Girl Scout Pins

The Brownie pin, the traditional Girl Scout pin, and the new contemporary pin are worn to indicate membership in the Girl Scouting movement in the USA. Both are in the shape of a trefoil. The three “leaves” of the trefoil represent the three parts of the Girls Scout Promise.

The traditional pin features an American eagle and shield, both of which are also a part of the great seal of the United States of America. The eagle is used to represent power and strength, and the shield is there to represent protection. The Great Shield of the United States shows the shield resting only on the eagle to represent our self-sufficiency as a country. In Girl Scouts, young women learn to become self-reliant citizens of the United States.

In the right talon of the eagle is an olive branch and in the left is a bundle of arrows. Although the eagle is looking at the olive branch as an indication of our nation’s preference for peace, the arrows indicate our readiness to fight for our ideals. Girl Scouts in the USA, likewise, are peace-loving but are willing to fight for what their beliefs. The readiness of the country to defend its ideals mirrors to Scout motto of “Be Prepared.”

The seal of the United States contains a scroll on which is printed “E Pluribus Unum” meaning, one from many. The many states make up the nation. The many girls make up troops and the troops make up neighborhoods. Neighborhoods make up Councils, which in turn make up the American Girl Scouts. From the single girl to the national movement, the many (three million) make one.

The contemporary pin retains the trefoil shape of the traditional pin but in the place of the eagle and shield are the silhouettes of three girls. Girl Scouting is a dynamic and changing organization and the new pin presents “the new face(s)” of Girl Scouting.

The new trefoil design features open edges to indicate the organizations openness to change. The organization is strengthened by the flexibility to accept and embrace change.

The three faces are looking right, toward the future. The young women of the scouting movement are our future.

The three faces represent the movement’s commitment to pluralism and diversity. Girl Scouts embrace all girls as members regardless of racial, cultural, or socio-economic status.

World Trefoil Pin

The World trefoil pin is worn to indicate membership in the Girl Scout and Girl Guide organization of the world.

The blue background stands for the sky while the gold stands for the sun. Around the world, we all share the same sky and the same sun.

The trefoil shape, as in the USA Girl Scout pin, represents the parts of the promise. All Girl Scouts and Guides around the world have a promise that is unique to their country but that features three central parts.

The two stars represent the promise and law. As with the promise, each country has its own version of the Girl Scout/Guide law.

The base of the trefoil is in the shape of a flame, representing our love for humanity and the flame that burns in every Girl Scout/Guide’s heart.

The line in the center is a compass needle pointing us in the right direction, guiding us and the outer circle of the pin represents the association of all Scouts and Guides throughout the world.

Both pins are always worn on the left side over the heart.

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!

Troop Crest History

Like so much of US Girl Scout history, the story of troop crests begins in Great Britain. When Juliette Low brought the idea of Girl Scouting to Savannah, she brought along the tradition of patrol crests. Instead of numbers, each patrol chose the name of a flower, tree, shrug, or bird as its symbol. The first four crests used were the white rose, the carnation, the red rose, and the poppy.

The first crests were designed by a Miss Farmer, the art teacher at Pape School in Savannah. In 1913, Juliette brought back some Girl Guiding crests to be used in Georgia. These original crests were round and black, with edges embroidered in red. These original crests were worn on the sleeve but placement soon switched to the area over the left breast pocket.

These crests were replaced by 1914 with an oval design and the color was changed from black to khaki with a black border in 1918 and blank crests were made available for troops wishing to choose their own design. This option was popular in the early years of scouting, even though mass-manufactured crests were available. The color of the crests changed to a gray-green in 1928, and since 1930 the color is generally changed to match the choices in colors for the official uniforms. Check out this link to view some of these older versions. http://www.vintagegirlscout.com/trpcrests.html

At one point in the 1920s, there were over 40 troop crests. Some of the earlier troop crests used included the cornflower, the nasturtium, the fuschia, and the thistle (all discontinued in 1952), the pink carnation, the cardinal flower, the clover, the goldenrod, the holly, the jonquil, the iris, the meadowlark, the oak, the sunflower, the scarlet pimpernel, and the crocus, (all discontinued in 1984), and the blue bell, the brown pansy, the blue bonnet, the buttercup, the mountain laurel, the pine cone, the poppy, the robin, and the daisy (all discontinued in 1989). In 2010, the set of 23 that had been in use were discontinued in their entirety and a new set of 16 was issued. The new set of crests have been changed from an oval to a shield shape. There are 16 choices, and, if none of these seems to fit, troop also may design their own.

Troop crests were generally selected at the end of Brownies, but the new crests indicate that they are for Daisies through Ambassadors. Troops should select a crest that represents their identity, and I think that identity cannot possible emerge as early as first grade. There is no harm in waiting until Juniors to make this selection. Troop crests should be chosen carefully because traditionally, once chosen, the crest never changes for a troop. Crests are worn on the right-hand side of the vest or the upper part of the sash centered just above the troop numbers.

The Importance of Uniforms

I recently received a call from a mother who said "my daughter wants to be a Brownie. Well that's an understatement." She went on to say that her daughter primarily was interested in two things, wearing a uniform and doing good deeds.

