Sky-high Couture: A Retrospective on Flight Attendant Dress
Imagine leisurely driving down Sunset Boulevard with the windows down- wind in your hair, music from the radio mixing with the sounds of the city around you. Now imagine driving down Highway 1- the view is spectacular, but now the wind grows louder, cacophonous, as you speed up. 80, 90, then 100 miles per hour. Now, double the speed, at an altitude of 10,000 feet. This is, roughly speaking, what it was like to fly in the 1930’s, when commercial flight was still in its infancy. Airliners then lacked pressurized cabins, the sound of wind and engine reverberating within its metal shell. Turbulence and airsickness was severe and commonplace.
Like a baby bird first stretching its wings, a burgeoning airline industry desperately needed caretakers for its passengers. Enter Ellen Church, a nurse from Iowa with dreams of being a pilot. In 1930, such dreams were decades ahead of reality, but Church saw an opportunity to put women- nurses, to be exact- in the air as stewardesses. Over the decades, they would stand at the vanguard of “pink-collar” workers. Their changing role within the industry reflected in their uniforms as they pushed for their own liberation.
First Flights: The Inception of Stewardesses
Prior to Church and the incoming new wave of stewardesses, passenger planes were crewed by men- stewards, named after their naval counterparts on luxury ocean liners. Airlines adopted the flair of luxury sea travel, as the expensive operating costs of aviation meant airlines could only cater towards the elite – first class seats, with first class service. Although stewardesses came from nursing backgrounds, they were expected to uphold the same standard of service as their predecessors. Their dress, too, was much the same. The first stewardesses sported a suit, skirt and double-breasted jacket with a cape and tam cap evocative of military nurses. The outfit was a silent representation of their dual purpose: the similarity in dress with their male counterparts indicated an analogous role, while the nurse elements represented their qualifications.
The 1930 Boeing Air Transport uniform for the first stewardesses- Ellen Church and her 8 compatriots. The first of a long lineage of fashion. Source: National Air and Space Museum
At the time, there were two main differences between aviation and other modes of transport: the whiteness of both crew and passenger, and the abolition of gratuities offered to the crew. It was customary, on both rail and ship, to tip the crew for their services. These gratuities reinforced the relationship between worker and customer. By eliminating this norm, airlines instead created an illusion of a host and guest.
As stewardesses became more widespread, an additional sense of care was affixed to the experience the crew brought- not only did these pretty young women seem and act like gracious hostesses, but they were also more than competent in assuaging passengers’ ailments. The expectation that stewardesses would attend to an airline’s mostly male clientele built a peculiarly domestic environment- one whose intimacy would be strategically built upon. Such marketing would inform the role and dress of stewardesses, but before that could happen, WWII broke out.
Flight Under Fire: Stewardesses during WWII
In 1938, the US enacted industry-wide regulations on air travel, standardizing both fare and safety. Because airlines could no longer differentiate themselves through price competitiveness, many turned to the quality of service as their main selling point. However, WWII broke out before the industry could truly get off the ground. Transcontinental flights came to a screeching halt as the majority of aircraft were commandeered to assist in the war effort. Operation was limited within the United States, and sinking demand made flights even more of a rarity. Impacts upon the industry didn’t stop there. As the US joined the conflict in 1941, the requirement for stewardesses to be nurses was dropped due to their demand within the military.
This 1944 Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) uniform, designed in-house by Howard Greer, sports a slimmer silhouette and thinner wool- an elegant solution to the problems posed by wartime industry to textile production. Source: SFO Museum
Wartime austerity affected all aspects of civilian clothing, and stewardess uniforms were no exception. Fortunately, the style of their dress adapted well to the strained textile industry; existing uniforms were distant relatives of naval tradition, so it didn’t take much to lean into a somber, militaristic aesthetic. At a glance, this seems to be at odds with their purpose of providing comfort and service to passengers, but they reinforced a sense of safety and security during troubling times. The uniforms of this era were designed to be unimpressive – the commercial winter brought by WWII prioritized utility over aesthetics. But war had only delayed the inevitable as the industry emerged into a vastly changed landscape, with new technologies ready to satiate the ravenous appetite of a victorious nation.
