The Continuity GuideUniforms
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide
The Year 2 uniform has a revised design. In most cases they are adapted from the Year 1 tunics, but the lead cast had new costumes made. All uniforms, not just the Commander's, include a turtle-neck collar in the section colour. Male tunics have a single thickness collar, while female tunics have a folded over collar. The collars are fastened by Velcro or sometimes stud fasteners. Stitching in the section colour is added in three -or two - lines, across the chest and vertically on the left hand side. This stitching is only on the fronts of most people, although Koenig, Helena and Maya have stitching across the back (it is also heavier on secondary characters to show up more). The vertical stitching ends on a triangular insert cut in the hem (not present in Koenig's tunic), and continues around the hem line.
On the top left of the chest (inside the area delimited by stitching) an ID badge is worn, possibly above a circular insignia badge (see here). The belt now has a tan cartridge-like buckle on the front instead of just a flap (actually just padded vinyl with silver cord). Often Koenig does not have a visible belt buckle in the Year 1 style.
New uniforms for Koenig, Helena and Maya were created for Year 2; other costumes were revamped from Year 1. Only later in the second series did Tony and Alan get new uniforms. A set of Koenig's tunic and trousers sold at auction for £1,590 in September 2007. A Year 2 red sleeved tunic and trousers sold for $2250 in a US auction in July 2016.
Trousers made for year 2 have wider bell-bottoms than year 1, reflecting mid-1970s fashion.
Female uniforms may now include a skirt, either above or below the knee, with the same vertical stitching and insert as the tunic. Skirts are worn with high boots.
The command uniform does not have the hem insert, while the horizontal stitching continues across the back. The stripe on the right arm only continues to the shoulder seam, not to the collar. Koenig's trousers also include pockets and flies (but no zip on the left leg).
Helena's uniform does not have a zip fastener on the tunic or trousers (Barbara Bain found the zip on her Year 1 tunic cold, and used to heat it on the radiator, which then used to get too hot). Both arms are silk, rather than wool. The right arm is of paler beige (all other tunics do not have a seam between the torso and the right arm). Her collar is actually a pale cream, not as white as her sleeve, except in the last few episodes.
Koenig wears a jacket in every scene except in Journey To Where. And in this episode, we can see that the stripe on his right sleeve does not extend to the neck, as it did in year one. There are three stripes of thread across his chest, but the middle one is in a lighter thread.
Apart from the stars, the Year Two uniforms were modified from the Year One versions, as can be clearly seen on the turtlenecks. Women's tunics had a longer folded-over neck that covered the stitching.
Helena's uniform is unusual. The material is different. She has two stripes of thread across her chest, not three. The left white sleeve has no zipper (the zip is in the back of the uniform; there is also no zip on the trousers). The turtle neck is not white, but is a slightly lighter beige. The right sleeve is the same beige, and is stitched on (normally the right sleeve and torso were cut from a single piece). Helena's sleeves were actually silk, rather than the wool of the normal uniforms. Apart from a few short scenes like this, she always wore a jacket.
In the final two episodes, Helena wears a new uniform, with a white turtleneck.
In most episodes, everyone has three thick lines of colour-coded thread across their chest, apart from Koenig and Helena, who have two thinner lines, with a middle line in a neutral colour (it is less visible, because it is actually a seam). These uniforms were made for the second series, by sewing together different pieces of material. During the later episodes such as Dorzak, Maya, Tony and Alan have new uniforms, in the two-line style. Tony wears the three-line tunic again in Immunity Syndrome, but in The Dorcons is back in the new style.
In The Beta Cloud, Tony is wearing the 3 line uniform. In one sequence (in the Weapons Center, filmed much later), he is in the 2 line uniform.
Eva in The Seance Spectre is the only guest artist to have the "two-line" style. Carolyn Seymour appears to be thin and tall, which would require a new uniform to be made, in the style of the "hero" costumes (which had just been made for Tony and Alan). Thanks to John Day.
Also in The Seance Spectre, Stevens has an orange pilot's collar, but the lines are red, possibly indicating a repaired costume. Thanks to John Day.
Security uniforms now have a black "Security" badge on the right shoulder.
A Year One type uniform appears in The Metamorph. Torens (Nick Brimble) wears an unaltered tunic in the caves, with no collar or ID badge. In the transfer unit, he has a collar (perhaps not attached) and an ID badge, but not stitching across the chest.
Copyright Martin Willey
