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]