Couture on the tarmac

One of many displays in the SFO International Terminal for "Fashion in Flight." 
Photo: Bien Vestido.

In the early 70's, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was either an astronaut or a stewardess. It was a toss up. Man had recently walked on the moon which was the most exciting thing ever. But airline stewardesses flew around the world and looked glamorous and sexy while doing it. My grandmother and I took our first plane trip in 1969 from New Orleans to Los Angeles, she holding a bottle of smelling salts in one hand and her rosary beads in the other for most of the flight. While I don't remember what the stewardesses wore, I do remember how sharp, chic and competent they looked.

Recently, I had the great pleasure of seeing the wide variety of uniforms and their place in history. The SFO Museum is currently exhibiting seventy airline uniforms from 1930 to present. Last Saturday my indefatigable fashion friend Karen and I made the trek to San Francisco International Airport to see the show. Yes, a museum show at the airport. With over twenty galleries in various terminals, it's the only accredited museum in an airport.  The exhibit is a fun visual lesson in fashion history, couture designers and the effect of culture on fashion. It's worth a visit to the airport, even if you don't have a plane to catch or someone to meet.

United Air Lines stewardesses, 1939. They do look sharp with a post-war military chicness. United Airlines Archive.

This is a clever design for TWA by Hollywood fashion designer Howard Greer. The TWA logo appears as cut-out letters on the upper right chest with a flap that unbuttons to cover the logo when the hostess has an off-duty cigarette or cocktail. Greer (1896-1974) created glamorous garments for stars like Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich. Photos: SFO Museum.

Braniff International Airways hostess uniform by Emilio Pucci, 1966. With "The End of the Plain Plane," an advertsing campaign created by Mary Wells Lawrence, airline uniforms did an about-face from the tailored military styles to this wild psychedelic outfit called the "Supersonic Derby" by Emilio Pucci. Collection of SFO Museum.

My dream come true! Pucci makes it possible to be a stewardess and an astronaut! The space age bubble helmets were originally designed to protect the hair on blustery tarmacs but proved impractical and were used only in publicity. Braniff International Airways hostess in uniform by Emilio Pucci, 1965. Braniff International Public Relations Archives, History of Aviation Collection, UT-Dallas. 

Braniff International Airways hostesses in uniforms by Emilio Pucci, 1965, Gemini IV Collection, with multi-layers for quick-change combos. Braniff International Public Relations Archives, History of Aviation Collection, UT-Dallas.

United Air Lines stewardess in uniform by Jean Louis, 1968. Spiffy with double-knit practicality.  Another Hollywood designer, Louis (1907-1997), designed glamorous gowns for many leading ladies, most notably the strapless gown Rita Hayworth wore in "Gilda."  Photo: United Airlines Archive.

Air France stewardess uniform by Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1969. Courtesy of Air France. Immutable chic. Designing uniforms for Air France was Balenciaga's last project before he retired. His uniforms stayed in production for ten years.

Qantas Airways female flight attendant uniform by Yves Saint Laurent, 1986. Not my favorite, but definitely a product of the 80's, Yves Saint Laurent designed this Dynastyesque suit for Quantas, complete with a flying kangaroo print. Collection of SFO Museum.

Virgin Atlantic Airways female flight attendant uniform by Vivienne Westwood, 2014. With
Westwood's signature touches such as the nipped waist and high collar, this is a very couture look. Courtesy of Virgin Atlantic Airways. SFO Museum.

Many thanks to SFO Assistant Museum Director John H. Hill for permission to use the photos and his generous offer to schedule a group curator's tour. Let me know if you're interested!

Beauty, inspiration and debauchery, in that order

Fashion films and documentaries are like rare jewels. Sparkly and beautiful they appear infrequently and when they do I look forward to seeing them with unabashed excitement. And some I have watched many times, such as Bill Cunningham New York or Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. I relish the behind-the-scenes glamour and the inspiration I get from these fabulous colorful and creative people.

At this bountiful moment there are three fashion films showing and I recommend seeing all of them for various reasons.

Dior and I

This movie documents the arrival of Raf Simons as the new artistic director of the Christian Dior fashion house and follows him as he creates his first Dior haute couture collection in the Spring of 2012. Simons has only eight weeks until the day his designs walk down the runway. And he has to prove himself. Since he is known for his minimal design, many wonder if Simons is the correct choice for Dior.

The vulnerability of Simons is sensitively shown by film director, Frédéric Tcheng. Tcheng also wrote and directed the excellent Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel and edited Valentino: The Last Emperor. 

It's curious, who is the "I" of "Dior and I"? It is the man himself, Christian Dior, and it is Simons. During the film, a voiceover reads from Dior's 1957 biography, "Christian Dior and I". Dior sees himself as two people, the private person and the famous designer. Simons begins reading the biography as he starts to design his first collection, but the similarities between his experiences and Dior's are so close, he has to put the book down and focus on the collection.  

With a critical and worried eye, Simons studies his designs as they come to life. 

And the talented people I admire so much, the "petite mains" in the workroom. They are the women and men who bring the sketches to life with great mastery.

