Starfleet uniform ( mid 2270s ) In the mid 2270s , a new Starfleet uniform design was introduced over the previous design , with many different variations . Most were gray , white , , or beige , and came either in a one - piece jumpsuit or with matching trousers and tops . These uniform s bore rank insignia on the sleeve or on shoulder tabs . The arrowhead emblem was adopted as Starfleet ' s overall insignia and was worn on the chest by shipboard personnel and flag officer s . Base personnel , like those on Epsilon IX , continued to wear duty badges unique to their assigned base . Distinctive features of this period included a life support monitor belt buckle and shoes attached to the trousers . This style of uniform was phased out by 2278 . ( ; ) Duty uniform . Flag officer uniform . The flag officer uniform was a two - piece tunic with dark gray pants and a white and dark gray flared shirt with a high collar . Rank was shown by both epaulet s and sleeve stripes , and a gold Starfleet Command pin was worn on the chest . Rear Admiral James T . Kirk wore this type of uniform in his assignment at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth , when he was Chief of Starfleet Operations . Jumpsuit . The duty jumpsuit was a one - piece uniform with integrated footwear , all one color . Rank was shown on the division color epaulets , and a division color assignment patch was attached to the chest . Some of these jumpsuits had large pockets located on the thigh . Short sleeved tunic . A short sleeved version of the standard tunic was also available . This tunic featured either a low V - neck collar , or flared V - neck . Rank was shown by division color epaulets , and a division color assignment patch was attached to the tunic chest . The V - neck tunics were available in same colors as the standard uniform . Two - piece tunic . The standard Starfleet uniform was a two - piece tunic that came in a blue - grey , beige , brown , or white color , including any combination thereof . The tunic was worn untucked , and had a life support monitor belt buckle . Rank insignia was worn as sleeve stripes , and an assignment patch showing a division color was attached to the tunic chest . This tunic came with three variations of collars . The standard was a low flat collar , but there was also a V - necked flared collar version . The standard version could also be worn with a higher , more formal collar . Two - piece tunic with belt . This uniform was also two - piece , and seen primarily among the refit crew while it was in drydock . They were available in the same colors as the standard Starfleet uniforms , however were worn with a belt . Wraparound tunic . Crewmembers performing maintenance operations had the option of wearing a wraparound tunic . Its function is similar to the duty jumpsuits of the previous uniform style , and like those jumpsuits , it is worn with a black undershirt . Medical attire . Medical tunic . For use in the medical department , a white tunic with a flared collar was used , with a medical green caduceus in place of the assignment patch . Patient attire . Patient s in Starfleet sickbay s wore a loose fitting white tunic with a hood like flared collar , the interior of which was orange . This was worn with white pants with prominent closers running all the way down to the ankle . Outer wear . Body armor . Starship and base security personnel wore body armor complete with helmets . EV suits . Thruster suit . A thruster suit was an environmental suit with the addition of a thruster pack attached to the back . Embellishments . Assignment patches . These uniforms indicated department by a colored circle behind the assignment patch , according to this code : Appendices . Background information . Overall , these uniforms were only used in , though parts of them were recycled into the lab coats of the Regula personnel in and the red jacket uniforms seen in the next six films and episodes of TNG . Wardrobe designer Robert Fletcher created a fourteen - page internal document used to depict his designs for the divisions , rank , and insignia seen throughout the movies . George Takei stated that this version of the uniform was not comfortable , and that because of the way it was designed it required assistance to be removed – even for minor things such as using the restroom . He stated that the redesigned uniform featured in the rest of the films with the original series cast was brought about because of the cast ' s reluctance to film any further films with this version of the uniform .