They say fashion is hard to articulate in words since it strikes power once you wear it. Fashion is a form of art and an expression of one’s self. It is more of wearing a living piece of art by the fact that you’re part of the canvas which makes you an art piece yourself. A dress could speak a thousand words by keeping your lips locked without even telling who you are. This is why you cannot ignore a fashion trend since it’s everywhere.
Women’s fashion is described as an ever-evolving facet of society. There’s always a new trend coming out every day and some were just recycled for simply adopting the style of the past centuries. Despite the progressiveness made in the 21st Century, there has been a policy running why skirt has been the standard piece of women in the airways.
Don’t get me wrong. You won’t appreciate the beauty of a pencil-cut skirt until you see them worn by a flight attendant. Can we just be honest about how captivating the pencil cut fashion is even if this has existed in the ’50s but is still present in the 21st century? Their matchy neckerchief and pretty little hats that sprinkle confidence on top now turned a simple outfit into an empowered fit. Though each airline has a different uniform, one thing I am sure about is they look perfectly fine and classy at the same time. As Marc Jacobs said, clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them. Maintaining a sense of fashion over 30,000 feet? Now, that’s high fashion (coz it’s 30,000 feet).
As fashion changes in the airline, the only constant thing is their duties as your helpline in the airways. When I say helpline, they’re your rescue troopers when something happens to you while you’re in the sky. As calm as you could see them, there will always be the right time to unleash their beastly training, but keep it that way instead of wishing for a plane crash.
In this course, women are still dominating the field up to this day. Flying back to history, flight attendant women were nurses. Their job was to help pacify people’s fears in flying and providing a vital service to airlines. As the number of nurses increased in each flight, they were assigned more tasks and then turned into a crew.
The little story back in college when I was taking up my Broadcasting course in a private institution, I was expecting that my uniform would be like that of these anchors you see on the TV screen; smart-looking and they have neckerchiefs too. It may not be as glam but I’ve always liked the taste of classic than those shimmering in gold and diamonds. All of a sudden what I had is an old-school uniform; old when it comes to color choice and design but I have to remember that I was there for college to learn and prepare myself for what comes next so that was easily disregarded.
However, I thought I would be wearing the pencil cut thing too but turned out that it was the Tourism department and International Relation’s uniform. I remember one of my classmates shared her disappointment about our uniform style while introducing herself and we all laughed; giving a point that we’re all paying tuition fees too but not as expensive as theirs so maybe that was the point of the uniform. The “pencil cut” thing with its classy look may be simple but projects a powerful image of a woman.
With all the looks and projections they bring, flight attendants have been used as objects to promote businesses. The business advertisement made their outfits shorter, sexier, and sometimes outright ridiculous. Though it seems that the sexiness of flight attendant style has been stabilized; unions are still fighting against what they feel is unreasonable about their uniforms. In 2017, the women of British Airways won their two-year-long fight for the right to wear pants.
Although a flight attendant’s uniform has gone through an intricate evolution that is both entertaining and shocking at times; but, still parallel enough from the original. Let’s take a quick walk down memory lane and check how it evolved.
Around the ’30s uniforms were described to be in long skirts, long sleeves, and a generally boxy shape which were sometimes paired with a long cape to keep from getting cold on the tarmac. In the ’40s, it was quite similar to the ’30s but with an actual silhouette and a cinched waist.
In the ’50s, dresses were collared giving a slight v-shape with pop-collars folded over from underneath their buttoned blazers. In the ’70s, in mock necks and stand-up collars, as well as, headscarves and pastels; ‘80s, fashion turned into more casual clothing for flight attendants. They were seen wearing boxy blazers paired with simple button-ups or blouses. During the ’90s, their uniforms became more similar to the standard uniform; conventional blazers and vests were paired with form-fitting dresses.
Trends in flight attendant uniforms have been popularized on formality and functionality. In the 2000s, uniforms include pencil skirts or a pair of pants.
Speaking of the New Generation, how far can we go?
As of September 30, 2021, flight attendants of SkyUp Airlines were spotted confidently and proudly walking along a tarmac during the presentation of their new uniform at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv in Ukraine.
From skirts, blouses, and heels to white Nike sneakers and a loose orange suit with trousers and a silk scarf, both made by Ukrainian brands and white T-shirts.
According to Alexandrina Denysenko, a senior flight attendant for seven years, she sometimes does not get a spare minute to sit down during a flight and dreams of resting her swollen legs after spending hours wearing heels.
“Shoes on heels look beautiful. I do not argue with that. But, feet suffer and swell by the end of the flight. Sneakers are cool,” Denysenko told Reuters.
“God forbid, but if a crew has to do a landing in the water and an evacuation, heels can damage the ladder and it won’t be very comfortable to swim in a skirt,” she added.
Dreams no more because the privately-owned Ukrainian carrier is breaking from the common norm and decided to put an end to heels and pencil skirts after collecting feedback from flight attendants about their uniform.
The company said they researched the history of cabin crew uniforms and decided to ditch what they called “conservative” elements of a flight attendant’s look. Not only attire that is changing but the hairstyle too! So, say “hello” ponytail and goodbye braids.
SkyUp Airlines marketing department, Marianna Grygorash said that despite how romanticized the image of a flight attendant is, their job demands a lot of physical training and that has to be considered firsthand. Grygorash added that the company plans to launch a new uniform for the male crew as well. A light suit instead of a vest and a T-shirt instead of a shirt will be combined with black Nike sneakers.
Breaking from what is normal and still stand out from the crowd; that is courage. How these flight attendants fought for their comfort at work is an act of bravery. What they wear will never make them less of who they are. These will increase their work engagement because they’re now free to move. “If the whole world and all fashionistas wear sneakers, why not bring it to aviation?” flight attendant Zoryana said.
It may be unusual but we know how these people work 24/7. Change is great, and so we must not be scared of it. As to Grygorash, the said new uniform will be officially launched on October 22, 2021.
Trouser-wearing women become the new norm
It wasn’t really until the mid-20th Century that women wearing trousers became an acceptable and more common practice. Before then, you would have found most women clad in skirts and dresses.
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