Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Girl Scouts - Uniforms Through The Years





Troops 120 and 107 modeled Girl Scouts uniforms from the last 80 years.




The much anticipated spring event finally arrived today, the Girl Scout Fashion Show. Paige and Lindy were very excited. Paige was a little nervous about having to walk in front of people and show off her outfit but she ended up having a great time and if she was nervous she didn't show it! The girls were to invite their moms and anyone else that was special to them. Our guests enjoyed some Girl Scout history along with desserts, punch, and chatting with the girls. It was a very special afternoon for everyone.


Half the fun was choosing which uniform would fit each girl. There was a wide assortment of sizes so there was something that fit everyone.




Paige is ready for this show to start!





My helpers! Paige and Lindy have to work hard being the leaders daughters. They set up the chairs, the dessert table, and this was after cleaning yesterday.






Our show began with Alexa modeling the first Girl Scout uniform from 1928-1939. These were handmade so there were some slight variations to each one. The Girl Scouts were so excited to have a uniform I don't think they minded sewing it themselves, they probably earned a patch for it.



Claire is wearing the first ever Brownie uniform from 1936. This resembles the "elf" style that the Brownies were modeled after. It comes complete with a little elf hat but I think that became too cute for Claire by the end of the show!





If ever I had a picture of Lindy as a "mini me" this is it. She is wearing the 1973-1986 Brownie uniform which was the same one that I had during my Brownie years. This was the first uniform to have the influence of polyester added to the cotton! The Brownie beanie is my favorite part.




Paige is wearing the 1962-1967 Brownie uniform. She had a beanie hat also but didn't want to wear it but trust me she looked adorable with it on. Her uniform is a one piece dress complete with a belt and tangerine tie!



Mackenzie is sporting the Intermediate Girl Scout Uniform form 1943-1946. Due to the metal shortage of WWII the uniform buttoned up the entire front instead of zipping. The amount of neckerchief fabric was considered "excessive" due to the war so it was redesigned to make a straight tie.



Laura's older sister Samantha helped us model and thank goodness she did we had extra uniforms and she was able to try 2 on.
Samantha (on the left) wore a 1971 to 1980 Senior Girl Scout uniform dress. The hat made a change this year to beret style.
Laura is wearing an Intermediate uniform from 1960. The yellow snap tie was introduced along with the wool beret.


Welcome to the 70's! Mary is wearing the Junior Girl Scout jumper and blouse from 1973. Girls then had the choice of the jumper or wearing the blouse with pants. And yes they were also a cotton polyester blend!


In 1963 Girl Scouts made a change to the different levels of scouts. The Cadette Girl Scouts were added and they had this smart looking blouse and skirt set. Unfortunately this picture does not show the skirt but it is a dark green to match the tie and was a straight short skirt. There is a little pocket with an embroidered GS that was to hide a coin pocket. Those Girl Scouts are always prepared! The hat had a fluted ribbon which was to indicate that she was of a new Girl Scout level.





This was one of my personal favorites. AnnMarie is wearing the 1963 Senior Girl Scout uniform which was very similar to an airline stewardess. The skirt was a little shorter and straight and the top was a jacket style with gathering in the back for a fitted look. The hat is so sharp!




When I told Adrienne this uniform was from 1980 she grabbed it and ran to change. This was for the Cadette and Senior Scouts so that they could wear it for a longer period of time. The blouse and tie changed with the level but the green straight skirt stayed the same. The plaid changed from blue to green depending on the level. Girls could wear the skirt or pants in the spring green. This is the first uniform to not have a hat, showing the changing style trends.




As the girls finished their walk on the runway they watched the show from the loft.





Some group shots at the end for our final walk. Lyza is modeling the Daisy smock that was worn by our troop 2 years ago as Daisies. Erin was supposed to walk with Lyza in the other smock but her older friends (Cassie and Shaina) were over to watch and she could not bear to be separated from them.




More models looking cute!



Amelia helped out her big sisters troop by modeling a Brownie vest of a fellow homeschooler. This vest shows many Brownie Try its, in fact the owner of this vest ran out of room! She earned all 57 try its. I counted 42 on the vest and I am not sure where else she could put them! The back is filled with fun patches from all of the extra activities she did with her troop.



Lily and Liz look like professional Girl Scouts.





Lindy, Adrienne, and Mackenzie relax after the show. The younger Brownie troop really enjoyed having some older Junior Girl Scouts over to hang out with.


The girls invited people that are special to them to the show. Lily brought her mom and grandma.




AnnMarie also brought her grandma and mom. It really made the afternoon special for everyone. Thanks to all who brought goodies to share. It was a lovely afternoon for everyone!

8 comments:

Jennifer James said...

Thank you so much for inviting our troop! Adrienne had a great time!

Gretchen said...

I so wish I could have been there!! EVERYONE looked fabulous!! And so stinkin' adorable!

Laura said...

Lindy is wearing my brownie uniform too! What a cute idea! It looks like all the girls had such a good time.

Anonymous said...

What happy memories this brings back. My last year of scouting was 1968-69. I wore the Cadette uniform of dark green skirt, crisp white blouse, and green tie. It was customary for scouts to wear their uniforms to school on meeting days. One morning I taped my skirt up several inches in the restroom before class began, to make it a "mini-skirt". The tape didn't hold very long, and I walked down the hall with half of the hem coming out. Something like that could have ruined my entire junior high school career!

I didn't go on to become a Senior Girl Scout; it just wasn't cool in those days. Truthfully, my heart was no longer in scouting that last year because of a TV show that came on right after school called "Dark Shadows." Everyone ran home to watch it. You could say it was an early version of "Twilight", except the actors were adults. What wouldn't I have given for a VCR so I could tape it! I loved the show so much that I didn't want to miss an episode to attend my scout meeting. My parents thought it was ridiculous; my father always made me finish whatever I started. They made me finish out the school year in scouts, but I was far more interested in Barnabas the vampire and Quentin the werewolf!

Linda W. said...

This was lovely, could you tell me how and where you located all of these amazing uniforms? I would love to do something like this with my Troop. We are in NJ.

Kimberly said...

Loved your page! While searching for a collection of GS uniforms through the years to show my junior troop, google directed me to you. We looked & read over your event on my laptop with my troop, and you all did such a fantastic job.
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing, and you help Junior Troop 126 from North Carolina, earn there "Girl Scouting in the USA" Badge. My Best ~ Girl Scout Leader

Maria C said...

Hi! I am a Girls Scout leader of Juniors and Daisy's in NJ. My Junior girls will be working on their bronze award this summer and into the next scouting year. They have decided to do a Service Unit event of Scouting through the years to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts. How did you find all the uniforms from past years as I think it would be a fantastic addition to the event the girls are planning! Thanks for the pictures and some great ideas!

Anonymous said...

Hello I think you did a great job on this website. I appreciate the job you did. As my blood runs green I am so glad to see the slide show and hear your story.
Pat
GSNWGL Alumnae