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Iris

When getting dressed in the morning I make an effort at a bit of self-expression. I’ll add an oversized silk flower to my lapel, wear a mix of prints or a piece of heirloom jewelry. But all that seems feeble and pale now that I’ve seen the powerhouse of original style, Iris Apel, in this documentary. 

There are few people with her joy for self-expression, intense esthetic pleasure of dressing  and sheer life force energy.  All this is fed by her hunting and gathering clothing and accessories from all over the world. She shops everywhere on the fashion spectrum from the heights of couture to a discount shop on a side street in New York.

Iris Apfel in IRIS, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo credit: © Bruce Weber

If you go to the official site for the film, click on the trailer to get an idea of the fabulousness of Iris and this documentary. Iris has her 94^th birthday this August 29^th. And I just had a great idea.  Wouldn't it be fun to celebrate Iris and the expression of one's personal style by having a dress like Iris day on her birthday? Let's do it!

Here are a few of her pizzazz-packed quotes:

"It’s better to be happy than well-dressed."

"I like to do things as if I am playing jazz."

"Life is gray and dull; you might as well have a little fun when you dress."

"I’m not pretty and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter. I have something much better. I have style."

"More is more and less is a bore."

And my favorite:

"When you don’t dress like everyone else, you don’t have to think like everyone else."

Saint Laurent

And now for something totally different. Not to be confused with the film Yves Saint Laurent that came out last year, this is not a feel-good movie. See it if you have a passion for the designer and to get a glimpse of glamorous and decadent Paris of the '70's. But be prepared for some depressing scenes of Yves getting too deeply involved with drugs and alcohol. There are some fabulous individual views in the atelier and on the runway, but the movie as a whole is long and feels emotionally empty. And beware, if you are a dog lover, there is a heartbreaking scene with his bulldog, Moujik. 

Saint Laurent is too much about the designer's excesses. Yves Saint Laurent featured his original creations, but the film feels stiff with minimal style. I suppose that's the downfall of fashion biopics. They often feel forced without the depth that I imagine the featured person would have. For that reason I prefer documentaries. If you are interested in Yves Saint Laurent, I recommend His Life and Times and 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris. 

Bien Vestida: Bianca Jagger

Bianca, front row of the Donna Karan Spring Summer 2013 show. Photo from the blog Americana Manhasset. 

I love reading the Sunday New York Times, but it can be overwhelming and when I buy it, I read as much as I can on Sunday, and then unread sections collect dust waiting for me to get to them the following week. Feelings of guilt and inadequacy set in. The pressure is too much, so I often choose not to get the NYT at all. I always feel like I'm missing something.

Recently, my friend and colleague, Jessie, and I spontaneously started a weekly ritual. She subscribes to the Sunday NYT, reads it, highlights the articles she thinks I'll be interested in and passes those sections on to me the following week. It's like having a personal reading service. This practice assuages her guilt too; she's giving a second life to her paper.

She also jots little editorial comments next to some of the articles. Like this article on Nick Cave's apartment, Jessie scribbled: "His style is so alive! Love this = love boxes." It's fun to read her comments because I feel like I'm having a dialog when I'm reading the paper. And she's very good at knowing what I'm interested in. We all need personal readers to cut through the media clutter!

But back to dressing well with personal style and meaning. About a month ago she highlighted this paragraph in an article by Bee-Shyuan Chang titled "Not Just Footlights for the Runway" about scene-sters and celebs at NY fashion week. Jessie added the note "Where are we? : )" Good question!

Jessie highlighted the quote below from Bianca Jagger and it struck me as a perfect statement on individual style with flair.

The quote: "I'm into style," Ms. Jagger said. "I'm not a fashion person. Style is not fashion. I'm someone who has a very busy life, so what I wear has to be practical and functional and well cut, and that's timeless. If you look at what I have worn, my style hasn't changed all that much."

Bianca front row at the Caroline Herrera Spring Summer 2013 show. Photo from  Zimbio. 

Yves Saint-Laurent introduced his Le Smoking in 1966 and Bianca made the tuxedo style all her own. Forty-six years later she is still wearing versions of it; adapting the shoes, accessories, silhouettes and textures so she always looks up-to-the-minute. I've never seen Bianca in person, but I can imagine she would capture my attention first not because of her celebrity status or because she's wearing over-the-top designer clothes; but because she is a discriminating style force, wearing only the best of what feels right to her.

Below are photos of Bianca from the late 60's and 70's, wearing Le Smoking with stunning and elegant style. In her remembrance of Yves Saint Laurent she says "It was part of my liberation to be able to wear trouser suits because it makes life so easy. Trouser suits are practical, but they are only elegant when they are well cut, and Yves's were very well cut."

At Heathrow, 1972

Style is a mix of things; a dynamic package of you, your history, knowing what's important to you and what you like best and fearlessly showing that to the world. Now more than ever we are bombarded with magazines and websites (and blogs!) telling us to buy, buy, buy the latest shoe, skirt, shirt, dress, jacket, perfume, anything and everything and most of it is a lot of noise. The commercial onslaught can be overwhelming and ignoring style all together can seem like the easiest option. But if you do that, you're selling yourself short. You can cut through the clutter and distractions by knowing yourself and your style and making the most of what suits you best.

So, I'm curious, what is your style?