Peaked Caps in uniforms

[DarloRich]

Identification. On a crowded platform the peaked cap is invaluable to find staff (both for passengers and other workers).

ok - does the bright orange branded jacket or tabard not do that better?

 

[Meerkat]

ok - does the bright orange branded jacket or tabard not do that better?

On some stations there are quite a few passengers wearing hi-vis, and on a crowded platform it is easier to see a hat than what someone is wearing on their torso.

If you are needing to get a bit Japanese then I reckon the hat helps give authority. Tabards are for people helping you, hats are people telling you to get on the sodding train NOW!

 

[Stigy]

Couldn't agree more with polo shirts, except possibly the bit about drivers. They're still not out of the public view and are indeed seen quite regularly as the train arrives.



Of course, attitudes matter far more than uniforms. But I think it cannot be denied that uniforms do have some impact on the way one carries themselves and behaves.

It’s more about being comfortable for drivers. Similar to Police Officers etc no wearing polo/wicking tops. They’re comfortable and durable, but can still look smart. I like shirts too, and can chose them over polos at my TOC, but to be honest, polo tops take less looking after, as they don’t require ironing, and generally last longer than shirts. Shirts discolour quickly and the fact that a tie also needs to be worn, is a bit of a drag for me.

I like shirts to the extent that when I iron them, I’m almost obsessive with the creasing of the sleeves

 

[Meerkat]

It’s more about being comfortable for drivers. Similar to Police Officers etc no wearing polo/wicking tops. They’re comfortable and durable, but can still look smart. I like shirts too, and can chose them over polos at my TOC, but to be honest, polo tops take less looking after, as they don’t require ironing, and generally last longer than shirts. Shirts discolour quickly and the fact that a tie also needs to be worn, is a bit of a drag for me.

I like shirts to the extent that when I iron them, I’m almost obsessive with the creasing of the sleeves

Ironing is an issue, but non-iron is getting better.
I dont see why a shirt needs a tie - an awful lot of offices are shirt but no tie now. I actually found shirts more comfortable in the summer - thinner and the button front is basically a load of ventilation slots.
Polo shirts start looking smart but soon get baggy and shiny/fluffy. They are also not the most flattering for the less perfectly honed figures.
The police fleece shirts are awful looking, particularly as they are black black, rather than police blue/black. Combine them with combats and boots and they very much look like a force and not the service they want to be these days.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But if the pubs bouncers stop there being ASB problems the it’s better than a nearby pub without?

Then I'd be questioning (a) how skilled the landlord is, and (b) whether that's a nice area to hang around in anyway!

Anyway we're way OT with this so probably best leave it there.

ok - does the bright orange branded jacket or tabard not do that better?

In Virgin Trains days I did hear from a few people that the bright red jackets were very handy for identifying a member of staff in a crowded area while not looking scruffy like FirstGroup's tendency to use hi-vis for that purpose.

 

[Stigy]

Ironing is an issue, but non-iron is getting better.
I dont see why a shirt needs a tie - an awful lot of offices are shirt but no tie now. I actually found shirts more comfortable in the summer - thinner and the button front is basically a load of ventilation slots.
Polo shirts start looking smart but soon get baggy and shiny/fluffy. They are also not the most flattering for the less perfectly honed figures.
The police fleece shirts are awful looking, particularly as they are black black, rather than police blue/black. Combine them with combats and boots and they very much look like a force and not the service they want to be these days.

Changing times I guess, I mean, in the eighties female coppers work skirts and had handbags. The police wicking tops are thin, versatile and can be smart. Shirts can be worn without ties, but it defeats the object if we’re talking about uniforms being smart?

 

[WAB]

I think the LNER uniform is pretty smart, and the red or navy with red piping makes it easy to identify them as staff. Hi-viz means sod all, given their ubiquity amongst the travelling public, track workers, cleaners etc.

Having said that, I think uniform hats would be very useful for identification and authority, particularly if there was some indication of grade like the old LU system.

 

[Meerkat]

Changing times I guess, I mean, in the eighties female coppers work skirts and had handbags. The police wicking tops are thin, versatile and can be smart. Shirts can be worn without ties, but it defeats the object if we’re talking about uniforms being smart?

I have never see a wicking top looking smart. Clean and new maybe, but never smart. I vaguely remembering hearing that the coppers didnt actually like them - some fleecy stuff can be pretty uncomfortable on the skin.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have never see a wicking top looking smart. Clean and new maybe, but never smart. I vaguely remembering hearing that the coppers didnt actually like them - some fleecy stuff can be pretty uncomfortable on the skin.

The issue with most of this sort of stuff is that cheap tends to mean poorly fitting and scratchy, and very rarely is uniform for anything ever anything other than cheap.

OTOH the increasingly popular softshells aren't bad. I got a couple as running/hiking jackets from one of the workwear suppliers for 30 quid a pop, the same type that would normally have company logos embroidered onto them, and they're fine if a little skinny-fit (TOCs really should pay attention to getting multiple fits for different people - very little looks more ridiculous than a fat bloke in a skinny fit top).

 

[D6130]

IMHO, the best uniform ever since I joined the railway in 1975 was the final BR version (late 'eighties/early 'nineties) with the good quality navy blue trousers and jackets, white shirts with thin vertical navy blue stripes and German-style soft-topped peaked caps. Smart, stylish and available in several different fittings. Unfortunately I can't find a link to it at the moment, but maybe someone else on here who is more tech-savvy than me could do so?

 

[LowLevel]

IMHO, the best uniform ever since I joined the railway in 1975 was the final BR version (late 'eighties/early 'nineties) with the good quality navy blue trousers and jackets, white shirts with thin vertical navy blue stripes and German-style soft-topped peaked caps. Smart, stylish and available in several different fittings. Unfortunately I can't find a link to it at the moment, but maybe someone else on here who is more tech-savvy than me could do so?

I always thought that uniform could either look very smart and professional or superbly sloppy depending on who was wearing it at the time

The Corporate Collection was pretty good though I must say. Hats here mostly went out with MML in 2007 when they ceased to be mandatory, though East Midlands Trains did still provide an optional "**** hat" (perhaps that indicates the issue!) as they were known until about 2017 when they no longer wished to pay for them!

Hardly anyone did opt to wear a hat though, probably single figures across the whole company.

 

[Horizon22]

A gentle reminder to please keep the this thread on topic.

There’s some interesting discussion here so would rather it wasn’t closed so please do follow the forum rules.