As part of the Star Trek canon is the iconic and immediately recognizable Starfleet uniforms, which were first designed for TOS by costume designer William Ware Theiss. Theiss is even credited for the gold (Command), red (Engineering/Operations), and blue (Science/Medicine) Starfleet departmental color designations. Ironically, when Theiss finally won a Costume Design Emmy it was for an episode of TNG called "The Big Goodbye" for 1940s attire worn by the crew in the holodeck - rather than for his famous Starfleet uniforms.
In Star Trek canon of starship crews spanning the 23rd - 32nd Centuries, the concepts of the United Federation of Planets have been based on some military protocols similar to U.S. Naval procedures - including the design, commendation, and outfitting of Starfleet uniforms. Given this wide expanse of content in Star Trek lore in movies, TV series, and animation - let’s consider which Federation crew donned the top three worst Starfleet uniforms.
How will the Starfleet uniform rankings work?
To narrow this list down for evaluation based on the wide variety of Starfleet types of uniforms, I will only be reviewing active-duty Starfleet personnel in their standard service uniforms seen mainly on a starship bridge, lower decks, or space stations. This excludes Starfleet dress/formal uniforms, field/away uniforms, or non-Starfleet civilian uniforms.
I will base my evaluation on three criterion of Utility (fit and practicality), Military Ranking (visual ease of ranking distinctions), and Departmental Colors (Adherence to TOS colors or ease of recognition of departmental colors). Additionally, I will give each criterion a 1 to 5-point grade (for a total maximum of 15 points). With1 being the worst and 5 being the best - to come up with a combined overall score. Here are my picks for the top three worst Starfleet uniforms in Star Trek canon.