Summary
- Troi wore civilian clothes for most of TNG to put her patients at ease as the ship's counselor and indicate her position.
- Captain Picard allowed Troi to wear civilian clothes on the bridge due to her empathic abilities and his disregard for unnecessary regulations.
- Troi's evolution as a character and desire for more responsibilities led her to wear a Starfleet uniform, making her feel like a commanding officer and allowing her to take command when necessary.
For most of the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) didn't wear a traditional Starfleet uniform. Despite being one of the main characters who spent much of her time on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Troi wore various civilian outfits throughout the first several seasons of TNG. It was not until the last couple of seasons, when Troi began taking on more responsibilities on the ship, that she regularly began wearing a Starfleet uniform. TNG never offered an official in-universe reason for why Troi wore civilian clothes for much of the show's run.
Counselor Troi served as an advisor to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), often sitting to his left on the main bridge. As a half-Betazoid, Troi could sense the emotions of those around her, making her an invaluable asset in confrontations with unknown alien species. She also worked as the ship's counselor, offering counseling sessions for the many officers and civilians on the USS Enterprise-D. By the last seasons of TNG and the subsequent films, Troi began advancing her career and took on more duties aboard the ship.
