April 9, 2015

Inherited characteristics from the TNG-era uniforms

The VOY-style jumpsuit had little in common with previous Starfleet uniforms, but it did inherit a few notable characteristics from its immediate predecessor, the TNG uniform.

On the Star Trek Prop, Costume, and Auction Authority, you can see an interesting series of concept drawings for the VOY jumpsuit and how it "evolved out of" the TNG uniform. 

Perhaps the most notable trait the two uniforms shared was that the color palette remained consistent (subtle color shifts notwithstanding): that is, the primary uniform colors were black and the appropriate division color. This made sense, both in and out of universe; the VOY jumpsuit was first introduced in DS9's pilot, "Emissary," which was during TNG's sixth season, and it would have made little sense to change the division colors, even if the uniform styles changed, since the characters wearing them were working for the same Starfleet, anyway. 

However, some gray was introduced into the standard uniform color palette with the VOY-style uniform undershirt, though this was, perhaps, a natural outgrowth of the color palette used on Captain Picard's "casual uniform" undershirt introduced during TNG's previous season: 


Thankfully, there weren't any confusing color shifts to have to contend with (subtle color shifts and varying dye results not withstanding); no TOS-era uniform/division colors to TMP uniform/division colors to TWOK-era uniform/division colors to TNG-era uniform/division colors! 

The transition from TNG-style uniforms to VOY-style uniforms was handled smoothly in DS9's pilot by having the Starfleet characters don both the TNG-style uniform and later the VOY-style, and although the VOY-style was obviously new and different, it was obviously Starfleet! 

Another trait the VOY jumpsuit inherited from the TNG uniform was its yoke, which extended onto the sleeves: 




(The VOY jumpsuit yokes were shallower in their early years, more proportionate to the TNG yoke; they were generally deepened once TNG's television run concluded, but more on that later in our "Early DS9 variations" section.)





The VOY jumpsuit shoulder points (the portion of the yoke that extended onto the sleeves), like the TNG uniform yoke, sloped downward, although the angles and depth noticeably varied amongst the cast members (as demonstrated below on Captain Picard, Worf, and Data):



Likewise, the VOY jumpsuit shoulder points seemed to vary a bit from character to character, but overall, they generally tended to be shaped more like Data's (above).



Also of note is that the main bodies of both uniforms were made of wool gabardine. (Excluding the cotton lycra VOY-style undershirts, the spandex waistbands on the TNG jackets, etc., of course.)

Lastly, the VOY jumpsuit pant legs' bottommost few inches were split in the same manner as the TNG pants:



Like the TNG pants, the VOY jumpsuit pants were generally quite long, nearly touching the ground, with the pant leg wrapping itself around the boot. 



Only the bottom front of the pants were split, not the back: 



There, however, the VOY uniform's similarity with its TNG predecessor ends. 

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