In the second to sixth original series Star Trek films (inclusive), engineering crew on Starfleet ships wear a special suit while on duty. The suit is a white one-piece garment, with a black rubber neck piece (red for trainees). In the centre of the chest are three or four concentric white circles with a jack in the centre, to which an oxygen mask can be attached.
Memory Alpha describes the purpose of the suits as being designed with "extravehicular movement" in mind, to "complete maintenance on the outside of a ship":
However, that section of the article carries the "might be inaccurate" warning. Supporting this theory, however, is the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon in The Undiscovered Country. The enlisted crew who beamed over to the Klingon flagship wore the white engineering suits, together with helmets and anti-gravity boots, suggesting they may be designed to enable crew to walk on the hull of a vessel.
My question:
Why did engineers on starships wear these suits only in the period of roughly 2275-2350? Why was it seen as unnecessary before and after that time to have engineers dressed in this manner while on duty?
For instance: were skirmishes with the Klingons so frequent during that time period that engineering-section enviromments were regularly compromised and/or extravehicular repairs would need to be carried out often before returning to starbases?
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