Design Features of Screen Used TOS Tunics

Below are some photos of screen used TOS velour (1st & 2nd season style) and nylon diamond weave (3rd season style) tunics; as well as a 1996 velour TOS-style tunic that was screen used in the celebrated Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" as well as the 2005 Star Trek: Enterprise 2 part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly". When viewed together, some differences in construction details and the use of materials are readily apparent.

The following three photos are of a TOS 3rd Season Command tunic, a TOS 3rd Season Engineering tunic, and a TOS 1st & 2nd Season Sciences dress. Note how the black fabric employed for the collar material differed between the 3rd and earlier seasons of TOS, as well as the obvious difference between the earlier velour fabric and the final season diamond weave material.

As well, the "tape" or side support fabric strips of the zippers into which are embedded the metal teeth, have all been colored in the above tunics to somewhat blend in with the base tunic color.
The slide mechanism that joins or separates the teeth and the teardrop shaped handle or "puller" of the zipper are a common component for all three seasons; with the teardrop shaped handle also being painted to blend in with the main costume color.

The photo below shows the slide and puller mechanism for the 3rd Season Command tunic; which was not visible in the picture above.

The 1996 TOS-style Engineering tunic is shown below, with significantly different zipper component appearance and color-scheme. Even the teeth of the zipper have been coordinated with the base tunic color. Also visible in the photo below is the Starship Defiant insignia patch from the last usage of the costume in Star Trek: Enterprise; and evidence of the earlier placement of a TOS style delta shaped patch.

As mentioned in an earlier post, there was a significant increase in the size of the TOS patch employed for the 3rd season of production versus earlier seasons.

The manufacturer of the invisible zipper assemblies for both TOS and DS9 was, interestingly, the same company, YKK, which was established in Japan in the 1930s. They offered the UNIQUE brand, which was featured on the slider of their '60s era product, as opposed to the company name.

The 1966-69 zipper slider ...

The 1996 zipper slider ...

The following two photos illustrate both the braid and velour material differences between the 1966 blue and the 1996 red uniforms.

The 1960's era braid has a definite silver speckled appearance that has not been reproduced in modern replicas.