![]() Each plane had its own theme and costume: a gold minidress for France, a toga for Italy, a ruffled white blouse for Olde England. In 1968, TWA launched the “Foreign Accent” campaign. But in the latter half of the 60s, the sex-kitten look prevailed. ![]() At first, the style was proper: hats, gloves, knee-length skirt suits and heels. At least six stewardesses who were fired after they turned 32 killed themselves.Īnd then there were the “uniforms”. If a stewardess made the mistake of getting pregnant, she would have to quit, find a way to get an illegal abortion, or take sick leave to give birth in secret. Company doctors prescribed diet pills and many patients got hooked on Black Beauties. On the job, a scale was placed in the operations room, with stewardesses required to weigh in in front of their mostly male colleagues. At the charm farm, “girls” close to the weight limit were pulled out of class for random weigh-ins. If a stewardess stood 5ft 5 she could weigh 129lb or less, with three-pound overage once a month during menses. Skills like mastering airplane safety came a distant second to physical appearance.Īs important as looking good was being svelte. Those who made the cut were shipped to the “charm farm”, a stewardess boarding school where candidates were taught how to comply with strict hair, makeup, nails and clothing regulations. ![]() A stewardess’s globetrotting life trumped the few other options available: secretary, nurse, teacher. In 1965, as many as a million women interviewed for 10,000 positions as “sky girls”. ![]()
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