Girl Guides: Uniforms

Figure 1.--This snapshot is unidentified. We believe the cgildren are Girl Guide Brownies, probably during the 1930s. We at first thought think they might be English Brownies, but they could be Canadian. An English reader tells us, "Not English. English Brownies would not be identified as Troop 83. A school or church group would be in the title i.e First St Marks Brownie and Guides." As the sign on the goat cart is in English that narrows down the country options. The Scout at the left is not american. So we are guessing this may be Canadian.

Guide uniforms around the world at first were similar to the English Guide uniforms, but gradually became more diversified. The uniforms of the two basic levels were made different to differentiate the younger and older girls. The Brownie uniforms was a brown all in one skirt and top with a yellow thin belt and white knee socks and black strap shoes. An English reader writes, "I recall my Brownie uniform. It had a a brown short skirt and white lacy knee socks. We were like Cub Scouts but for us girls. My friends and I use to go and being the 70s when short skirts were stylish, we pulled the skirt through the belt thus making the skirt very short, not uncommon for girls doing that today. The Guides had a completely different uniform with a blue shirt." Some national assiciations have created other levels of guiding, often with additional destinctive uniforms. Unlike the basic Guide and Brownie levels, this varies a great deal from country to country. The uniforms like those of the Boy Scouts not only vary anong countries, but have changed over time. This is entirely up to each national Guide assiciation. Quite a range of different garments have been used for Guide uniforms.

Country Uniforms

Guide uniforms around the world at first were similar to the English Guide uniforms, but gradually became more diversified.

Levels

The uniforms of the two basic levels were made different to differentiate the younger and older girls. This of course varied from country to country. The firsr English Brownie uniforms was a brown all in one skirt and top with a yellow thin belt and white knee socks and black strap shoes (figure 1). An English reader writes, "I recall my Brownie uniform. It had a a brown short skirt and white lacy knee socks. We were like Cub Scouts but for us girls. My friends and I use to go and being the 70s when short skirts were stylish, we pulled the skirt through the belt thus making the skirt very short, not uncommon for girls doing that today. The Guides had a completely different uniform with a blue shirt." Some national assiciations have created other levels of guiding, often with additional destinctive uniforms. Unlike the basic Guide and Brownie levels, this varies a great deal from country to country.

Chronology

The uniforms like those of the Boy Scouts not only vary anong countries, but have changed over time. This is entirely up to each national Guide assiciation. Here we see what we believe to be an English Brownie uniform in the 1930s (figure 1). Garments

Quite a range of different garments have been used for Guide uniforms.