Girl Guide uniform - Dress

This uniform was worn by Girl Guides in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Girl Guide movement was established in New Zealand in 1923 and grew quickly. Guides were aged between 11 and 16 years, and belonged to companies. They could enrol at 11 and there was no upper age limit, but older girls could become rangers or cadets at 16 (younger girls from the age of seven could enrol as Brownies). As membership grew, guides’ uniforms became recognisable to the wider world, and represented guiding’s values and rituals.

Uniforms could be read - achievement and rank were displayed with badges, stripes, stars and lanyards, attached in proscribed placement across the uniform. The colour of the tie was the key distinguishing feature of the uniform, denoting which guide company the wearer belonged to. 

Being clean and tidy were important to demonstrate girls' respect for themselves and for the guiding movement. Badges were polished, and the triangular tie was reef-knotted under the collar. The tie was versatile – it was made of strong soft material (usually cotton sateen) and when unfolded could be used as a sling, bandage, or a signalling flag. It took practice to fold and knot the tie correctly.

Girl Guides uniforms were influenced by Boy Scouts’ uniforms which in turn were influenced by military dress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most evidenced in the box-pleat pockets and shoulder epaulettes. The founder of the Boy Scout movement, Lord Baden-Powell, modelled the Scouts’ uniforms on those of the South African Constabulary which he had designed in 1900 – a wide brimmed hat, scarf (which doubled as a bandage), and a shirt with sleeves that could be rolled up.

Wearing a uniform was a sign of belonging, giving girls and their leaders a collective identity and a strong sense of pride. It could also hide social differences. If families couldn’t afford a new uniform, girls rallied to upcycle old uniforms and fundraise for new ones.