German Police to Drop 1970s Mustard/beige Uniforms

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=7&u=/nm/20041022/od_nm/odd_germany_police_dc

BERLIN (Reuters) - Fashion-conscious north German police are to ditch the mustard-colored shirts, green ties and tight beige flannel trousers they have been wearing since 1973 -- dubbed the ugliest uniforms in Europe.



"Beige trousers, black shoes and then the green -- first of all it is a question of taste," a spokesman for the police officers' trade union said on Thursday. "It is also a question of practicality. Light trousers get dirty very quickly."


Police have long complained their uniforms are uncomfortable in both summer and winter, the pockets are too small and the trousers too tight. They also clash with their bright green patrol cars.


"The uniforms were unpractical from day one," the spokesman said.


Officers in the northern city state of Hamburg will be the first to sport the new navy outfits described by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily as a cross between those of the Prussian merchant navy and New York cops.


But not all police can look forward to stepping out in style as forces in southern states and hard-up cities have no plans to change.