The Airline Stewardess

 

 Air hostess who makes heads turn for a second look in Oxford, is pretty, 20-year-old, P. B. One reason is that P’s uniform is quite unusual thereabouts – she being the only air hostess  in the area for Pan American Airways. The other reason is her smart and “second glance” appearance. This Penny attributes to Spirella foundations, which keep her figure trim. Spirella Magazine - April 1961.

Indeed, she does looks very trim, and in 1961 represents a step beyond the military style uniforms that emerged from passenger transport after World War II (BOAC - right).

The image of the stewardess, and countless stories both factual and fictional, are legion, however, there is often a practical reason for everything. In the early days of passenger flight, and I mean before the modern jet, aeroplanes were extremely weight sensitive and it simply made sense to employ the slimmest, lightest women commensurate with the safety tasks that they might have to perform. Certainly, the gimlet-eyed harridan (right) was almost always ground staff although in this cartoon she is saying "Whisky Sir - at this hour?!" The cartoon comes from Goeffrey Williams' classic book 'Fasten Your Lapstraps" (1955).

Spirella candidly reveals that P. wears their foundations, but was this a mandatory requirement of the airline or simply what her peers would wear? I believe that the latter is the case, but we will go into a more detailed discussion below.

What is for sure, stewardesses are required to be well groomed and confident. With the power of the modern turbofan, they can also be larger than their sisters of the propeller era. This is not being size-ist, it is simply being factual.

 

 

Discussion

 

How often have people discussed the uncover attributes of the airline stewardess? Were girdles a mandatory part of their uniform? The answer almost certainly varies from airline to airline, however, I have spoken to a stewardess from Transavia (a Dutch airline) who has worked from the 1970's until recently and she knew of no such regulations. On the other hand, during training, keeping a smart appearance was drummed into the recruits, and advice was offered on foundations that might be appropriate. My friend has never worn a lower foundation and probably never will. She looks extremely smart without, however, she knew that several of her colleagues in those days wore panty-girdles and expects that several will be wearing shapers of some description today. No mandatory rules here; simply a statistical sample of fashion trends.

 

The truth of the matter, and it applies equally to all women whose work requires them to spend much of their time in the vertical, such as nurses, is that tired legs (the old euphemism for varicose veins) is a real problem. Even today, my elegant friend wears support tights, and not just because of the recent scare about deep vein thrombosis. If stewardesses and nurses wore girdles, it was a) because most women did anyway, and b), they needed something to hold up their support stockings. Never forget, a girdle has two functions, to trim the figure and to hold up one's stockings. Often the latter is more important than the former.

 

My friend mentioned a curious incident (almost a cautionary tale) that occurred to an ex-colleague. This girl was tempted away from the airline to work as a stewardess for a small private company. This firm owned a executive jet in the 1970's. If you have ever been on one of these planes, you'll know that they are extremely cramped, however, the bosses wanted a stewardess and that was that! The perpetual bending in the cramped confines of the jet, ultimately resulted in such back pain, that the poor girl had to give up her job. Her doctor prescribed a corset that cured the pain, but prevented her from working in the confines of the tiny jet and her airborne career was over. (I have a curious feeling that the Pan American stewardess above would have trouble working in those heels as well).

 

 

Whether girdles were mandatory for airline stewardesses or not, it didn't stop a number of manufacturers alluding to the fact. (Sky-Hi girdles for example.) United Air Lines Stewardess, Mary Jo Wheatley wrote the following testimonial for Vectra support stockings in 1961:-

"We are so hard on stockings. For a long time I went through a pair of nylons every 48 hours. But hosiery made with Vectra lasted more than a week and still made me feel more dressed up." Reading beyond the advertising, and my friend confirms this, stockings and tights do not last long in the cramped conditions of the modern aeroplane.

 

The ever practical British Airways realised that stockings simply did not last, and nothing looks cheaper than a laddered stocking. The solution was numbers and BA provided large supplies of both stockings and support stockings to their stewardesses.

 

British Airways support stockings were

available to the cabin crew. Each pack contains a

dozen stockings. This was considered adequate

for a month's tour of, say, six flights.

 

Since stockings do not stay up unaided, one can surmise that many stewardesses did wear girdles in those days*, but so did their hard-working peers like nurses and the long-suffering housewife. Women wear what other women wear; stewardesses were not exceptional!

 

*Those days may have been surprising late since British Airways was only formed in 1974. Aer Lingus also put its name on branded stockings. This lovely example contains so many dating clues, the aeroplane, the uniform and the words "Bri-nylon" that a date in the late 1950's early 1960's can be guaranteed. This seems more in line with stocking wearing, however, it may be that the attrition rate on stockings kept them more popular than tights for air crew.