#FlashbackFriday - Vintage Flight Attendant Uniforms

When I worked at Delta Air Lines, my office was next to the Delta Flight Museum.  At that time, the museum had the world's largest collection of flight attendant uniforms. We held an event where museum volunteers circulated wearing the uniforms and discussing their history. One of those uniforms was even the brainchild of Oscar-winning clothing designer Edith Head. Below are 16 picks that highlight some of my personal favorites in vintage flight attendant uniforms, as found on my Pinterest board.

Photo courtesy of Lufthansa

1.  Lufthansa

In the 1970s, Germany's flag carrier was known for its brightly colored uniforms and that iconic pillbox hat.  ;

Photo courtesy of psa-history.com

2.  PSA

PSA was an airline that flew intra-California flights with aircraft that had a smiley face painted on the nose cone. In 1970, the carrier unveiled these pink and orange minidress uniforms that featured go-go boots. ;

Photo courtesy of PaperMag.com

3.  Olympic Airlines

Greek's flag carrier was owned by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. In 1969, the airline tapped French designer Pierre Cardin to make these stylish uniforms in the carrier's signature blue.

4.  Air France

Of course France's flag carrier would tap designer Christian Lacroix to design flight attendant uniforms. These uniforms were done in 1970, according to The Guardian.  ;

Photo courtesy of Airobilia

5.  Court Line Aviation

Court Line was a UK-based charter operator based out of London Luton Airport in the 1970s. The carrier flew BAC One-Eleven 500s in Easter egg colors -- with flight attendant uniforms to match. ;

6.  Air India

1970s flight attendant uniforms were all about the color, and the color in these uniforms from the country's flag carrier didn't disappoint.  ;

Photo courtesy of Air Canada

7.  Air Canada

 From the carrier's archive: "From classic and formal to young and mod, the uniform of the late 60s was clearly influenced by the pop music styling of the time! Flight attendants now wore short A-line (above-the-knee) dresses with Peter Pan collars rather than suits and blouses, and could choose to wear flared trousers, box jackets or a coat." ;

8.  Eastern Air Transport

 Back in the day nurses were hired to help passengers who could run into medical issues onboard their flight. These are nurse/stewardesses from the precursor airline to Eastern Airlines, circa 1930s. ;

Photo courtesy of Telegraph

9.  BOAC

This precursor airline to British Airways put its flight attendants in actual paper dresses for travel to the Caribbean.  ;

Photo courtesy of AviationExplorer.com

10.  American Airlines

 It was the 1960s, and it showed in this photo from PaperMag.com. Note the classic American Airlines red and the retro cut of the dress, which was fashion forward during that decade. ;

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Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines

11.  Southwest Airlines

It was the 1970s, and the uniforms of the Dallas-based carrier reflected it, from the hotpants to the trademark burnt orange and brown color combination. The Southwest Airlines uniform was designed by Randy Randazzo in 1974. ;

Photo courtesy of AirwaysNews.com

12.  Pan Am

You cannot have a vintage flight attendant uniform post without including Pan Am. So enjoy this flight attendant recruitment ad from the AirwaysNews.com extensive archives.  ;

Photo courtesy of ColletteHQ.com

13.  United Airlines

Academy Award-winning designer Jean Louis designed this uniform, called the Skimmer, in 1968.   ;

Photo courtesy of Wings900.com

14.  Monarch Airlines

 This UK airline, based at London Luton Airport, celebrated its 40 anniversary in 2008 by bringing back these vintage flight attendant uniforms. ;

Photo courtesy of AviationExplorer.com

15.  SAS Scandinavian Airlines

This is a flight attendant on the cover of SAS's timetable from the 1980s.  ;

Photo courtesy of Time Out London blog

16.  British Airways

 The UK flag carrier held a fashion show in 2011 that showed off a series of its vintage uniforms from the 1920s to the present.  Designers of its uniforms included Hardy Amies, Paul Costelloe and Julien Macdonald. ;