Here’s one of our classic photos from the archives at the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum. Delta Stewardess Maryanne Kowaleski keeps her cool as she poses in her uniform in front of a Convair plane on a hot summer day in Atlanta (August 1956).
Maryanne’s light blue “tropical weight” uniform was worn by Delta flight attendants in summers 1954-1965 on domestic flights. It was also Delta’s first international flight attendant uniform, and worn year-around by flight attendants working flights in the Caribbean and Venezuela.
Accessories included a light blue overseas-style hat, red/gold hat and lapel pins called “wings,” navy blue/white spectator pumps with 3-inch heels, a navy blue leather purse, white gloves and a dark blue serving smock–Delta’s first–to keep uniforms clean during meal service.
The Delta Museum is always looking for missing pieces for our uniform collections, so please keep us in mind - especially if you happen to have a pair of those spectator pumps from your flying days!
Marie Force
Archives Manager
August 8th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Marie:
Wow — I loved the paragraph about the accessories worn and were part of the uniform back then. Life happens in the future but it doens’t hurt to keep our heritage and roots when it comes to things like: style, grandeur & poise because it’s a special feeling.
Just look at her. She is smashing. It’s amazing what kind of image that should be portrayed when a person takes care of the body plus when the whole uniform is proper and fully worn. It shows grace, style and a sense of importance.
August 8th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I swear I posted to this already but maybe I thought I did.
She does look nice and Happy in the Photo.
I need to take the time and visit the Delta Museum one of these days. You guys should have like a travling Museum and have it parked at different terminals so people (like me) can get a glimpse of what we are missing.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Glad to hear you liked the photo and definitely come by the Delta Museum sometime. We don’t regularly travel an exhibit, but we did do it in 2004, for Delta’s 75th anniversary of passenger service. We had 16 panels and 4 cases holding about 50 artifacts, including airplane models, onboard and promotional items and uniform pieces, with a hat like the one in the above photo.
Traveled around to Delta’s major U.S. airport terminals from March-June 2004 and it was a wild adventure getting approval to use the terminals, moving these huge crates through the airport and setting up at gates crowded with people coming and going Had to take the door off a jetway one time to get the cases through in Boston.
The exhibits were beautiful once up and people had a great time browsing. I think it brought back a lot of memories for many. Often heard “I remember that . . .” Definitely hope to do it again.