A few weeks ago we took the skies with news about a new ABC series centered around the iconic airline Pan American World Airways during the 1960s. Recently a promo was released, giving us a taste of what we’ll see this fall. At a first glance it looks a bit like Mad Men in the air. It is a treat seeing historic locations such as the Pan Am building, complete with helicopters and the Googie designed jet port at JFK airport in New York being brought to life with computer magic. I am excited about this, what about you guys?

Style in the Aisle

The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington is nearing the end of a temporary exhibit called “Style in the Aisle: Flight Attendant Fashion.” The exhibit first began in 2008 and has become so popular that the museum has added new uniforms to the exhibit. Travel Channel has a great photo compilation of “Style in the Aisle” with captions describing each of the photos. The exhibit shows fashions from the mid-1930′s to today’s current fashions and will end May 30, 2011. Some larger photos can be seen at Amusing Planet. There are only a couple weeks left before it’s too late!

Ultra Swank – Your one stop blog for retro living, style and design

Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s, 60s and the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality of that era – but also on the music and movies that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris, a Swede born in the wrong decade that currently resides in Barcelona. Read more

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Pan Am Flies Again

Here are some news that will surely bring a smile to any fan of aviation and travelling in style. The iconic airline Pan American is going to take to the skies again soon in the upcoming ABC tv-series “Pan Am“. A pilot (no pun intended) has been ordered and the plot is said to center around the lives of the pilots and stewardesses of the legendary airline in the 1960s.

Riding on the success of the award winning period drama “Mad Men”, the show will draw on the experiences of executive producer Nancy Hult Ganis, who was herself a stewardess in her youth. The first episode is slated to premiere later this year and we will be seeing Christina Ricci in the lead role who will apparently play a undercover agent. Good or bad decision? Time will tell.

Airport

The first of its kind, Airport set the standard for the disaster films of the 1970s. Films such as The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and my favorite – Rollercoaster (1977) collected A-list, B-list, and C-list movie stars and put them into some pretty crummy situations. But their pain is our pleasure; the films grossed a ton of money – Airport made over $100 million on a $10 million budget. Based on the novel by Arthur Hailey, Airport provides a cavalcade of Hollywood superstars – Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jacqueline Bissett, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, and Barry Nelson.

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Isabel Rose, comedienne and performer salutes 1960s aviation among many things in her first ever music video. If you are a fan of Ann-Margret, Doris Day or movies such as Catch Me If You Can you will surely be entertained and impressed with both Isabel and her music. Her album “Swingin’ From the Hip” blends big-band, jazz, cabaret and pop and can be purchased through iTunes. [Thanks Jeffrey]

Emilio Pucci and the Uniforms of Braniff Airlines

Remember when flying was fun? Living in the post-September 11th world not everyone does. Security measures have changed the way we fly. With tedious carry-on and travel restrictions as well as economic hardship, airlines have cut travel benefits like in-flight meals and free baggage check-in. But at the height of the aviation world, flying was a special occasion that called for you to dress to impress. Full meals were served with real silverware in coach and the flight attendants were expected to fulfill certain physical (read: beauty) requirements.

If you worked with Braniff airlines as a flight attendant, you would be wearing uniforms designed by Emilio Pucci. The Italian designer, known for his colorful prints, made everything from convertible dresses to bubble-like helmets to protect flight attendant’s impeccable hairdos from rain on the tarmac. The airline’s tagline was “The End of the Plain Plane” and that philosophy trickled down from it’s engineering right to the crew. Braniff Airlines featured bright yellow airplanes and commercials with plenty of star power. Even artist Andy Warhol promoted the hip airline company that was all about taking air travel to the next level.

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Lets go back 40 years or so to the late 1960s and when traveling in style was possible with airlines such as British state owned airline BOAC – which had its heydays in the 1960s and early 1970s. Jack Parnell and his Orchestra sets the mood. Our destination? Around the world and back again. What do you daydream about today? (Via)

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