Flying Façades: Glamour and Gossamer
Thanks to technological advancements, aviation was made cheaper with the passage of time. Such timing coincided with the postwar economic boom, as an increasingly wealthy and populous upper-middle class became attracted to the inciting proposition of air travel. Simultaneously, planes grew larger, accommodating a higher volume of passengers and their accompanying luggage. The amenities offered grew in proportion as airlines competed endlessly to offer novel luxuries. This was the “golden era” of commercial aviation.
This arms race between airlines was driven by federal regulations on the industry; the inability of airlines to compete in pricing led them to fight on other fronts, but there was only so much they could offer while maintaining margins.
Therefore, emphasis was placed on not only the quality of service provided by airlines, but also the attractiveness of those providing it. As stewardesses integrated into the opulence of the flight experience, their reputation grew into one of glamor, elegance, and mystique- charming hostesses who offered impeccable service to every customer. Flying itself was in vogue, and so too were they as the epitome of fashionable, cosmopolitan women. In other words, exactly the qualities appealing to the world of haute couture. Air France and Dior were the first, and others soon followed. Semi-fitted jackets and clean skirts were prominent, as were beltless designs allowing for greater mobility. Designers understood the physical demands of being a stewardess and designed their uniforms accordingly, creating elegant designs which found a freedom of movement in their simplicity.
Designed by Marc Bohan of Christian Dior, this elegant 1962 Air France uniform was a perfect introduction of haute couture to the aviation industry- the quintessential “sky girl” in the golden age of flight. Source: SFO Museum
The labor demanded of stewardesses increased proportionately to the ever-increasing luxuries afforded to passengers. Stewardesses were expected to carry luggage, prepare multi-course meals, serve drinks, and attend to any and every demand, all whilst maintaining a façade of flawless femininity. However taxing the job was, it remained a highly desirable position- in part owing to its status, but also because it offered some semblance of freedom. Granted, that freedom existed only within the gilded hull of a Boeing or Concorde, but the ability for an unmarried woman to travel the world was a rare thing. Such an honor was only bestowed after being molded by stringent training, strung along by regulation and procedure. But like a marionette who has seen its strings, it is only a matter of time before it cuts them away.
Space Age and Social Change
The advent of the Space Age heralded a parallel change in our sensibilities- gone were the traditions of old, the influences of longstanding institutions replaced by a burning desire for “progress”- for novelty and innovation. In aviation, this sentiment manifested itself in plane and crew alike. The jet engine came into vogue, a brief stint of supersonic jets soon to follow. Meanwhile, designers sought out novel, futuristic fabrics like nylon in daring neon colors. As more jets crossed the skies, inspiration taken from foreign cultures indicated a growing awareness of an increasingly interconnected world.
Part of the revolutionary “End of the Plain Plane” campaign, Emilio Pucci brings forth a radical departure from traditional uniform design with a kaleidoscopic harlequin-print nylon outfit boasting Central American influences. Source: SFO Museum
The jet engine allowed planes to grow in even greater capacity, eventually resulting in the depersonalization of service. There were simply too many people, and not enough time. In doing so, stewardesses faced the impossible task of delivering a personable experience to an impersonal audience. Barring first-class passengers, individuals on an airplane had largely been reduced to class, row, and seat number. But it was not just the passengers being commodified. Stewardesses, too, found themselves subjected to increasingly objectifying practices. For decades, passengers were actors, interacting with the crew as if in a play. In losing that interaction, passengers were relegated to the audience; now alone on stage, stewardesses became performers- their appeal contingent on sight alone.
Second-wave feminism brought with it the sexual revolution, wherein attitudes around sex and sexual expression loosened significantly. It is important to note here, however, the distinction between the freedom of sexual expression of an individual and the co-opting of that freedom by corporations as a means towards profit. The former- a means of liberation- and the latter- pornographic and voyeuristic. Regrettably, sex increasingly became a permissible avenue towards popular appeal, evidenced by Airlines seizing this opportunity to market stewardesses as products, creating the now-infamous “mile high club” fantasy. Their uniforms, in turn, evolved to further such a narrative. Waists were shrunk, hemlines shortened, busts accentuated, smiles forced. The elegance and glamor of ages past had been replaced by gross debauchery.
