Silken Flame

Vintage Barbie illustrations, built environment, clones and more

Who wore it best? Airborne edition

Left is black-and-white image of the actress Jane Wyman posing in a blazer with straight bottom hem, skirt covering the knee, matching cap, and two-tone closed-toed shoes, carrying a black bag over her shoulder. A male actor walks past in the background and they exchange a glance. At right, color photo of bubble cut Barbie in American Airlines blue uniform including blue blazer with curved bottom hem, skirt covering the knee, matching cap, white blouse, black open-toed shoes, black shoulder bag, and blue American Airlines branded luggage in hand.
L: Jane Wyman as an American Airlines stewardess in MGM’s “Three Guys Named Mike,” 1951. R: Barbie as the same from 1961; source: kyoto-jky74 on eBay.
L: Row of human actors, two male and four female, walk toward the camera. Women wear powder blue suits with straight-hemmed jackets, skirts to the knee, matching caps, white blouses, white gloves, white hosiery, and dark closed-toed shoes. All carry a pice of small powder-blue luggage. Doll's outfit is mostly the same, lacking gloves, substituting copen-toed black shoes, wearing a black shoulder bag, with a little more green in the uniform color. She stands next to a stack of plastic doll-scale luggage with Pan Am logos, topped by the Pan Am bag that was sold with the ensemble.
L: the cast of ABC’s “Pan Am,” set in 1963. R: Barbie as Pan Am stewardess (with extra luggage) from 1966; source: Theriault’s. The original Barbie Pan Am ensemble included white gloves and closed-toed black shoes.
L: Four Barbies in Braniff uniforms surrounding a Ken dressed as pilot; R: line of seven women wearing Braniff uniforms standing before an orange plane. The Barbie-scaled uniforms are (quoting 1967 Montgomery Ward catalog), L-R: "chic A-line dress" in butter yellow with hot pink sleeves and top; "kicky stretch culottes and top" (described by Sarah Sink Eames as hostess pyjamas) in periwinkle, shown with raspberry flats; boarding outfit of coat, hat and boots in mint green with gold trim, plus print headscarf and "Bubble top" clear plastic helmet, and "raspberry suit" of wrap skirt, zippered top, red gloves, second print scarf, shown with black heels, for greeting passengers. Humans wear: the boarding suit in canteloupe; the raspberry suit, which appears to be a one-piece coat with side closure; the A-line dress in pink and blue; hostess pyjamas in periwinkle; another A-line dress in pink and a very light blue or white; A-line as described for Barbie; and the boarding suit in buttercream. Boarding suits shown with matching boots, others with coordinated flats or low heels.
L: Barbie in Marx Braniff air hostess costumes from 1967, with Ken as pilot; source: Theriault’s. R: Braniff International Airlines uniforms designed by Emilio Pucci, 1965.
Doll and line of humans in blue suits with knee-length skirts, matching caps, and white blouses. Humans carry black bags hooked over the elbow or held in the hand. The Delta flight attendants wear black closed-toes shoes. Barbie wears white sneakers or may be barefoot, but in previous catalogs was shown wearing black open-toed shoes. Bits of other outfit pieces are visible in the background but incomplete. The text (not shown) indicates these as a jumpsuit, apron, flight bag and handbag.
L: Barbie in Air Hostess/Stewardess costume from 1973 JC Penney catalog (advertised there since ’70); source: christmas.musetechnical .com. R: Delta airlines stewardesses, 1960s.
Doll and human wear long wrap skirt and matching top with mid-length sleeves. Garments are in deep blue with red and gold floral and nonrepresentational designs. Human wears strappy cris-cross sandals in the same colors as the sarong kebaya. Doll is barefoot but originally wore plastic navy strappy-look sandals.
L: Barbie as Singapore Girl from 1993 (the gloves and pearls were added by the owner); source: fashionibly_favored on eBay. R: Model wearing sarong kebaya designed for Singapore Airlines by Pierre Balmain in 1972.
Four panels. Three photos of humans in colorful flight attendant uniforms, one each with red, green and blue backgrounds, and outfits emphasizing that color. Apparel items included blue slacks, skirts in each color to just above the knees, red vest, long sleeved shirts with solid bodices and patterned sleeves, and patterned blouses. Dark panty hose and square-toed shoes are worn with all outfits. Finally, the photo of Barbies shows Julia standing next to the gold service cart that came with the 1973 Barbie Friend Ship, and Hair Fair sitting atop the cart, wearing outfits like those of the humans, without hose, and with Julia in blue boots. The Mattel ensemble came with only one pair of shoes but otherwise enough garments for two (although I am missing the navy slacks and show two of the red skirt instead). Behind the dolls and cart, a reproduction of the Barbie's Friend Ship paper dolls folder resembles the interior of a 1970s plane, with cloudy skies visible through windows, red upholstered seats, and a serving station visible. The backdrop and props in the shot have a yellowish hue to complement the red-, green-, and blue-forward vintage photographs, although there is no yellow in the costumes for this to play up.
Left, right, and center right: 1973 United Airlines uniforms by Jean Louis. Center left: vintage Julia and repro Hair Fair in 1973 Get-Ups ‘N’ Go United Airlines ensembles (with pak boots for Julia–other historical shots of the flight attendant uniform show it styled that way).
Human and doll wear navy suit of blazer with 4 brass-type buttons and navy skirt to the knee (human) or some distance above (doll). Both wear a white blouse, print scarf tied at the neck, and dark hose. Human wears black closed-toed shoes while doll wears none. Doll is shown boxed with some of her ephemera around her. The shoes are probably in there somewhere. Visible are a metal-look serving cart and service items, a garment (possible blouse) in the print from the scarf, an addition navy item with brass buttons, and a black shoulder bag.
L: model wearing Japan Airlines’ flight attendant uniform designed by Yoshie Inaba, 1996. R: 1997 Barbie as Japan Airlines flight attendant; source: pioneer-land-japan on eBay.

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One response to “Who wore it best? Airborne edition”

  1. Welcome! – Silken Flame

    […] Who wore it best? Airborne edition does the same for vintage flight attendant uniforms. […]

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