Vintage Sexism: Flight Attendants Outfits
Photo credit: Will Kane
Ah, the glamour of air travel.
Frumpy, tired passengers wearing wrinkled clothes. Screaming babies and restless kids. Overworked flight attendants. Long security lines where you get to TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF and walk barefoot on the filthy floor! Financially struggling airlines that levy extra charges for everything.
If you miss the good old days, when pretty flight attendants served cocktails and a smile to sophisticated travelers, consider this:
“According to a spokesman at Southwest Airlines of Texas in 1973, when stewardesses were interviewed for jobs, he started with their legs and worked up to their faces.”
Airline: Identity, Design And Culture by Keith Lovegrove.
“In stark contrast (often to the point of prudishness) shown by most airlines to that date, in 1973 Southwest Airlines threw caution to the winds with its stewardess uniform. ‘The girls must be able to wear kinky leather boots and hot pants or they don’t get the job,’ said the airline’s male bosses.”
Airline: Identity, Design And Culture by Keith Lovegrove.
Yes, those were the days.
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Alik | PracticeThis.com responds:
Posted: June 10th, 2008 at 10:20 pm →
What remained unchanged is “Frumpy, tired passengers wearing wrinkled clothes. Screaming babies and restless kids. ”
Alik | PracticeThis.com’s last blog post..3 Simple Rules To Become The World’s Greatest Brand [Plus Self Check]
Marelisa responds:
Posted: June 10th, 2008 at 11:17 pm →
I think there was a time when everyone dressed up when they were flying, even the passengers. I distinctly remember when I was very small that we all had to look our best when we were going on an airplane trip. My father has always been a member of all of those VIP lounges in the airport, so we would always wait to be called for boarding there. I may be weird, but I love airports. But yes, I agree that air travel is becoming less glamorous. Then again, life in general seems to be getting less and less glamorous.
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Natalie responds:
Posted: June 10th, 2008 at 11:20 pm →
Yeah, that photo doesn’t look like what real travel is these days. LOL! Expensive flights with new ridiculous fees and angry tired passengers being attended to by underpaid attendants. Oh joy! LOL!
Natalie’s last blog post..WW - Excited About Our New Toy
Barbara Swafford responds:
Posted: June 10th, 2008 at 11:27 pm →
Those are pretty snazzy boots.
And now they kick young girls off of the plane for dressing too provocatively. My, oh my, how times have changed.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Step Away From The Blog
Joel Falconer responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 12:06 am →
My strong belief in equity in the workplace and everywhere else aside, I would not mind flying on an airline like that.
Joel Falconer’s last blog post..Choosing a Blog Network: 5 Danger Signs to Watch For
Clicky responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 1:05 am →
Nice boots and hot pants!
Clicky’s last blog post..Orange Skies
Heidi responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 4:39 am →
Great! My husband is flying in a couple of weeks, what airline is that???? hehehe
Heidi’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
Jenny, Bloggess and Bad Mom responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 6:58 am →
I’d kill for those shoes.
Sarah responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am →
You left out “germ infested air circulation”.
Sarah’s last blog post..To Tan or not to Tan? Part I
Doll Clothes Gal responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 9:41 am →
Great post! Would you believe that this is real.
Come visit our contest to win a doll trunk. Happy WW
Computer Addict responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am →
Right on, Joel! People who work in a service industry need to meet certain requirements. I’m not saying they need to look like hookers, but if you’re goingto be waiting on 100+ people who are in a cramped space for 4-5 hours, yes, you should be attractive.
Chris responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 10:45 am →
You could be the most homely flight attendant in the world and I wouldn’t care as long as I travel first class. Now if I’m in coach, an extra pillow and free flowing diet coke will do the trick.
Chris’s last blog post..Vanity Has Its Price
Ann responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 11:04 am →
I have a friend who was rejected for a flight attendant job because of her weight; and this was in the 80’s, not the 60’s!
