As work uniforms go, UPS delivers.

Byline: BEST OF ... by The Register-Guard

If you're one of those people who just loves a man in uniform, you're pretty much out of luck this Labor Day.

And if you love a woman in uniform - forget about it.

Sure, you can still find a soldier who looks sharp in dress blues. But we're talking about everyday work uniforms, and, when we went looking for them, we were hard-pressed to even find a proper name tag, let alone an outfit that stands up and says "I am here to help you."

Apparently, business owners no longer feel the need to distinguish their employees with a sweet hat and the latest in polyester fashion. This might sound like a good thing, but we kind of miss the old days when working at Orange Julius meant wearing a sporty orange, yellow and brown visor.

The new conventional wisdom seems to be that employees should look more like customers. This is especially true at Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister Co. and other "lifestyle" stores where the sales associates are trained to blend in like federal air marshals.

Not that you need a lot of help when the biggest decision you're facing is whether to go with the Catalina Island Cami or the Beacon's Beach Babydoll. But it would be nice if we could tell the staff from the shoppers.

Uniforms may have fallen out of favor, but the members of the Best of ... Fashion Team had lots of wise-ass suggestions for the best uniform.

Several staffers recommended we look into the University of Oregon cheerleader uniforms. Specifically, they wanted to know about the black stretch outfits worn after halftime - and at least two dirty birds pointed us in the direction of the local gentleman's clubs.

One team member offered up a place called Hot Dog on a Stick, which just might have the most hideous rainbow colored uniforms ever stitched. Sadly, the nearest HDOS outlet is in Portland.

Other nominations included the propeller beanie hats worn by the photographers at the Picture People studios in the mall, the bow-tie-and-driving-cap outfits at Oil Can Henry's, the waitresses at Rose's Diner on "Hawaii Fridays," and the waver dressed like a slice of pizza at 29th and Willamette.

Hats were a big selling point for many on the team, and the short list of cool uniforms with cool hats included state troopers with their imposing, wide-brimmed Smokey hats, Lane Transit District security officers with their urban park ranger lids and mail carriers with their retro-pith helmets.

We easily could have picked the U.S. Postal Service as our favorite uniform - the shorts, the rain capes and the knee socks are all classics, and who doesn't dig the mailman - but picking Postal would mean leaving out, what is undeniably the best nonmilitary uniform there is:

United Parcel Service.

Founded in the Northwest in 1907 by an enterprising 19-year-old who took out a $100 loan, UPS started using its now-familiar brown uniforms in 1925. The Seattle-born company adopted the shade of brown that was used on Pullman rail cars for its vehicles and uniforms because it reflected "elegance and professionalism" (and didn't show dirt).

We just think they look cool.

Dignified without being formal, casual without being slovenly, unique without being obnoxious, these smart, sturdy browns reflect everything this company is about, and it's one of the few work uniforms that actually looks good on people.

Attempts to change the color of the UPS uniforms have failed multiple times due to public backlash, and it's no wonder. So strong is the company's connection to brown, that it has two registered trademarks on the color, and we can almost envision a day when we all refer to a certain shade of khaki as "UPS."

The UPS uni is fashionable enough that the company has signed on as a venue sponsor for the spring Fashion Week in New York. During the same event in 2003, a real UPS driver strolled the catwalk wearing the famous brown shirt, shorts and cap.

Which is more than we can say for that guy in the striped polo at Abercrombie.

BEST WORK UNIFORMS

United Parcel Service

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CAPTION(S):

Driver Mitchell Nason is a veritable vision in brown in his United Parcel Service uniform.