's (DS9 et al). The unit's/ship's further out or larger than those closer to supply and CNC points get them latter on.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Could also be just like the US Army and the ACU's. Phasing out of the BDU's (TNG uni's) and going to the ACU's (DS9 et al). The unit's/ship's further out or larger than those closer to supply and CNC points get them latter on.

Uniforms are replicated. Even ships far out could replicate new uniforms from the materials of the old uniforms.