Brownie Uniforms, pre 1920

Tracing the history of early Brownie uniforms has

proved difficult. It appears that uniforms differed by

location up until the 1920s.

The earliest Brownies (even before Brownies existed!)

dressed the same as the Guides:

There are references to girls as young as 7 participating

in Guiding activities as early as 1913. These girls are

described as wearing:

• White Middy Blouse

• Navy Blue Skirt

• Copen Blue Scarf

The photo in the lower left corner shows two

Brownies—it comes from the Friday, May 13, 1921

edition of the Toronto Star.

One uniform (pictured upper left), dated c.1915,

consisted of:

• White Middy Blouse

• White Pleated Skirt

• Copen Blue Tie

• Copen Blue Hair Ribbon

• White Stockings

The photo below shows the 1st Hanover Brownie Pack

in 1920.

Brownie Uniforms, 1917-1964

The familiar brown uniform for Brownies was introduced

in 1917, although it was not adopted immediately by all

Packs. Dress options were:

• Navy Blue Overall (until 1925)

• Light Brown Overall

• Brown Sweater and Pleated Skirt (1919-1959)

Headwear options:

• Brown Knitted Cap

• Rush (Straw) Hat (1919 to 1931)

• Brown Cotton Hat (1931 to 1950)

• Brown Felt Beret (added 1929)

Other Items:

• Brown Leather Belt (Trefoil buckle added in 1948)

• Triangular Brown Tie

• Brown Stockings (added 1919)

OR Brown Ankle Socks (added

1938) OR Brown Knee Socks

(added 1955)

• Brown Shoes (from 1919)

• Brown Hair Ribbon (from 1919)

• Brown Underwear (from 1925)

• Brown Purse, worn on the belt

(Optional) (added 1950)

• Yellow 3” Pencil, worn on the

belt (Optional) (added 1956)

For Summer wear, there was the

option of a Light Brown Overall

with short sleeves (1945 to 1950)

Salvation Army Brownie Packs

wear Gold Ties from 1959-1964

Brownie Uniforms, 1964-1971

An updated uniform for Brownies was introduced in

1964:

• Brown Blouse and Skirt

• Brown Elastic Belt

• Brown Felt Beret

• White oblong scarf with Orange Maple Leaves

• Brown Stockings, Knee Socks or Ankle Socks

• Brown Underwear

• Brown Shoes

• Brown Hair Ribbon

• Brown Purse, worn on the belt (Optional)

• Yellow 3” Pencil, worn on the belt (Optional)

New Items were added

• Brown Badge Sash (Optional) (introduced 1984)

There were also items that could be added to the

Official Uniform for Camp, Outdoor and Informal

Occasions:

• Brown Camp Hat

• Yellow T-Shirt

• Blue Shorts with matching Socks

• Brown Shorts with matching Socks

Brownie Uniforms, 1971-1987

While remaining largely the same, the Brownie uniform

changed in 1971, replacing the skirt and blouse set with

a one-piece dress.

• Brown Dress

• Brown Elastic Belt

• Brown Beret—Felt (1971-1973); Nylon (1973-1979)

• White oblong scarf with Orange Maple Leaves

• Brown Stockings, Knee Socks or Ankle Socks (1971

-1973); replaced by Brown Tights or Knee Socks

• Brown Underwear

• Brown Shoes (until 1981); Appropriate Shoes

• Brown Hair Ribbon (until 1979)

• Brown Purse, worn on the belt (Optional)

• Yellow 3” Pencil, worn on the belt (Optional)

New Items were added

• Brown Badge Sash (Optional) (introduced 1984)

There were also items that could be added to the

Official Uniform for Camp, Outdoor and Informal

Occasions:

• Brown Camp Hat

• Yellow T-Shirt (until 1977); replaced by a Yellow T-

Shirt with a Brown Owl motif (1977-1980); then a

Yellow T-Shirt with Brown trim and a Brown Owl mo-

tif

• Blue Shorts with matching Socks (until 1977)

• Brown Shorts with matching Socks (until 1981)

• Brown Shorts with Yellow Trim (1981-1987)

• Brown Knee Socks (1977-1981)

• Brown Pants (1974-1987)

Brownie Uniforms, 1987-2002

New uniforms for all branches were introduced in 1987.

