![Marge Marques (left) and Zonia Arauzo (model Hughes Airwest flight attendant uniforms for a promotional photo shoot in 1987. [Credit: Museum of Flight]](https://tbh.express/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Fashion-and-Flying-at-the-Museum-of-Flight.jpeg "Fashion and Flying at the Museum of Flight")
Do fashion and flying go together? They do if you consider the next temporary exhibit to grace the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle.
“Runway to Runway,” a look at the history of flight attendant uniforms, is set to open later in April.
Depending on the decade, flight attendants (once known as stewards/stewardesses and air hosts/hostesses) were either seen as professional, reassuring figures in the aircraft cabin or glamorous aviation professionals that did so much more than serve food and beverages.
The exhibit explores the history and evolution of aircraft cabin crew from the days of the stewardess through the modern flight attendant.
“The display goes beyond style,” the MOF said in a news release. “While the uniforms reflect changing fashion trends, they also point to the realities of the job, including workplace expectations, gender roles, and racial barriers that shaped the profession.”
The exhibit includes artifacts from famous but now defunct airlines such as Pan Am, Hughes Airwest and Northwest to name a few.
History of the Flight Attendant
In the 1920s commercial air travel was in its infancy, with the wealthy flying aboard aircraft such as the Boeing Model 80A. The seats were made of wicker to save weight, and the cabin lacked insulation, so it was both loud and drafty. It was not uncommon for the copilot to perform cabin duties such as providing cotton balls for passengers to put in their ears to help block out the noise. They also provided airsick passengers with a lemon to suck and a bag just in case the fruit didn’t work.
In 1930 an Iowa nurse named Ellen Church, who was also one of the first women in the U.S. to earn a pilot’s certificate, applied to Boeing Air Transport (BAT) to be a pilot. At the time BAT had the contract to fly the mail between Chicago and San Francisco.
Church learned from Steve Simpson, the manager at BAT’s San Francisco office, that the airline only hired male pilots and planned to hire male stewards as cabin crew. Church convinced Simpson that the traveling public would likely feel more comfortable with trained nurses aboard the aircraft, then went on to develop the training program for the first flight attendants.
Their first uniforms consisted of long, wool skirts and capes to combat the drafts in the aircraft. The flight attendants also faced strict height and weight requirements and had to be unmarried.
After the end of World War II, air travel became more readily accessible, and airlines began to flourish. By the 1960s and ’70s airlines were working with well-known fashion designers to create clothing that defined their public image.
These uniforms reflect the realities of the job along with the expectations of the public aboard the airliner. For many years it was not uncommon for passengers to get dressed up for flight, so they expected the flight attendants to be dressed up as well. There were even rules about the makeup shades flight attendants could wear.
Today flight attendants are the most forward-facing members of the flight crew and are required to undergo rigorous training and meet FAA medical requirements.
About the Exhibit
According to the Museum of Flight, a total of 13 uniforms representing eight airlines are featured in the exhibit.
Designers such as Emilio Pucci, Jean Louis, Valentino, and others contributed to uniforms that ranged from conservative looks to more experimental styles, featuring bold colors and even go-go boots.
![Braniff International Airways flight attendants in Emilio Pucci’s 1971 uniform collection featuring psychedelic pink swirls and umbrellas. [Credit: Museum of Flight]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/Braniff-Close-Up2-Large-649x1024.jpeg)
The exhibition includes a collection of accessories that completed the uniforms, such as airline-issued bags and purses. There is an Alaska Airlines’ 1960s-era carpet bag along with the brightly colored designs by Hughes Airwest and Braniff.
Flight attendant headwear is also on display, ranging from clear plastic helmets (to show off the perfectly coiffed hair) to faux fur caps.
There are several examples of flight attendant scarves, an article of clothing that represents the airline branding with specific colors and designs.
The exhibit uses the uniforms as a gateway into the experiences of individual flight attendants and the barriers they broke. Ruth Carol Taylor, who became the first Black flight attendant in the U.S., is included. Taylor, who earned a nursing degree in 1955, applied to Trans World Airlines in 1957 but was rejected.
![Three flight attendants wear their TWA uniforms for a flight attendant recruiting brochure which declares, 'Be a Woman of the World.' [Credit: Museum of Flight]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/TWA-Running-Large-978x1024.jpeg)
TWA refused to hire Taylor because at the time the airline only hired white women. Mohawk Airlines, a regional airline that operated between New York and Pennsylvania from 1945-72, had an interest in hiring qualified minority candidates and Taylor was selected in 1958. Her job lasted six months, ending when she got married, as the airline rules required flight attendants to be single.
The MOF exhibit also explores the gender broadening of the flight attendant, such as the beginning of men being hired for a job that for decades had been viewed as still largely for females only.
The exhibit opens April 25 and runs through January 18 and is included with museum admission.
