Uniforms are anything but?

[DeepSpaceYorks]

Lovely and practical uniforms in the TMP period. Love these outfits.

http://hellotailor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/star-trek-motion-picture-costume-design.html

Unlike that blog entry I like them, it just has some nice pics.

 

[cultcross]

It has been documented in other threads that real-life armies and navies change their uniforms about as often as Starfleet.

Kor

One of the big differences between star trek uniform changes and those I see in my real life service is that Star Trek undergoes radical design changes essentially overnight, while I see gradual changes over time.
For example, we have changed from capes, books wood truncheons and cork helmets to black wicking t shirts, combat trousers and body armour, but by degrees over years. Total changes in uniform are much rarer.

 

[C.E. Evans]

But that's also the exact period that we went through multiple uniform changes in a few years...from later TNG to DS9/VGR to FC/DS9 uniforms.

The reason being was that we had those productions during that time. They simply wanted the shows and movies to look different from one another, not to sell action figures. Action figures were just a by-product, just like every other kind of merchandise.

 

[Tracy Trek]

What do some of you think would be the ideal uniform? I've said in another thread that all of them are problematic.

 

[C.E. Evans]

There's really no such thing as the ideal Starfleet uniform because everyone has a different take on what's ideal. Some would favor something more like current day uniforms, others might go for something very casual, while others still think it should be something very formal.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

When you get to the point where literally anything could be considered a uniform, you've hit rock bottom.

They should be functional, modest, strong, easy to wear, and adaptable to a change in living conditions. I think if they wore TNG pants with TOS similar shirts, that might make sense.

 

[Tracy Trek]

Ideal to me (since we're talking about a fictional future), would be something that would keep a person cool when needed and warm when needed. It should be simple, designed for comfort and practical, so no shoes on the end of the pants like the TMP uniforms. No plunging necklines for women and thigh high mini-skirts.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Uniforms are also subject to the particular culture and/or time of the society it comes from. What may seem completely and utterly impractical to us, may not be at all to those from another place and time.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Wouldn't you agree that you're more likely to run into a modestly-dressed race than a show-everything one? And so you should reach the happy medium of form and function?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Not necessarily, because of the variety of different civilizations with different standards of what is proper (that exists even today here on Earth). An argument could be made that you're more likely to run into people more covered up if the environment of their ship or space station tends to run more on the cool side though. In that sense, it's not a case of adhering to a Human sense of indoctrinated modesty, but simply dressing for warmth.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

You can dress for warm weather and still be modest.

Further, if you took immodestly dressed native aliens to a cold place, they'd be more likely to appreciate a warm robe than a more modest race would feel comfortable about showing all in the heat.

 

[C.E. Evans]

It depends on the particular culture. Modesty varies from culture to culture and from species to species. We view Trek from a late 20th-Century/early 21st-Century viewpoint, so it's kind of expected that some aspects of fashion might not seem appropriate to us--just like some of our ancestors from centuries ago might view some of our current day attire as being inappropriate to them.

 

[DeepSpaceYorks]

Well, modesty varies from country to country here on Earth! Likely to be the same around the universe. It's one of my problems with Trek's alien cultures. Often a planets culture is treated as homogenous whereas here on Earth the variety of culture is huge, even within a single city.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Often a planets culture is treated as homogenous whereas here on Earth the variety of culture is huge, even within a single city.

That may be a result of Trek may be only showing one aspect of an alien society at a time--the one that deals with Starfleet crews. The one alien race we really got to see a bigger picture of were probably the Bajorans in DS9.

 

[The Wormhole]

What do some of you think would be the ideal uniform? I've said in another thread that all of them are problematic.

Something like the DS9/Voyager or the First Contact uniforms for regular duty, and the TOS movie maroon coats for dress uniforms.

 

[Nerys Myk]

the First Contact uniforms for regular duty

They always looked hot and uncomfortable to me.

 

[fireproof78]

They always looked hot and uncomfortable to me.

Only because of the 5 layers or something that they have. If they cut them down to a lighter jacket style, like the VOY thickness, but kept the FC undershirt color scheme I think it would have been an ok, or just the undershirt as duty uniform, with an overtunic, like the TWOK one, for dress uniform, like @The Wormhole suggested.

 

[Greg Cox]

Wouldn't you agree that you're more likely to run into a modestly-dressed race than a show-everything one? And so you should reach the happy medium of form and function?

Only in futures ruled by network Standards & Practices.

Why would Terran standards of modesty be more likely throughout the universe?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Only because of the 5 layers or something that they have. If they cut them down to a lighter jacket style, like the VOY thickness, but kept the FC undershirt color scheme I think it would have been an ok, or just the undershirt as duty uniform, with an overtunic, like the TWOK one, for dress uniform, like @The Wormhole suggested.

I don't think the actual costumes were in five layers. The shirts might even be dickies, unless they need a scene where the jacket was unzipped.

 

[fireproof78]

I think it depends on the episode. At least in "In the Pale Moonlight" Sisko has a vest under his duty jacket, then the undershirt. But, that might have been episode specific.