Girlguiding has unveiled its first major redesign of the full uniform range since 1990, with a new collection intended to give members more choice in how they dress.
According to BBC News, the revised range includes 30 clothing items, 15 accessories and neckerchiefs, with prices beginning at £12 for a T-shirt. Under the new approach, members only need to wear a top from the range to be regarded as being in uniform.
The organisation said the designs were shaped by feedback from thousands of Guides, Rainbows, Brownies and Rangers, who said they valued choice and the ability to show their own style.
Girlguiding chief executive Felicity Oswald said “practicality, comfort and sustainability” were central to the redesign. She said the range was “all about providing girls with the freedom to express themselves, whilst feeling part of our amazing organisation”.
The new items combine Girlguiding’s heritage with updated colours and prints. Features include hidden pockets in waistbands, thumb holes and badge sashes that can also be used as cross-body bags.
Isy, 12, a Guide, told BBC Breakfast the new uniform was “really comfortable” and practical to move in. Poppy, a seven-year-old Brownie, said she wanted “loads of pockets” because she often loses badges, and highlighted a new Brownies gilet that can also be used as a pillow.
Members will not have to buy the redesigned uniform immediately and may continue wearing the current version until it needs replacing. Chief Girl Guide Tracey Foster told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that girls could continue to wear “what you feel comfortable in”, adding: “If you love that current polo shirt, then wear it until it falls to bits.”
Girlguiding also cited a June survey of 2,000 UK girls aged six to 16, in which 93% said they felt most comfortable when they could choose how they styled themselves.
Angellica Bell, a Girlguiding ambassador and presenter, said the redesign gives “girls and volunteers the freedom to style it the way that suits them” and allows them to embrace their individuality.
