Figure 1.--Cub and Scout troops varied a great dealk as to the attention given to unifirms. Here's a Sciut troop tht gve a great deal of ttention to thr uniform. Every one is ewearing the full unifirm exceot fir the scarves. They are wearing the new Oscar de la Renta-designed uniform in 1987.

The English and some Europeans have given great attention to the uniform, more so than in the more easy going United States and many other counties. This has vasried over time. Unifiorms were very popular with boys in the early-20th century, even into mid-20th century. Of course there were viuationd aming the different countries. Boys and girls in some countries would wear their uniforms to school. Many schools in Ameruica had Scout days each week, usually Thursday if I recall. After mid-century the popularity of uniforms began to decline. We are not sure just why. The Vuetnam War may have been a factor. Attiutudes toward authortity and unifirm requiremnts were also chaanging. Actual uniform inspections seem yo hasve been common in England. I am trying to remember, but I do not recall uniform insections when I was A cy=ub, But ut has been 70 yers, so I may have just firgot. All of this varied fromm unit to unit. Some units gave great attentiion to detail, others were much less concened. This become onvioys in the photographic record. In my Cub units, alkl us boys had the regulation unfoirm. We notice by the 70s that often boys just had the regulation shirt and not the regulation pants. This becme very common. At events such as Scout Band competitions, the inspections could be quite rigorous. The English tend to have a stricter national standard. When the English Scout movement decided to shift to long pants in 1969, virtually all troops followed suit. In American, Scouting is much more identified with outdoor events where uniform standards were less rigorous. In addition, individual councils and even troops are allowed considerable leeway on how to wear the uniform and over the year a great diversity of hats, kerchiefs, knickers, long and short pants, can be observed at Cub and Scout groups.