Debrief
Over the years, I have had grand plans to recreate Starfleet uniforms. So far, none have come to fruition. But when I saw there was an exhibit of the new costumes from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I hopped on the train and headed down, camera and seam gauge in tow. I’d never been to the Paley Center for Media and didn’t know how busy it gets (spoiler alert: not very). I got to spend some quality alone-time with the uniforms.
This is only the first post. I took photos of all the costumes and props there and will post them as time permits. The others include Command Dress, Operations Dress, Medical Labcoat, Medical Jumpsuit, Cadet Dress Uniform, Field Jacket, and various non uniform costumes, tricorder, communicator, phaser, memorial pins, Vulcan pendant, and Illyrian scroll.
Without further ado, on to the good stuff.
Command Division, circa 225
Authorized for wear by those personnel specializing in the command and control tasks aboard starships as well as ground and space-based installations, along with Starfleet Command’s upper leadership hierarchy. The assigned division is represented by the uniform tunic’s gold color, with the officer’s rank denoted by stripes on the tunic’s sleeves.
This version of the Command Division Starfleet Duty Uniform is worn by actor Anson Mount for his portrayal of Captain Christopher Pike. It is a creation of costume designers Bernadette Croft and Gersha Phillips and the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds costume department.
Sciences Division, circa 2259
Authorized for those personnel assigned to any of the numerous science-based disciplines typical of starship’s crew, along with similar tasks performed by officers detailed to starbases and other permanent facilities. Examples of typical specializations include biological studies, technicians including sensor and other computer-based information collection and analysis, medics, nurses, and surgeons. The assigned division is depicted via teh uniform tunic’s prevailing blue color, with the officer’s rank displayed on the tunic’s sleeves.
This uniform is worn by actor Ethan Peck for his portrayal of Lieutenant Spock. It is a creation of costume designers Bernadette Croft and Gersha Phillips and the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds costume department.
Operations Division, circa 2259
Worn by Starfleet personnel specializing in the communications, engineering, security, and tactical functions aboard starships as well as starbases and planet-based installations. The uniform tunic’s predominant maroon color indicates the assigned division, with the wearer’s rank denoted by the stripes on the tunic’s sleeves.
This version of the Operations Division Starfleet Duty Uniform is worn by actress Christina Chong for her portrayal of Lieutenant La’An Noonien Singh. It is a creation of costume designers Bernadette Croft and Gersha Phillips and the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds costume department.
Color Reference
To ensure accurate colors I used Color Checker Passport for white balance and normalized exposure using the grey swatches. Except for when showing details on darker photos, I’ve tried to keep exposure consistent.
UPDATE: Thanks to the Star Trek Costume Group on Facebook and an awesome member who snapped a photo of the actual Pantones used for the costumes. They were shared at Star Trek: Mission Chicago by the costume designer Bernadette Croft. The official colors are below. Additionally, Pantone sells individual fabric swatches for each of their colors directly on their website.
Command Uniform Color Values
PANTONE
17-0949 TCX
CHAI TEA
sRGB
178, 131, 47
HEX
#b2832f
Sciences Uniform Color Values
PANTONE
19-4118 TCX
DARK DENIM
sRGB
53, 70, 94
HEX
#35465e
Operations Uniform Color Values
PANTONE
19-1930 TCX
POMEGRANATE
sRGB
108, 40, 49
HEX
#6c2831
Measurements (Command)
Below is a table of the measurements I was able to to take. Some Imperial measurements are rounded.
| Component | Measurement (cm) | Measurement (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Collar Height | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Stripe Height (wide) | 1.25 | 0.5 |
| Stripe Height (narrow) | 0.75 | 0.3 |
| Stripe Separation | 0.55 | 0.2 |
| Cuff Opening to Stripe Offset | 0.95 | 0.375 |
| Total Cuff Length | 6.6 | 2.625 |
| Hem | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| Pant Stripe (total) | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Pant Stripe (sateen) | 0.7 | 0.15 |
| Fly Topstitching | 3.6 | 1.5 |
| Chest Dart Length | 10.7 | 4.5 |
Measurements (Sciences)
Below is a table of the measurements I was able to to take. All very similar to . Some Imperial measurements are rounded.
