Sunday, January 29, 2012

Buying Girl Scout Uniforms

The one question I always get from parents is "What parts of the uniform must my daughter have?" The answer varies by age-level.

Daisies need the blue smock or vest. Everything else is optional, but chances are your five year old will wear whatever cute thing you buy.

Brownies need either a vest or a sash. My advice is to go with the vest. The sashes tend to fall of their shoulders approximately every third second. If you absolutely have to buy a sash, I suggest buying a shirt to go with it and sew a snap on the underside of the sash and the shoulder of the shirt. Everything else is optional, except in my house. I know that by fourth grade, my daughter won't wear any Girl Scout anything, so we have a skort, a shirt, a tie, and some tights. She's worn the tie once, to an investiture, but I can generally get her to wear the uniform on meeting days.

Juniors need either a vest or a sash (see notes above). I suspect the only other items your Junior scout will wear are any number of Girl Scout t-shirts, but they have some other cute items, so ask your daughter.

Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors need a sash or vest (see notes above). At this age, you're better off just asking your Scout what, if anything, she wants and will wear. T-shirts or polos may be your best bet.

Official Girl Scout uniforms and clothing can be bought from your Council shop, from the national Girl Scout website, or through Basic Clothing (http://www.basicsclothing.com). The new uniform for older girls (white polo shirt and khaki shorts, skort, or pants) can be bought at any store but are particularly easy to find in stores that carry school uniforms.

If you choose to order through Basic Clothing, they offer a sewing service, which means the basics on the sash/vest will arrive sewn on and in the right place!