For a six year old, this child easily figured out two of the important aspects of Girl Scouting. Although "doing good deeds" is easily one of the most important things we do as Girl Scouts, for the moment, I'd like to focus on her other desire.

Let me first make it clear that a Girl Scout is considered in full uniform if she is wearing her Girl Scout USA pin. Beyond that, however, there are a wide variety of options for girls and adults to wear. See the link on Buying Girl Scout Uniforms for advice on that score.

The question at hand though is why wear a uniform at all. My six-year-old recruit provides the first important reason and that is identity. This child saw others in her school wearing their uniforms and wanted to be a part of the group that so proudly wears the uniform. She recognized that owning and wearing the uniform is a privilege.

Girl Scout Uniforms in 1986

Uniforms were part of the original "package" of Girl Scouts. Juliette Low viewed them as equalizers, which was a point she viewed as important enough that it was enshrined in the original law as point four, " A Girl Scout is a Friend to All, and a Sister to every other Girl Scout no matter to what Social Class she May Belong."

This idea hearkens back to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts and friend to Juliette Low who said, "The uniform was an important item, not merely as an attraction, as it undoubtedly was to the girls, but because under it all differences of social standing were hidden and forgotten." Girls of all shapes and sizes and all socioeconomic levels are simply "Girl Scouts"-- part of the larger organization when they don the uniform.

One final note concerns the changing look of uniforms over time. Juliette Low designed the first uniforms to allow girls freedom of movement in a time when women's dress did anything but that. Those long brown uniforms have changed and evolved many times since then. All variations of Girl Scout uniforms, no matter how old, are considered "official" when worn, or you can always just put on your GSUSA pin.

Insignia on Girl Scout Vests

One of the trickiest challenges of being a Girl Scout parent is figuring out where to place items on a Girl Scout vest or sash. There is a "right way" and I'll admit that I care that things are placed where they are supposed to go. This may come as a surprise to those of you who have read my previous articles and have gleaned that I can and do often make my own rules, otherwise known as blazing my own trail. I do endorse blazing one's own trail purely because to do so doesn't actually violate any of the major principles on which the organization is based.

Insignia placement, however, is not negotiable. If you're ever at an event and see some leader rearranging items on a girl's vest, that could be me. Last weekend, for example, I removed a Brownie pin from a Junior's vest and handed her my GSUSA pin to replace it. As I looked at her vest, she had one of her signs sewed on upside down and placed where badges should be. She also had a patch sewed to the front of her vest and was missing several stars. Surveying the whole project, she didn't exactly exude pride in Girl Scouts or in her accomplishments, but in talking to her, it was merely because she didn't know where things went not because she didn't want them placed correctly.

Each of my girls was given a placement chart when we bridged. Each vest comes with a tag that shows placement. When the girls were in third grade, we played a game. The girls were given a blank vest and a pile of insignia pieces. We practiced placing things in the right place. Despite all of this, placement is still a puzzle, so I suggested she bring her vest, badges, and patches to me and we'd put them on together.

The best advice I can give people seeking to sew items on a vest correctly is to use the tag on the vest or a hand out showing placement. Links are provided with this article as well.

When you look at the vest and the insignia, there is a rhyme and a reason to placement. At the top of the sash or the top of the left-hand side of the vest, the US flag is placed, followed by the GSUSA ID, and your council ID followed by your troop crest and then your troop number.

All of these items in descending order identify you first as an American and then as a Girl Scout. The information then places you within a council and then within your troop. The order is logical once it is explained (mostly).

After the troop numbers, the insignia that follows tells other Scouts something about your place in the Scout world. The stars line up under the troop numbers and indicate your years in Scouting. (Blue stars are for Daisy years, green for Brownies, yellow for Juniors, white for Cadettes, red for Seniors, and dark blue for Ambassadors) If a girl has bridged and completed the bridging activities, a rainbow will follow the stars. (A space should be reserved between the stars and the bridge for the Safety Award should it be earned.)

Girls in Juniors and above who were Brownies automatically receive wings, and they are placed under the bridging patch, but in a deviation from logic, a space between the bridge and the wings is reserved for the Junior Aide patch on the Junior vest. I actually thought about why that would be and decided that it just looks good there.

On a sash, the wings are followed by signs if they are earned and then badges.
On a vest, badges go on the left and right hand side of the vest on the bottom (badges are round with either a tan or green background). Signs go in the middle of the left-hand side of a vest. Signs are followed by cookie pins (small diamond-shaped pins).

The back of the vest and sash are the only acceptable place for patches, which are generally given out for participation with no other requirements. It is not ok to place any patches on the vest that are not related to Girl Scout activities.

When a girl chooses a sash, her GSUSA pin and her World Trefoil pin are placed on her shirt or on a tab that is then pinned to her shirt. When a vest is chosen, these items are placed on the top left-hand side of the vest either on the vest directly or on a tab. If a bronze, silver, or gold award is earned, it goes at the bottom of the tab, slightly to the left.

Clear? I didn't think so. Again, I think the best course of action is always to look at the picture and copy what you see.