Stories of uniform through the ages

As part of her BA Honours degree in costume construction, Brownie, Guide and Ranger leader Poppy wrote her dissertation on how Girlguiding’s uniform has inspired generations of girls. She also interviewed guiding members about their uniform memories. As we’re in the middle of designing our new uniform, we asked her to tell us about some of her favourite uniform stories from her research.

The original uniform

Where better to start than with the first uniform for our organisation! When Girlguiding was founded in 1910, Agnes Baden Powell wanted the uniforms to stand out from other uniformed women’s societies and nursing organisations like the British Red Cross, and to have the same appeal as Scouts.

The first uniform, designed with Agnes Baden Powell’s guidance, featured a scarlet or blue beret, khaki blouse and a green neckerchief with a yellow border.

Uniform wasn’t compulsory at first, and coordination took time. Guiding looks remained colourful up until the mid-1910s. There’s even records of 1st Clacton Guides (one of the first units to open in Essex) buying a large amount of purple felt hats from the local drapers!

Photograph of 1st Clacton Guide Company, digging for victory, 1915. Held at Girlguiding Essex North East Archive

'A very elderly friend was one of the first Girl Guides. Her parents did not agree to her being a Guide. Her brother was in the navy she told me, and she adapted one of his uniforms to make hers.'

Christine, interview participant

In the 1920s, the Guides got their first official uniform – an overall dress that was worn until the 1940s.

Brown: an iconic introduction

Brownies was introduced in 1914 for girls aged 7 to 10. Brownies, originally called Rosebuds, had a blue uniform like the Guides with pale blue hair ribbons.

Left - photograph of a Rosebud pack in Much Haddam, Hertfordshire, 1914. Photo from presentation board by T. Forbes

Right - photograph of 2 Brownies in navy blue home-made dresses, with brown knitted Tam O'Shanters, 1919. Photo from presentation board by T. Forbes. Held at Girlguiding Essex North East Archive.

In 1915, a brown overall dress was introduced. It became more popular than the blue and brown was named as the official section colour. The Brownie uniform was tweaked a few times up until the 1980s, with small variations like different belts, ties and hats. It’s hard to pick one version of the Brownie uniform that sums up why brown became such an iconic choice that’s lasted over so many years! But its played a huge role in making Brownies in particular so recognisable over the decades.

Photograph from the 1978 Bukta uniform catalogue for Scouts and Girl Guides.

Did you know?

At Girlguiding headquarters (on Buckingham Palace Road, London) there were different operations set up to help the running of the organisation. This included the shop, a restaurant and a uniform tailoring department, where Guides worked as apprentices to make uniforms after leaving school. Many senior volunteers' uniforms could be tailored and a measurement sheet would be sent out to the wearer, with fittings held at HQ.

Wartime uniform stories

When World War 2 broke out, full uniform could not be made due to rationing. This resulted in emergency Brownie uniform! This was a triangular tie, worn with a tenderfoot badge (a badge for passing tests in various guiding areas) to fasten it, and Guide hat and belt. In the 1940s, different branches of Rangers opened for girls aged 16 to 26: These were the Land, Sea, Air and Cadet Rangers. All of these groups had their own uniform, to keep them distinct, and often came to mean something very personal and significant to the young women and girls who wore it.

'The uniform for Land Rangers that I joined at 14 years old was very different and a real pull. At Land Rangers, we wore navy skirts, grey long-sleeved shirts, red neckers which was held together by a woggle and a white lanyard, and we wore navy hats with a red strip along them. These styles of uniform fitted the times and gave me a strong feeling of unity and commitment. Whenever I was wearing it, I felt proud and confident.'

Christine, interview participant

In 1947, the new Guide uniform was seen at a large international festival in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. The uniform had been in the works since 1945, when drawings appeared The Guider magazine asking everyone to vote on their favourite design. It introduced a beret, light blue shirt, navy skirt and light blue dress.

'I was very proud of my uniform, which I ironed before going to meetings every week. I also scrubbed my lanyard with a nail brush, polished my shoes, scrubbed my nails and cleaned the front and back of my promise badge with Duraglit (Brasso) as we had inspection every meeting.'

Eileen, interview participant

Illustrations of Guiders Uniform in the June 1945 issue of 'The Guider' magazine. Showing the different ideas for the new uniform design.

In the early 1950s, a soldier-style uniform was introduced for Guiders and Cadets (now young leaders). There was a surplus stock of army jackets after the war so to keep costs down these were dyed navy blue to make the uniforms.

Virginia recalls the uniform she wore in Cadets:

'We wore a very uncomfortable uniform of a serge suit - the same as an adult leader originally but altered slightly at the time that I joined in 1960 - with a Guide blue blouse and white tie. The hat was an awful design called a beret but nothing like one! It had to be worn covering the forehead with no hair showing at the front. My own Guide leader wore a battle dress top in navy which looked just like that of a soldier. It was worn with an A-line skirt of the same serge material - horribly scratchy - our Guide skirts were the same material.'

