Striped blouses and pleated skirts are out, stretchy tops and cargo pants are in. The Girl Scouts are getting a new look, after years of moaning that their familiar uniforms were fashion duds. Girl Scout leaders hope a hip wardrobe will combat the image among teens that only geeks stay in scouting years after trading in their Brownie beanies.
Girls are so self-conscious about everything.
About 800 council executives and volunteer moms from across the nation got a look at the Girl Scout makeover this weekend as they met in Savannah, where Juliette Gordon Low founded the organization in 1912. And the uniforms for the older girls had not been changed since 1989. When girls try on their new togs in about a month, loose blouses with blue and yellow stripes will be replaced with zippered navy tops of Lycra-like stretchy fabric. Flared cargo pants and khaki shorts will take the place of pleated, pull-on skirts. Such positive responses are exactly what Marsha J. Evans, the Girl Scout's national director, both hoped and expected to hear.