Ann’s last blog post..Managing Paper Pile-Up, Part One: The Mail
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 11:23 am →
@ Alik: yeah, I guess they had those back then, although I agree with Marelisa – there WAS a time when people dressed well for air travel.
@ Marelisa: it’s interesting. Life is certainly more convenient these days, but I have to agree that the glamour is gone.
@ Natalie: EXACTLY.
@ Barbara: so true! I forgot about that news story.
@ Joel: Ido said the exact same thing. I kind of expected it from both of you. (and from others who are going to think it but not say it).
@ Clicky and Jenny: I like the boots too actually. Can you imagine how cute they would look with an A-line wool dress and a white trench coat?
What I don’t like, is the idea that nice legs are required in order to get a job!
@ Heidi: I’m sure he would love that.
@ sarah: I did!!
@ Computer addict: sure, but define “attractive”. Attractive here is “25 or younger, beautiful, great legs, willing to dress provocatively”. Is that OK as a job requirement?
@ Chris: agree on first class. I AM bothered by the fact that flight attendants these days are so GRUMPY, but as long as they are presentable (done hair, ironed outfit, SMILE), I couldn’t care less about their looks.
@ Ann: I’m amazed that they told her it was b/c of her weight!
think responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 12:53 pm →
I think the whole concept of calling someone a hostess is to make others(guests or customers) to feel comfortable. That mean be hospitable. What’s that to do anything with weight? Does a frantic person traveling with three kids, or a senior citizen who needs assistance with a wheel chair needs a beautiful cold woman, or a good natured, helpful, overweight woman? Who comes up with these marketing requirements?
p.s: Most of the slightly overweight people I know are more cheerful.
think’s last blog post..Your Life: Comedy or Tragedy
Michelle in Mx responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 3:58 pm →
crazy times
Happy WW!
Michelle in Mx’s last blog post..For 10 minuets of peace.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 4:41 pm →
@ think: I agree that the a flight attendants’ disposition is more important than her looks. But it seems to me that many men value looks in a woman more than they value anything else, hence my rant.
@ Michelle: OMG I just visited your blog and YOU, my dear, are CRAAAZY.
Trisha responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pm →
That’s terrible! Weren’t the women that flew in those days offended by it?
Trisha’s last blog post..Equal Pay Act anniversary
phyllis responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 5:25 pm →
omg those pictures are priceless. i’m flying tomorrow and i guarantee you i won’t see any flight attendants in hot pants!;-)
phyllis’s last blog post..Books and Tzedakah - What Could Be Better?
Jennifer Robin responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 5:48 pm →
Wow, do I ever remember those days. I so wanted to be a stewardess! Hope you can come by and see my WW too!
Jennifer Robin’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 9:32 pm →
@ Trisha: I haven’t thought about it, but I assume many women passengers felt uncomfortable, or maybe very sorry for the flight attendants!
@ phyllis: I believe you.
@ Jennifer Robin: You WANTED to? Seriously? I guess it was perceived as glamorous back then.
Sara responds:
Posted: June 11th, 2008 at 10:02 pm →
This was fascinating to see. We tend to think that today’s culture is far more sexualized than in previous generations, but a simple comparison of flight uniforms shows that our (my?) assumptions have some pretty big flaws. Oh, and I think I saw that outfit in Cosmo a few months ago…
Sara’s last blog post..This Too Shall Pass: Dealing with Disappointment
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 12th, 2008 at 8:05 pm →
@ Sara: ah, Cosmo. I used to READ THAT. But it was many years ago when I didn’t know better.
» Friday Favorites - Friday the 13th edition! - Women's Health Research News blog from IdeasForWomen.com responds:
Posted: June 13th, 2008 at 12:52 pm →
[…] “kinky leather boots and hot pants or they don’t get the job” - see MomGrind’s Wordless Wednesday: The Glamour of Air Travel (has pictures […]
Linda Sherman responds:
Posted: June 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am →
Guy Kawasaki’s tweet sent me here. Cool blog. Will you be at BlogHer July San Francisco? If so I look forward to meeting you there.
