Starfleet uniform ( mid 2260s - early 2270s ) From the mid 2260s to the early 2270s , Starfleet uniform s were drastically modified from their earlier versions . The general tailoring of the " tunic and pants " uniform design worn by Starfleet service people was maintained , but with the addition of an updated collar , new rank insignia , and revised colors for Starfleet division s and departments . ( ) These uniforms were made of xenylon , an algae - based fabric with a special appearance not often seen in the clothing before this period . The difference in fabric appearance was considerable , as Captain James Kirk once pointed out to an illusory inhabitant of the Melkot simulation of Tombstone , Arizona . ( ; ) Xenylon resulted in the crew of the being turned into dehydrated porous cuboctahedron solids during an encounter with the Kelvan s . ( ) In addition , they had built - in temperature controls to accommodate for cold weather environments . ( ) This style of uniform was initially put into general use by 2265 , but some starship crews or individual service members continued to wear the older style until 2268 . These uniforms were drastically replaced in the 2270s , with a change of many uniform variants sometime after 2270 . ( ; ; ) Duty uniform . As with earlier Starfleet uniforms , the divisions were distinguished by color , and were generally described as gold ( or green ) for command division , red for operations division / special services , and blue for the sciences division . ( ; ) Into the 24th century , scholars of Starfleet history will note the division colors of this era . Miles O ' Brien and Benjamin Sisko told Julian Bashir of the different practices when , in posing as " contemporary " Starfleet officers during an unplanned visit to 2268 , the doctor , admitting he was no historian , initially did not understand why the captain wore a " gold " uniform and the engineer a red one , as the uniforms of his career conformed to a different standard . ( ) The standard duty uniform consisted of a tunic and pants worn with standard issue black leather boots . The duty uniform top was a long - sleeve , division - colored tunic , with a closing seam from the collar to the left shoulder . ( ) Furthermore , tunics typically bore rank insignia , displayed as sleeve stripes , and an assignment patch on the left breast was worn by all personnel . The tunics had either a black collar with a V - shaped bottom , or were collarless , allowing for the wearer to instead wear a black undershirts . Though generally worn under the short - sleeved tunic and jumpsuit uniform tops , they were not strictly required for everyday wear . ( , et al . ) The black boots rose above the calf and zippered along the inside . ( ; ) Black pants were worn that ended in length midway down the shank of the boot and terminated in a one - inch - wide flare , similar to the style worn by sailors on old Earth . Female variant . Female crew members could choose between a standard uniform tunic with pants , or a one - piece uniform that continued down into a miniskirt over matching high cut shorts , worn with black hose and boots . Female uniform tunics also had a large open collar , the seam closed right at the assignment patch . There were two variations of the female tunic : one with a black collar and another version which had the collar colored the same as rest of the tunic . ( ) Some later variants of the skirt uniform seem to have been two - piece uniforms . ( ) Cadet ' s uniform . Starfleet cadet s wore a uniform that consisted of a tunic top made out of a reflective gray material with a black V - shaped collar , and black trousers . A Starfleet assignment patch insignia , a ten pointed star , was worn on the left breast . These uniforms were worn from the minimum timeframe of 2252 to 2268 . ( ) Outpost variant . The uniforms worn by outpost personnel , as opposed to starship and starbase personnel , varied in form of having a shinier fabric , with a dull beige color worn over a standard black undershirt , and lacked rank insignia on the sleeves . ( ) Short - sleeved tunic . A short - sleeved " smock " tunic was often worn by medical personnel . It appears to have been made from a fabric similar to that of the jumpsuits and gave the user more free use of their hands than the standard long - sleeved tunic . ( ) Wraparound tunic . Captain s had a choice of more casual clothing to wear when on duty . James Kirk favored two variations of a green wrap - around tunic , the first with rank stripes spread across the left and right shoulder , and the second with sleeve rank stripes like the standard uniform . Unlike the standard uniforms , the assignment patch was used as a fastener near the waist . Charles Evans wore a beige version of this uniform with a cream colored undershirt . Evans ' uniform didn ' t have any rank insignia . ( ; ) Dress uniform . Starfleet dress uniform s of this period were typically worn for diplomatic or court functions . Starfleet dress uniform s of this period were typically worn for diplomatic or court functions . Fully dress uniform consisted of a tunic with a Nehru collar worn with standard pants and boots in the male version ; a miniskirt with a back collar similar to the standard female uniform but with a longer skirt and gold piping along the collar for the female version . Variations on each uniform ' s style depended upon rank : A kilt and sporran was also optional dress uniform attire . ( ) Doctor Leonard McCoy was not especially fond of the entire hoopla that went along with meeting dignitaries , including the " " dress uniforms , spit and polish , " " describing his dress uniform stating that " " I feel like my neck ' s in a . " " Later , during the arrival of the Vulcan delegation , he asked Spock to review how to do a Vulcan salute ; upon his attempt to replicate it , he said " " That hurts worse than the uniform . " " ( ) Outerwear . Athletic wear . Athletic