The best worst uniforms in living memory

While the new Girl Guides uniforms released last week have been slated as ugly and tacky, they are just one in a long line of institutions to undergo a design flop.

Commonwealth Games, 2014

Textile designer Jilli Blackwood was slammed for adorning Scottish athletes in sickly pink, blue and beige tartan kilts and wraps, paired with lurid blue dresses and shirts.

British Airways, 1993

With sickly geometric prints, stuffy blazers and a pointless wide-brimmed felt hat, Paul Costelloe’s BA designs were far from the elegant creations he came up with for Princess Diana.

London Underground, 1998

Milliner Philip Treacy and designer Anne Tyrrell were behind the dowdy grey overcoat and a bulbous navy cap intended for unlucky London Underground staff.

McDonald’s, 2008

Even celebrity fashion designer Bruce Oldfield couldn’t add a touch of glamour to the fast food chain, creating a bleak black and brown ensemble with an unnecessary neck scarf.

Heathrow Express, 2012

Designer Nicholas Oakwell was to blame for the rail line’s hideous two-toned blazers and waistcoats (his green-beige colour came under particular fire for making staff look “jaundiced”).