Air Canada Flight Attendant Uniforms from 1937 to date

Canadian daily The Globe and Mail has published a gem of Air Canada Flight Attendant Uniforms from 1937 to date. Did they ever get it right? Have a look:

Purchased off the rack at The Bay, this first in-flight uniform set the style standard for the cabin crews' appearance. The two-button beige gabardine business suit was worn by the first two flight attendants on Trans-Canada Airlines.

Designed and manufactured by Tip Top Tailors, this uniform was worn by the women-only cabin personnel of Trans-Canada Airlines until 1947. It included a blouse, jacket, skirt, cap, gloves and regulation shoes. The uniform underwent some minor changes during the 1940s with alternate shoes and buttons, and colours changed with the seasons: navy in winter, grey in summer. During war time, stewardesses (as they were called then) went without stockings as the limited nylon available was needed by the war effort to make parachutes.

This belted navy style pilot's uniform was worn into the late 1940s, its sober military style ubiquitous throughout the era. Ramp agents' white cotton coveralls had the Trans-Canada Airlines logo on the back.

In the 1950s, a more fashionable look began to appear with a knee-length sleeveless dress, boxy jacket and matching high crown pill box hat.

In the mid-1950s, cabin crew served dinner to passengers on real porcelain wearing a dressier Christian Dior-influenced pale blue fitted collarless suit, complete with a pencil skirt and shorter jacket.

A three-button boxy wool suit and a white felt hat were the basis for the flight attendant's wardrobe in the mid- to late-1960s. Accessories included gloves, black calf shoes and a handbag adorned with a lightning-design Air Canada badge on hat and pocket.

Replacing the coveralls for ground agents were beige cotton pants with a tucked-in beige shirt with a red embroidered Air Canada logo. They were well dressed to load cargo into the DC-8F Jet Trader that entered the fleet in 1963, when Air Canada became the first airline in the world to operate an all-cargo jet freighter.

In the late 1960s, the fourth uniform was transformed from a formal look to young and modern. Flight attendants wore a short A-line dress with a Peter Pan collar and could choose to wear flared trousers, box jackets or coats. The hat was optional.

Pop culture also influenced the Wardair uniforms during the late 1960s to mid-70s. The bright blue, above-the-knee pleated skirt and boxy jacket were worn with a high top hat and white gloves.

In the early 1970s, flight attendants' uniforms look took another radical turn to a mix-and-match style designed by Canadian couturier Leo Chevalier. Attendants could create their own look from 51 items, including blouses, sweaters, skirts, trousers and shirts. Pants were introduced for the first time, as was plaid.

The 1970s' mix-and-match uniforms were accessorised with matching shoes, scarves, belt and even a hat, an umbrella and an elegant trench coat.

In 1996, the uniform blue made way for a deep forest green, highlighted with red Air Canada maple leaf crests on the breast pocket of the suit jacket. Pilots' suits were tailored and simple. Scarves and ties, as well as vests for flight attendants boasted a vivid pattern. There were red highlights on the suit dress and belt, and all buttons were made of brass.