Southwest Airlines Hostess Uniforms
A Southwest Airlines stewardess uniform, 1973.
Dallas (1971): It was a half- century ago when “the love airline” took off. Southwest changed the airline industry forever with low fares, no frills, and hostesses wearing hot pants and white leather lace-up go-go boots. The start-up recruited its first batch of attendants with an open letter to Raquel Welch. Love bites (complimentary peanuts), love potions (special cocktails), and love machines for ticketing were key to finally separating Texans from their cars. What had been a rarefied form of travel for the select few — with severely attired attendants — became a relaxed social occasion that brought Texans together as never before.
