When you visit Juliette Gordon Low’s home in Savannah, Pax Lodge or Our Chalet, have an audience with your senator or congressman or visit the White House, you’ll want to have your Girl Scout vest or sash with you! It’s expected to be in uniform when you are participating in a pinning ceremony or visiting dignitaries as a troop. You’ll also find that it opens doors for you!

For the changing of the guard in London, you MUST be wearing your uniform. This was because we were allowed inside the gate for the ceremony. We had to present a letter from one of the Queen’s secretaries (arranged by PAX) and they opened up the center gate and let us in. It was SO WORTH IT! Not one girl complained and everyone outside of the fence was green with envy. I let them put their vests in their backpacks as soon as we were escorted out. They had to spend the rest of the day in their matching shirts and khaki pants, but they were very mature about it.

When we were at Pax, uniforms were required for SOME events. (we did their week-long program) Otherwise, we could wear whatever we wanted, but with the PAX ballcap or visor (required).

Here’s some good advice though:

*One thing I strongly recommend to any girl/ troop taking their vest/sash with them is to take a photo of the front and back of their vest/sash before you leave just in case it gets misplaced while on your trip. (Trust me, it happens!).

*Make sure to write the girl’s name on the inside of the vest/sash to identify it easily. They all look the same when heaped in piles.

*Make sure everything is secured on the vest/sash before packing it. A dab of glue on the back of a loose pin helps it to stick.

*To help keep your vest/sash clean and ready to put on when needed, fold it neatly and put it in a one gallon ziplock bag. Keep it ready in your backpack.

Trust me. You’ll want some pictures as a troop, in your vest on your trip. This is a really special part of your Girl Scout journey. Your vest or sash is a part of your identity as a Girl Scout.

All the same, I don’t recommend wearing your vest all the time. You can bring a GS t-shirt, maybe a “trip shirt” to wear for long travel days or for grubby volunteering or hiking. A vest can get hot because it’s layered with another shirt and putting backpacks on and off can be hard on pins and patches.

A teenager does not need to wear matching clothes to be able to tell a staff member what “group” they are with. Talk with your troop about the advantages and see what they think. If they strongly object then by all means, let them wear different things. Some girls are uncomfortable and somewhat embarrassed when required to dress in GS gear. Maybe you could settle on a scarf or ballcap that could help you identify your girls in a crowd. European scouts go on trips all the time, and since many women in northern Europe work full time, so do childcare groups. And many school groups in Europe think nothing of a one week trip as well. Almost all of these groups wear matching bandannas or hats, so your girls will not “stick out”.

Many troops that bring a vest or sash save it for special events and photos. You’ll find that there are lots of advantages to wearing a uniform while traveling from getting free ice at McDonalds for the cooler chests, to getting let through locked gates by the rangers at parks for camping when we arrived after closing time. You’ll run into Girl Guides while travelling internationally and the goodwill that the uniform brings is incredible and may start some interesting conversations.

One leader shared “First, all over the world the Girl Scouts are widely respected ( they are a classic gift from Britain to the world ) being in GS uniform is never a problem it’s a symbol of high standards and is well respected. Secondly you have a worldwide centre for Girl Scouts in London. Obviously if this were a school group we would only say ‘dress for the weather and no bare shoulders’. Being Scouts we want to represent ourselves and the US respectfully but without exposing ourselves to pickpockets etc as ‘oboy American tourists’. Our plan is to wear Girl Scout shirts when traveling (we have found it can expedite things at security and customs) and definitely the day we go to Pax Lodge, where we plan to pick up World Center tshirts for all after our tour.”

As far as a national policy regarding traveling in uniform….there is none. Just take your tab and you’re “in uniform”.