Foreign Affairs

Navy Gives Women More Stylish Slacks After Complaints Over Uniform

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Female officers in the Navy have complained so much about the “unflattering” khaki pants they have to wear that the service has decided to make some fashion changes.

The Navy is making uniform requirements less strict and redesigning female pants, Navy Times reports. In the interim, women can wear men’s pants and wear a khaki overblouse with no belt.

“Effective immediately, female officers and CPOs are authorized to optionally wear male Service Khaki trousers and female Service Khaki slacks without belt and buckle with the khaki overblouse only,” the Navy’s policy announcement states. “The intent of this policy change is to provide an option for female officers and CPOs to address some of the fit concerns expressed with the current female Service Khaki slacks.”

(Navy, public domain)

In a statement to Navy Times, chief of naval personnel spokeswoman Sharon Anderson said the Navy is waiting for the results of the “fit evaluation feedback before making a final determination. Our primary focus is to improve the patterns for a better fit.”

In 2015, pseudonymous writer Lt. Anna Granville discussed potential changes to female slacks on the military blog Task & Purpose and argued that it’s finally time for a switch to pants that fit more appropriately on the waist.

“The one thing that we have been harping on for 10 years, that I know of, is to fix our damn pants,” Granville said. “It’s the one thing that gets overlooked, and we wear that uniform every single day.”

“The khaki and summer white pants are notoriously ill-fitting and widely unpopular as they come all the way up to the natural waist,” Granville wrote.

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