| Component | Measurement (cm) | Measurement (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Collar Height | 2.2 | .86 |
| Stripe Height (wide) | 1.25 | 0.5 |
| Stripe Height (narrow) | .75 | 0.3 |
| Stripe Separation | 0.55 | 0.2 |
| Cuff Opening to Stripe Offset | 1.3 | 0.5 |
| Total Cuff Length | 7.0 | 2.75 |
| Hem | 2.5 | 1.0 |
| Pant Stripe (total) | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Pant Stripe (sateen) | 0.7 | 0.15 |
| Fly Topstitching | 3.4 | 1.3 |
| Chest Dart Length | 10 | 3.9 |
Measurements (Operations)
Below is a table of the measurements I was able to to take. Note the different fly construction. Some Imperial measurements are rounded.
| Component | Measurement (cm) | Measurement (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Collar Height | 2.1 | .82 |
| Stripe Height (wide) | 1.2 | 0.5 |
| Stripe Height (narrow) | .75 | 0.3 |
| Stripe Separation | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Cuff Opening to Stripe Offset | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| Total Cuff Length | 6.4 | 2.5 |
| Hem | 3.0 | 1.18 |
| Pant Stripe (total) | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Pant Stripe (sateen) | 0.7 | 0.15 |
| Fly Topstitching | 0.9 | .35 |
Division Fabric (Downloads)
The raised superhero-esque print used on these uniforms sits much more flush with the fabric than the deltas on the Discovery uniforms. I scaled the image to actual size in Illustrator, then traced and averaged the pattern before tiling it. Since the fabric was not laying flat, I only based the traced pattern on the center of the frame and closest to the ruler to minimize distortion.
Below are PDF files you can download. One suitable for large applications sized 30″x60″ and another smaller 8 1/2″x11″. Print at 100%. Do not scale.
Command Star Pattern Downloads
Sciences Planet Pattern Downloads
Operations Swirl Pattern Downloads
The Naughty Bits
Here are the photos liable to land me in the brig. Well, if not the brig, at least a stern dressing down by museum staff. In addition to laying my ruler all over the place, I took a peek underneath. Was it worth the risk?
Fabric: Unlike the Discovery uniforms which use a 4-way stretch woven material from Schoeller, this appears to use some kind of bonded knit microfiber.
Waistband: Even more interesting, the waistband is covered entirely in elastic. I didn’t dig any further to figure out what was going on, figuring I’d tempted the museum gods enough. This could be an alteration made for the exhibit or perhaps pregnancy pants have caught on for everyone in the 23rd century.
Flyzip: The zipper is attached very close to the opening.
Full Resolution Photos (Download)
Can’t get enough? Here’s a google drive link where you can download full resolution photos of everything in this post and the other costumes at the exhibit.
10 Responses
The elastic is to to prevent any “muffin top” the actors have from being real humans 😉
I know sometimes they have to wear shapers under the shirt as well – which is silly as these are some very fit buff people
This makes a lot sense! It would also prevent the pant waistband from showing through.
How many pieces are those sleeves? Command_tunic_19 seems to suggest the sleeve is 4 pieces, but operations_tunic_14 seems to suggest it’s 3. I can’t find a clear enough screenshot in the show to really confirm one way or another. Does Pike have a slightly different sleeve construction from La’an?
I believe they’re all three piece sleeves. The outer textured panel that wraps to the inside around the front, back piece that wraps the the inside around the back, and the under arm piece. The cuff seam is at the back where where textured and untextured pieces meet.
Love the division fabric pattern downloads, any chance of getting them as PNGs or some other format with a transparent background?
Search Google for ‘PDF to PNG converter’ there are a bunch of free ones. The PDFs dont contain backgrounds so they should convert to transparent PNG easily.
I love the detail you were able to acquire. I noticed you mentioned the fly difference for the ops uniforms. I just wanted to note that difference is a gender differentiation. This is mainly a tradition thing but if someone wants to maintain the authenticity as much as possible, men would wear the pant examples from command and sciences and women would wear the pant example from ops.
This blog has simultaneously saved me from some misguided ideas and set me on a path of tons more work. Thank you for these detailed measurements, photos and files.
Hi, i just discovered your blog. I’m really impressed with the attention to detail you’ve shown here. Did you ever make one of the uniforms?
I seem to be perpetually in the planning phase but I’m hoping this year I get something made haha