A 1971 Southwest ad showcasing their iconic hotpants uniforms- a quintessential example of the marketing at the time, the “love airline” dispensed tickets from “love machines”, and snacks and drinks were “love bites” and “love potions”. Source: southwest50.com
Of course, stewardesses would fight these chauvinistic practices alongside broader and increasingly egregious sexual discrimination practices with the formation of Stewardesses for Womens’ Rights (SFWR)- one small faction within the broader feminist movement, but an important weathervane for what was being carried upon the winds of change. Under a (somewhat) unified banner of the SFWR, stewardesses enacted lawsuits against maternity policies and led strikes in the name of occupational health and safety. They were, by vice or virtue of their position, among the most oft-seen women within society, both metaphorically and physically. This lent them a unique position to lash out against the decades-long discrimination and the resentment that had been building up and was ready to blow. The SFWR systematically made headway through the numerous injustices plaguing their operation, from wage discrepancies to sexually exploitative marketing by extension the sexuality of their uniforms. While the full history of the SFWR and its contemporaries deserves a separate article, it was directly through the zealous efforts of their militant activism that stewardesses were able to transform themselves from sex symbols to symbols for workplace feminism.
Modernity and Modularity
As the feminist movements took hold of the industry, stewardesses regained autonomy through sweeping reforms across the industry. Gone was the very title of stewardess, replaced with the gender neutral “flight attendant”. Removed too was the connotation of subserviency, that archaic relationship simplified to one of professional courtesy. Throughout the late 70’s, marital, weight, and age restrictions were loosened and lifted. Diaz vs Pan Am in 1971 abolished gender discrimination, and men became ever more commonplace among the cabin crew. With a wider demographic of attendants serving aboard, homogenous uniforms fell out of fashion, owing both to a diverse cabin crew and growing interest in mix-and-match styling within the fashion industry.
A 1980’s brochure from Pan American displaying a mixed-gender cabin crew, dressed in a curated selection of formal wear. For the first time since the inception of the job, attendants had the freedom to choose what they wanted to wear from a given collection- an apt parallel to the autonomy they had wrestled back from airlines. Source: Internet Archives
At the same time, the industry underwent deregulation in 1978, and brought with it a changing of the guard. As airlines competed through prices while combating labor unions, the old guard of the industry- TWA, Pan American, and others- were either acquired or put out of business, paving the way for the modern giants of today. As these new and evolving airlines competed in an increasingly commercial environment, they found for themselves in specific niches- from low-cost to luxury, and from regional to intercontinental. Their dress, in turn, came to reflect the niches they served. Attendants on budget airlines sported more casual wear- polos and khakis, or simple slacks and button ups were commonplace. On the other end of the spectrum, luxury airlines maintained now-long-standing relationships with design houses, frequently commissioning haute couture uniforms. Even the majority of airlines, aimed towards a core demographic of businessmen, sought out designers to create pieces evocative of neo-traditionalist corporate looks.
Designed by English fashion icon Vivienne Westwood in 2014 for Virgin Atlantic, she nonetheless imbues a certain maverick spirit to an otherwise corporate power dressing ensemble.
The diversity of flight attendants today comes as the sweet fruit of decades of hard labor by their foremothers. Since their inception in 1930, stewardesses have flown through wars; flown to the highest of society; then waged a war against exploitative employers. Throughout it all, their uniforms have reflected their journey, and in some cases more iconic than the women wearing them. For most, these outfits are but a perfunctory component of a complex operation, but for the individual attendant that dress becomes part of their identity, be it personal or cultural. Beyond the Anglosphere, airlines around the world too distinguish themselves through dress. From the Orient to the Sargasso Sea, airlines pay homage to their respective cultures in their uniforms. While it is a convenient avenue to set oneself apart from competitors, the manner in which they do so is no coincidence. What we wear becomes us just as much as we become what we wear. However different as the job may be in modernity, the history of commercial flight is one indelibly shaped by women, and one that will influence the course of flight for decades to come.