Virginia, interview participant

(Left) Photograph of the official opening of Guideacres Campsite, 13 July 1953 (Southend-on-Sea division). Photo shows Guiders' uniform with the jacket off.

(Right) Photograph of campfire at the official opening of Guideacres, 1953. In this photo, the battle dress uniform is clearly visible, along with the Essex Standard. Photos housed by Girlguiding Essex North East Archive.

The 60s: a decade of guiding changes

The next big change in uniform came in 1965. This saw the change from the fitted blouse to more a fashionable relaxed overblouse. A new crossover tie was introduced to replace the previous scarfs.

Uniforms were available to buy from the London headquarters along with fabrics and paper patterns.

'I took over a Guide unit in Fulham. Several times I made uniform tops for girls whose families couldn’t afford to buy uniform or make it themselves.'

Elaine M, interview participant

The Ranger branches merged in 1967 to form one section. Their uniform included a navy-blue A-line skirt, aqua shirt and a hat similar to the previous Air Ranger cap.

'I can remember being presented with aqua fabric and a paper pattern to make my Ranger uniform blouse in about 1968. I can remember the feeling of pride when I first wore the uniform that I'd made using my Mum's sewing machine.'

Elaine M, interview participant

For volunteers, a machine-washable navy blue suit was introduced to replace the battle dress uniform in 1965. The shirt was a blue and white check with a crossover necktie. The colour of the stripes on the necktie indicated which sections a guider volunteered with. The hats were air hostess-style with flashes to show rank and county badges worn over the left eye.

Uniforms are very special to us in guiding, so important uniform was sometimes gifted for significant birthdays.

'I went on to become a Guide Captain and Mum bought my navy uniform skirt and jacket from headquarters for my 21st birthday.'

Elaine M, interview participant

Jeff Banks: a new era of comfort and practicality

In 1986, Girlguiding decided to do an overhaul of the uniform, working with fashion designer, Jeff Banks.

Banks asked girls and volunteers on what they wanted from their uniform and ran a competition for design ideas - more than 10,000 entries were submitted.

In 1990, the uniform was launched. The new designs were featured on The Clothes Show, with photoshoots outside the Houses of Parliament, and a catwalk showed off the new range.

Brownies, Guides, Rangers and adult members pose for a photograph outside Westminster Central hall after The Clothes Show

‘I can remember rushing home from dancing so I could see it launched.’

Alexandra, interview participant

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The new uniform range included 42 different elements from baseball caps to sweatshirts.

'I was working at South West England Regional Headquarters the year they launched this range and even featured on national television wearing a fleecy track suit and jogging bottoms.'

Elaine H, interview participant

The Brownie uniform was updated to include t-shirts, a sweatshirt, polo shirts and culottes in sunshine yellow and forest brown.

Guides and Rangers got new trousers, sweatpants, polo shirts, a formal shirt and sweaters. The Guide uniform was bright blue with red accents, while the Ranger uniform drew on its aqua-coloured heritage with navy blue accents.

The young leader uniform changed to an aqua t-shirt with a white logo. This was the first time since 1967 that young leaders had their own uniform that was not attached to the Rangers. Previously the decision had been made to combine Rangers and young leaders together, into a group called ‘The Senior section’.

The leader uniform moved to a more modern look. The range included sweatpants, polo shirts, skirts and blouses. Put together, the skirt and blouse looked like a dress. This range allowed leaders to pick and mix items from formal to a more casual uniform.

Looking forward

'Looking back at all the different versions of uniform over the years, it’s exciting to think about where Girlguiding goes next. From our first beginnings, we have always been a pioneering organisation who empowered women and girls, and were inspired by them in turn. Interviewing past and present members about their guiding stories was such a special experience. It really brought home how much of an impact the uniform can have on our sense of pride and belonging as Girlguiding members.

'I’m looking forward to seeing the new uniform designs, especially the design ideas that have come from volunteers and girls! We have a long history of being girl-led in our organisation, so it will be so interesting to see how the girls of today shape the new uniform.'

Thank you Poppy!

In February, we announced that we’re teaming up with HemingwayDesign for our biggest uniform redesign in over 30 years. It's an exciting opportunity to help us grow and recruit more members. And we're committed to making sure the new uniform is affordable, sustainable, distinctive, comfortable, and clearly shows who we are. The new range will be available in 2026, and there'll be a transition period after it's introduced. We don't want or expect everyone to buy the new range straight away.

We're documenting the process of co-designing and making the new range on our uniform hub. Check there for updates, stories, and information about how we're working with girls and volunteers to make a uniform that every member feels proud to wear.

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