This is going to sound awful but the big difference that has happened over the years is the age of the flight attendants. I lived in Japan for many years and in Asia, the flight attendants are significantly younger.
Thanks so much to Mr. Shoe Bomber (the lovely Richard Reid) from all of us. You can’t even walk through security in flip-flops.
Linda Sherman responds:
Posted: June 27th, 2008 at 8:31 am →
Hi MomGrind,
I can’t understand why CommentLuv is not pulling my last post here. “enabled” was clicked, I went to Comment Luv to test my http://itsdifferent4girls.com/blog post and it worked there.
Sigh.
Great feature to have on your blog.
Ann Handley responds:
Posted: June 27th, 2008 at 8:33 am →
Holy Toledo…. THAT is an incredible photo!! Thanks for sharing.
Cheapsuits responds:
Posted: June 27th, 2008 at 8:34 am →
When air travel first became viable for the masses , as other posters remarked, it was glamourous. You got dressed up, wore ties and everyone got a choice of meals. The Walmartizartion/Southwestification changed all that. I think we are now entering the third era of air travel. Just like the railroad and bus travel in the US, air travel becomes an ugly afterthought . Funny, we used to think of air travel in places like India as daunting and backward crop dusting plane riding affairs. Now those places think of air travel in the US as just that. I read somewhere, that between the Middle East and Far East air carriers, over the next two years ,they are placing what averages to be a brand new plane a day in service. Meanwhile, carriers over here are mothballing thousands of planes. In short, the golden days of air travel are behind us.
Christopher responds:
Posted: June 27th, 2008 at 8:39 am →
The biggest difference from then to now is that flying use to be a big deal. It also was a lot more expensive. Now? Cattle call in the air.
@Marelisa
You’re right about people dressing up to go flying. Then again, people use to dress up for many things, like work, sporting events, dinner, church, days that end in “Y,” etc. My suit hasn’t seen the light of day in years.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: June 28th, 2008 at 11:33 am →
@ Linda: Yes, I am going to BlogHer but can only attend the cocktail parties… hope to meet you too! I agree about the age of the flight attendants. I am originally from Israel and they are much younger there as well.
@ cheapsuits: “the golden days of air travel are behind us.” Most certainly, and I agree, from personal experience, that American air carriers are the worst.
@ Christopher: “the golden days of air travel are behind us.” I laughed at that one, then thought that it’s actually quite sad. Also true that people used to dress up a lot more in general, not just for air travel.
Powerful Men, Half-Naked Women (Best Shot Monday) - MomGrind responds:
Posted: July 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm →
[…] Airport, looking for books and snacks. We had a couple of hours to kill at the airport (ah, the glamor of air travel). When I noticed that my daughters were staring at a large display of magazines, I looked up to see […]
Agnes responds:
Posted: July 30th, 2008 at 11:12 pm →
Yeah, if you are after the glamour of air travel these days, fly Emirates Airline, Etihad, Singapour Airlines or similar. Emirates is my favourite.
Kim responds:
Posted: August 7th, 2008 at 9:56 am →
Absolutely love those boots … reminds me of A GO GO 66 from my youth.
Enjoyed,
Kim
assisted living responds:
Posted: August 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm →
i would love to see this again on a plane…please
MomGrind responds:
Posted: August 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pm →
@ Agnes: Thanks for the tip.
@ Kim: The boots ARE gorgeous.
@ assisted living: That’s exactly what my husband said.
travel blog responds:
Posted: October 23rd, 2008 at 11:16 am →
That last few times I fly there wasn’t much for glamour anymore. More like “it’s 3 bucks for soda, 6 for alcohol” and “no we don’t serve food anymore.” Things have sure changed.
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