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25.7.09

Flights of Fancy


I've had uniforms on the brain for the past couple weeks. The subject keeps thrusting itself into my attention: whether through a daydream shared with a friend about the glories of British boarding schools, or references to WWII nurses during my subway reading time, uniforms keep popping up in my consciousness. I've always loved the concept of uniforms, and have always been vaguely disappointed by the fact that I've never had to wear one, except for sports (and somehow spandex crew unis simply aren't as romantic as wool skirts or severe cotton dresses). With my love of clothes, it may seem contrarian, but I'm utterly fascinated by situations where choice is removed from dressing.

In this vein, I'm also intrigued by moments when companies have to come up with new uniforms. One of the most memorable movements of this type happened in the Golden Age of air travel in the 60s. With myriad new airlines springing up overnight, everyone competed to have the funkiest and most forward-leaning uniforms on the block, with truly memorable results. Even Pucci got in on the game-- witness the Braniff Air photo below, with illustrations of the 4 "Phases" of his famous "Air-Strip". The results are truly inspiring for the modern viewer(as well as occasionally highly amusing.) I've assembled some of my favourite finds below.

Signing off for the Shrimpton team,

Alexandra






[Images via Dark Roasted Blend]




5 comments:

Unknown said...

Love this post Alex! Ironically I just had a conversation a few days ago wishing for the days when uniforms where snappy! I love these images too - thank you for sharing this with me and our readers!

xoxoxo

susan said...

Love this post - great pictures!

andrea said...

wonderful post and pix--reminds us how uniforms always tread that exciting line between chic and kink!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Andrea! Sex-appeal is surely playing a big part here. Perfect example of chic going sexy!:)

You put forth an interesting subject Alexandra - this makes for a very engaging study. I wonder if anyone has done an in-depth study yet, surveying the changes through the years? If not, maybe you should!

P.S. I was in a crisp uniform (pleated cotton skirt, white shirt and tie) until High School, and that definitely has led to a strong love-hate relationship in my case:)

supayana said...

great photos! thanks for the inspiration!

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