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Handbags have been part of the airline uniform since the late 1930s. Traditionally matched with shoes and gloves, some airlines have instead coordinated handbags with the color schemes of their base garments, and issued rules for how and on which side of the body they were to be carried. Airline handbags have followed the practical designs most closely associated with day-to-day career fashion. Front flap messenger shoulder bag styles have been most prevalent and popular, as they can leave the hands free. See more flight attendant accessories in "#FashionInFlight: A History of Airline Uniform Design", on display, pre-security, in the Aviation Museum and Library and in the Main Hall of the International Terminal. The Aviation Museum and Library is open daily from 10am to 4:30pm. http://bit.ly/fashioninflight #WomenInAviation #PanAm #crewlife #uniform #fashion Pan American World Airways stewardesses 1949 SFO Museum Collection Gift of Evelyn R. David 2012.144.006
This image was posted on October 26, 2016.
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Evelyn David, one of our lovely volunteers and fifth from the left in this photo, has generously donated many personal items from her decades-long career at Pan American Airways.
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#OnThisDay in 1930, Ellen Church began her first shift as the first female cabin crewmember at Boeing Air Transport (BAT).
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This image was posted on September 12, 2018.
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Ellen Church, remembered as the world’s first airline stewardess, was hired by Boeing Air Transport’s district manager, Steve Stimpson, in their San Francisco office in 1930.
This image was posted on March 20, 2024.
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These wonderfully dressed ladies modeled various Pan American World Airways flight attendant uniforms (from 1950s through 1980) at SFO in 1985 for the 50th anniversary of the China Clipper’s inaugural flight.
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In 1955, designer Oleg Cassini introduced a fitted suit for TWA hostesses that was issued for five years.
This image was posted on June 01, 2016.