Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 19/02) - As fashion buffs would say, brown is out and blue is new. Blue and orange to be precise.

The new uniform for Brownies in Canada will also abandon the old style dress for a variety of different pieces. Everything from cargo pants to fleece vests will be available.

Kathy Yurris, Brownie leader in Yellowknife, sees this as a good move. She says it's what the girls want and knows it will increase enrolment.

Last year, Yurris gave her brownies the option of wearing the uniform. She says most of them didn't bother. With the new uniform and the many options available, Yurris says, each girl should be able to find something she is comfortable in.

"Because the girls were so active the skirts and the dresses weren't appropriate. So they came in whatever they wanted," says Yurris.

Until now, only slight variations have occurred on the uniform. Deleigh Rausch, NWT Territorial Commissioner, said that in the late 1980's Alfred Sung designed some additions to the uniform. Pants and T-shirts became an option but the dress still remained.

But by leaving behind the traditional uniform, brownies will only be distinguished from other young girls by the logo on their shirts, their ties and their badge scarves and only if they choose to wear them at all.

Yurris says although she did not push the uniform last year, she doesn't think she'll have to with the new one. Her daughter, Jeanne, is already asking for the t-shirt as a birthday present. Yurris says she'll encourage her Brownies to invest. At the same time whether they choose to or not is their decision.

"I don't think it matters if the girls wear brown or red or whatever. They're Brownies and they're just happy to be with their friends," she says.