While Brownies retained the colour brown, their look

was updated:

• Brown Dress (new style)

• Brown Badge Sash

• Canvas Belt, Orange and Brown; replaced by elasti-

cated version in 1990

• Orange Triangular Scarf with two White stripes

• Dark Brown Tights or Knee Socks

• Brown Underwear (until 1992)

• Appropriate Shoes

• Beige Purse, worn on the belt (Optional)

• 3” Pencil, worn on the belt (Optional) - Yellow (1987-

1994); Orange (1994-2001)

There were also items that could be added to the Offi-

cial Uniform for Camp, Outdoor and Informal Occasions:

• Brown Camp Hat (1987-1998); replaced by a Beige

Bush Hat (1997-2001), and then an Orange Bucket

Hat (2001-2002)

• Brown and White Striped T-Shirt (until 1991)

• Brown Sweatshirt with Orange Maple Leaves (until

1991)

• White Turtleneck with a Orange Trefoil on the collar,

1989-1996 (this was noted as ‘not official uniform

1989-1991)

• Brown Shorts

• Brown Sweatpants

• Brown Ankle Socks (introduced 1992)

In 1991, pants were added to the uniform, moving some

items from Camp to Official Uniform:

• Brown Pants

• Brown and White Striped T-Shirt

• Brown Sweatshirt with Orange Maple Leaves

Brownie Uniforms, 2002-2009

A new brightly-coloured mix-and-match uniform for

Brownies was introduced in 2002, just ahead of the new

program (2004).

• Peach T-shirt with Navy sleeves and trim

• Peach long-sleeved T-Shirt

• White scarf with Peach maple leaves

• Navy Badge Sash

• Navy Badge Vest (Discontinued 2006)

• Navy Cargo Pants

• Navy Skort

And new optional items added:

• Orange Bucket Hat with Trefoil on the front

(introduced 2001)

• Orange Hooded Sweatshirt with Navy Shoulders

• Orange Fleece Vest

• Navy Shorts (discontinued 2006)

• Orange/White Striped Ankle Socks

• Navy Ankle Socks

• Navy Tights (discontinued 2008)

Brownie Uniforms, 2009-2012

In 2009 many uniform components are discontinued,

leaving the remaining items:

• Peach T-shirt with Navy sleeves and trim

• White scarf with Peach maple leaves

• Navy Badge Sash

• Navy Cargo Pants (new style)

• Navy Ankle Socks (discontinued 2011)

And new optional items added:

• Navy Bucket Hat with White Trefoil on the front

• Navy Hoodie with GGC logo on the left breast, two

pockets, and a full zipper,

Brownie Uniforms, 2012-2019

Changes were made to all youth uniforms in 2012,

making blue the dominant colour and using the branch

colours as accents.

The new Brownie Uniform consists of:

• Blue T-Shirt with Brown trim at bottom, cuffs, and

inset at neck

• Navy Blue Cargo Pants (as introduced in 2009)

• Navy Blue Badge Sash

• White Triangular Scarf with Brown Maple Leaves

*A slight change seems to have been made to the scarf,

and it now features an all-over maple leaf motif in brown

(2015-16).

Some optional items were retained as introduced in

2009:

• Navy Bucket Hat with White Trefoil on the front

• Navy Hoodie with GGC logo on the left breast, two

pockets, and a full zipper

Brownie Uniform, 2019-

Changes were made to all uniforms in 2019, introducing

a single unifying uniform piece for all branches, with the

choice of a t-shirt or tunic.

The new Brownie Uniform consists of:

• Navy T-Shirt with white trefoil on left breast and

large white trefoil on back

OR

• Navy Tunic with white trefoil on left breast and large

white trefoil on back

Some items were retained as optional pieces:

• Navy Blue Badge Sash

• White Triangular Scarf with Brown Maple Leaves