Brown Brings Basics Back in Style

Chances are that when the teacher asked you what your favorite color was, brown wasn’t the first choice. It’s one of those things. Ubiquitous like air and water, brown is an all-pervasive hue that just is. As a result, most folks take it for granted rather than think of it as being really special or unique. Let’s face it: brown lacks pizzazz.

On the other hand, brown in the uniform industry despite objections to the contrary by navys, blacks, and greys has been a staple that has not only been around forever but commands identity and respect because of its no-nonsense, down-to-earth connotation.

When it comes right down to it, clothing was originally brown animal skins. Plants and natural dyes were often in brown hues, so as fabrics evolved, brown was still the staple. When man discovered weaving and color processing technologies, brown stepped back for the emergence of reds, blues, greens, yellows and so forth. But in all native societies, brown still held the prominent spot as a shade. It became the color of the common people. Brown reminds us of wood, nature and earth. It’s a warm mix of other muddied primary colors and often borders on yellow, orange, green or burgundy. It’s all about comfort, reality and the inevitable.

UPS knows about brown, “Pullman brown” to be precise. The largest delivery service in the world has chosen plain ol’ dark chocolate as its uniform masthead. It’s not fancy like Fed Ex with purple this and navy that; not a food product like DHL’s ketchup red and mustard yellow; not catchy like all the other freight companies. Nope. UPS is basic brown, and the genius who decided on this particular color as the single identifier of the company knew it was a winner. The entire world knows “brown” means UPS. It’s even how the company refers to itself, with no proper name actually needed in its commercials. Practically speaking, with the traveling, the dust stirred up by the delivery trucks, all the boxes mostly in coordinated brown cardboard containers, by the way these delivery folks don’t have to worry about too much dirt and laundering; everything matches brown.

Ever bought Girl Scout cookies? Do you know how many millions of girls and women are in the Girl Scouts? From the earliest years of elementary school, girls join this mammoth service organization. Guess who the entry level participants are and what they wear: Brownies wearing brown. Any American child either knows or is a Brownie. And remember the beanies that look like Hershey’s Kisses? Speaking of which, if you’ve been to Hershey, Penn., you know all about chocolate and more brown.

The land-based military in more recent times has made enormous use of brown in its uniforms. Part of this is because of the camouflage with the ground. Soldiers are more difficult to see when they match the terrain (lighter tans for the sandier soil, and darker browns for richer farm lands). Another part of the reason for its use is to remind the people what these soldiers are fighting for: terra firma, the motherland.

During the ’70s, brown was “in.” If you can believe it, brown was actually a fashion color. Between the military look of soldiers and the psychological connotations of “warm,” “friendly” and “no-nonsense,” several police forces expounded on tan and darker brown tones. County, state and city police all went to brown, with the hopes of commanding friendly respect from citizens as they politely handed out summonses and tickets a cross no doubt between the Forest Service rangers and the Boy Scouts. (In downtown Manhattan, however, the response to the traffic police dressed in brown was so negative that the Commissioner had to spend $24,000 to change all the uniforms back to blue in order to physically protect his men. The cops became known as “the brownies,” and were literally either pummeled, teased or treated as doormen for the finer hotels.)

In athletic apparel and team colors, brown goes in and out with style and public fervor. Consider the Cleveland Browns (owned by Paul Brown), the once St. Louis Browns who are now the Baltimore Orioles, and the San Diego Padres uniformed in brown.

In the corporate world, brown has pretty much followed fashion. Browns were big when polyester first came into vogue. President Reagan used to wear brown suits instead of Washingtonian black or dark navy. He wanted to present himself as a man of the people. But then it was gone. Now, with the re-emergence of coffee (yes, Starbucks and cyber cafes are our new national pastime), brown has seen a renaissance. Poly wools and polyesters are back on the scene. Khaki, a lighter shade of brown, has become so prevalent that certain pants have taken on the same name, not as a color but as an entire style. Of course, all the popular organic fabrics come in varying degrees of brown, too.

One can open any catalogue or check a group of swatch cards and find contemporary browns in delicious abundance: hazelnut, mocha, toffee, taupe, dark chocolate, cocoa, latte or milk chocolate. For the purists, the mundane shades are still available: tan, brown, medium brown, dark brown, rust or puce. Don’t forget nature’s brown tones too: mahogany, heather, hickory, bark, sand, sable and mink.

So the next time you think about a customer’s need for something unique and stylish, be creative in a down-home way. Think friendly and welcoming, low-key and with an image that says “Hey, we’re one of you, and we mean business.” Brown isn’t used that often, yet when it is, it’s a terrific success.

Debra Hindlemann Webster is the owner of Custom Uniform Co., a manufacturer of high-quality, American-made custom uniforms. The company has been serving individuals, groups, theme parks, corporations, offices, military, hospitality, entertainment centers and many other businesses with unique custom apparel for more than 70 years. Visit www.customuniformcompany.com or email [email protected] to learn more.