wear was available for use during sporting or other leisure activities . Several varieties were issued , all colored red . One set included red leggings , black socks , a tunic and a belt . The belt was colored , possibly indicating a certain ranking within a sport . Another option was a red unitard . The assignment patch was placed on the left breast of the tunic , and on the left side of the leggings or unitard . ( ) Duty jumpsuit . Everyday work jumpsuits were also worn , usually with no assignment or rank patches visible ( even if the jumpsuit was worn by a senior officer ) . Duty jumpsuits came in a division color . Some versions had embroidered writing and insignia on the left breast . The jumpsuit had medium length sleeves and was worn open in the front , sealing at the waistline . A standard black undershirt was worn underneath , in contrast with jumpsuit uniforms of the previous style with division - colored undershirts . The jumpsuits came in red ( operations division ) , green / brown ( command division ) , and blue ( sciences division ) . ( ) When Technician beamed aboard with an unknown magnet ic ore on his jumpsuit in 2266 , he was instructed by Montgomery Scott to " " decontaminate that uniform . " " ( ) Later that year , when the stowaway Simon Van Gelder was discovered aboard the , wearing such a jumpsuit , it was simply stated that he was " " someone in engineering uniform . " " ( ) Environmental suit . A pressurized environmental unit was issued for use in inhospitable environments . It provided full life support to its wearer in the vacuum of space . ( ) Galley vest . Worker ' s in the ship ' s galley , such as the galley chef , wore a tan colored vest over their uniform . ( ) Hazard vest . A hazard vest , seen in beige , was in issue for excursions or technical personnel , such as during maintenance work on the shipboard atmospheric system . Sometimes the hazard vest was worn in conjunction with protective gloves and head cover . ( ) Protective suits . At least three types of protective suits were available for the wearers ' protection . They were relatively flexible in design , and provided complete coverage and suitable for hazardous environments . ( ) Accessories . Equipment belt . Equipment belts were worn with the standard duty uniforms , often by security personnel to carry phaser pistol s . ( ; ) Embellishments . Assignment patches . Assignment patch es were worn on many of the uniform styles , and were individual depending on a service person ' s posting . Departmental insignia of the wearer ' s position was in the center of many of these patches . ( ; ; ) Appendices . Background information . The Starfleet uniforms worn during were designed by William Ware Theiss , who returned to design the uniforms ( which were further adapted into future versions on " Deep Space Nine " , " Voyager " , and in the TNG - era films by Robert Blackman ) . Although the standard command division uniform tunics looked gold on most color TV sets , the costumes were actually lime green . This issue was made light of in an in - joke from the first draft script of , in which Department of Temporal Investigations agents Dulmur and Lucsly – just prior to leaving space station Deep Space 9 – asked Benjamin Sisko one final question : what color had Kirk ' s uniform been . Sisko , having seen Kirk in both a duty uniform and wraparound tunic , simply answered , " " Green . " " The greenish hue of the command tunics can be seen more clearly in the third season , when the fabric used for the tunics was changed from satin velour to a double - knit fabric that reflected the set lighting differently . The dress uniforms , made of a silk material , were always clearly green by comparison , and some darker green jumpsuits and wraparound tunics that were more clearly seen seemed to confirm that all the " gold - to - green " variations were part of the same color scheme . The so - called " beige " uniforms which originated with were ironically a much more yellow color , but likewise appeared beige or pinkish under the lights . These uniforms first appeared in . Kirk ' s wraparound jacket was light green , one variation in with captain ' s braid on one shoulder , two other variations in TOS Season 2 with gold trim only with rank on the sleeves appearing only in and with both gold and black trim with rank on the sleeves for the remainder of the season . No other officer in the original series was ever seen wearing this uniform , although one more green uniform was used , a green service jumpsuit worn by Connors . ( The mirror universe wore this variant uniform in . ) This style was not seen at all in TOS Season 3 . Chronologically , these uniforms first appeared in late 2265 in the Christmas party flashback scenes in and the recording of Doctor Leonard McCoy ' s visit to Capella IV in . With a few exceptions , all women in these uniforms wore the skirt variant . One uniform seen on extras in TOS Season 1 was a woman ' s gold command uniform with pants . It was created for a scene in where a pretty crewwoman was transformed into an old hag , who might not have looked appropriate in a skirt uniform . It also made an appearance in . In regards to the collars on female uniforms , blue - collared uniforms were seen in TOS and TAS on Nurse Chapel , and red - collared uniforms were seen in TAS . Female gold command uniforms were rare on both series and were never seen with colored collars . This uniform style was last seen in , although it was later recreated for and . The alternate reality uniforms introduced in were based on this design , though the timeframe of that film , and its sequels , has them in use when the previous prime reality style was being used . " " , Issue 2 depicts the alternate reality version of this uniform was already in use by 2239 , suggesting that in the alternate reality the previous uniform was never adopted at all , unless it was used briefly after 2233 .