Colorguard Uniforms: sleek, shiny, and tough

Some uniforms are more decorative; others are more functional. Some uniforms must both look sharp and help its wearer perform his or her job. Colorguard uniforms are, first and foremost, meant to impress the spectators at an event. Colorguards present school colors and U.S. flag. They march solemnly, stately.  but they also move sleekly and in all kinds of interesting patterns. There is pomp and drama in a line of men carrying the flag and bringing down the aisle of an auditorium before an audience up on its feet.  But there is also excitement in watching colorguards perform with the accompaniment of a marching band. Colorguards must be dressed for their role.

A key first step is to figure out know what kind of group personality they wish to project to all those spectators who will be watching their routines. Colorguard uniforms must reflect that personality.  Indeed, the typical marching and choreographed routines the guard performs should help them decide what colors and designs they want for their uniforms. It pays to note right here that customization is a big part of the manufacturing of colorguard uniforms.  Of course, as important as the customizing skills of the manufacturer or vendor are the aesthetic and practical choices made by the customers.

The stylishness of color guard uniforms shouldn’t take a back seat , but the choice of color is also a practical one. Uniforms heavy in white make a great impression. They really call attention to all those guards marching with flags and the lines of guards weaving among themselves and creating all kinds of fleeting shapes for the delight of the stadium crowd.  But white is also notoriously difficult to keep clean and any kind of dirt that finds its way to a white jacket, for instance, stands out big time.

A major decision to make when ordering colorguard uniforms is whether to buy pants for the whole color guard or to purchase skirts for the females- or, of course, some combination of the two. This is not purely an aesthetic decision.  Pants allow easy movement for certain kinds of choreography, but for others create problems.

Skirts can look beautiful but they also can get in the way during certain kinds of color guard routines. Again, those ordering color guard uniforms need to carefully assess the needs of their particular group.

While the layman might not give much thought to it, two vital items of colorguard uniforms are gloves and shoes.  Gloves should look elegant. Indeed, they look like the same gloves women wear when dressed in formal wear. But they certainly can’t be dainty. Female member of a color guard toss their batons high in the air and have to catch them. They make no small impact on the hands and a pair of gloves must offer protection.  At the same time, the gloves must be supple enough so that the batons can be effortlessly- or so it seems to the untrained eye- caught by the majorettes. Shoes must look sharp and be functional, offering excellent support for hard and constantly moving guard members.