The old Scout Shorts…can we still wear them? (22 Apr 11)

“Our troop has a footlocker full of used uniform items for the boys to use–no sense spending $45 on a pair of pants when there’s a pair to be had for free in the bottom every growing scouts closet.  Of course, with the switch from the Oscar de la Renta (ODLR) uniform to the Centennial uniform (not to mention the cheap switchbacks that were foisted on us in between) most of the stuff in the locker right now is outdated ODLR items.

Flipping through our old photo albums, the scouts always have a hearty laugh at the length of the ODLR shorts; they can’t believe how short they were.  Recently, one of the scouts was overheard saying that he was going to get a pair of the old shorts from the locker and wear them because they’re so funny.  As you often say, once the uniform is official, it’s always official if worn completely, so  don’t see any problem with any of the scouts wearing the old shorts,and while I’d prefer that they weren’t doing it to be funny, if they can wear it with a straight face I don’t see any problem with it.  In fact, I have a pair of the ODLR pants which I had taken up into shorts to get around the length issue, and I still wear them from time to time when my Centenial pants are in the wash.

As he was thumbing through the shorts to find his size, he remarked that the Scoutmaster had told him to make sure that the shorts were “appropriate” (meaning in terms of their length).  I told him that the shorts were designed, approved, and manufactured by the Boy Scouts of America, and while they may be short, they are official and therefore intrinsically appropriate, as long as they were not in poor condition.

What do you think about this issue?  Are the ODLR shorts suddenly inappropriate for use by members of the BSA?  One could argue that they’re a different standard in attire from a different era, but the switchbacks issued just a few years ago were just as short when the legs were removed to make them shorts.”

TO ME, those shorts are no more “inappropriate” than the old women’s shorts!

The BSA, however, says that the important thing to remember about wearing ANYTHING OLD, is that “it has to be worn  completely old!”  And as you correctly stated to me, once the BSA placed their Seal or logo onto any uniform item, it is official wear then, now, and anytime in the future. 

The BSA has NEVER allowed for current and older uniform shirts and pants to be worn “interchangably”.  If you decide to wear the shorts associated with the older field uniform, then you have to wear the older shirts too.  That’s not a problem with the old “legacy” uniform, where those shorts came from.  The issue comes from wearing the shorts with the current “Centennial” or the Venturing green field uniform (and no, removing the “Venturing-BSA” strip and replacing it with the older “Scout-BSA” or “Boy Scouts of America” green strips don’t make the uniform “old”…sorry…)

Ties, neckerchiefs, hats, and shoes may be worn with ANY official uniform. But if you wear an old pair of Scout pants, you have to wear the matching shirt that it went with.  That’s where people get into trouble with. 

You have a true treasure trove of Scouting uniforms, and I would encourage you to continue sharing those with Scouts and Scouters who cannot afford to get the “the latest” but still want to be a part of the Scouting game — and need a uniform.  And yes, if your Scouts and/or yourself choose to wear those shorts, they can giggle at the shortness if they like but understand “that was the style” then like the open-collared shirts and the first version of the ODLR shirt were. 

And if, by chance, you run across a blue jac-shirt in large or extra large, with or without holes and/or patches, would you please consider sending it to me? I’ve been looking for such an item for well over 30 years!!

Thanks for asking me…I do appreciate the question — its an OUTSTANDING ONE!!

(Name and location of Scouter removed per personal wishes.  I only provide names and email addresses upon approval from the Scouter involved and only to allow those with similar concerns to directly contact them rather than to go through me.)