It’s all about uniforms

For as long as there have been airlines, there have been flight attendants. And for as long as there have been flight attendants, there have been uniforms. We see them in all colours and all shapes, long, short, black and blue. Some sober, others very colourful.

KLM

KLM uniform 1975-1980

The KLM uniform is known all over the world because of its bright blue color. Wherever you go, people recognise Dutch cabin attendants and even wave to them as if they have known them since they were young.

Cliff Muskiet, a purser at KLM, has been fascinated by aviation ever since he was a small boy. Whenever he saw one of the ladies in blue, he knew that he wanted to become a cabin attendant too. He wanted to explore the world! He started to collect everything that had to do with aviation, mostly posters or other advertisements, like an illustration of two Pan Am stewardesses, one dressed in blue and one in beige. He went to the airport to look at the planes and, as a student, he cleaned airplanes to earn some extra money. In 1980, a friend of Cliff’s mother gave him a KLM uniform from the early seventies; two years later he managed to get two uniforms from other Dutch airlines and his collecting mania began. In the absence of a computer, he sent handwritten letters to airlines all over the world and to his surprise he received packages from everywhere containing uniforms or accessories.

Cliff’s dream, to become a flight attendant, came true. His work takes him to different parts of the world, allowing him to trace even more items. Life is much easier for a collector nowadays! There is no such thing as writing letters anymore. Via e-mail, Internet auctions, or simply travelling, a collector can find just about anything that’s missing from his collection. And when he expects it the least, miracles happen and beautiful accessories come his way. Just a few years ago, through an Internet auction site, he managed to get his hands on the exact two uniforms from the illustration of the Pan Am stewardesses from his childhood.

Cliff’s collection now contains close to 1,000 different uniforms from various airlines worldwide. Requests from magazines, exhibitions and television come his way. At the moment, 24 different uniforms from his collection are on exhibition in the TAM Aviation Museum in Sao Paulo.

His collection will never be entirely complete: there will always be missing items. His biggest wish now is to write a book.

For more information and to admire the beauty of airline uniforms from around the world, go to: http://www.uniformfreak.com

Karin
Corporate Communications

Posted by:   KLM  | 
Join the conversation Show comments

Guest

He should establish a museum, someone should donate space, and he should be commemorated as the person who started it all, alongside a part of the collection that should rotate (because 1000 uniforms is qiate a lot to exhibit). It can be away from the bustle of Amsterdam, maybe in, say, Alphen aan de Rijn or Enkhuizen?

Anthony Poon

Putting an exhibit somewhere at Schiphol would be nice or at the Aviodrome….

Guest

He should establish a museum, someone should donate space, and he should be commemorated as the person who started it all, alongside a part of the collection that should rotate (because 1000 uniforms is qiate a lot to exhibit). It can be away from the bustle of Amsterdam, maybe in, say, Alphen aan de Rijn or Enkhuizen?

Anthony Poon

Putting an exhibit somewhere at Schiphol would be nice or at the Aviodrome….

guest1

For as long as there have been airlines, there have been flight attendants., actually that is not true, the first airlines, also KLM had no flight attendants.The pilot took  or the mechanic tookc are of the passangers.In the early days they only got a hot stove before the start.

guest1

For as long as there have been airlines, there have been flight attendants., actually that is not true, the first airlines, also KLM had no flight attendants.The pilot took  or the mechanic tookc are of the passangers.In the early days they only got a hot stove before the start.

Regina Cláudia Maia

aaaaaaaaaaa eu quero trabalhar nessa empresa! 

KLM

Thank you for your nice compliments Regina!

Regina Cláudia Maia

aaaaaaaaaaa eu quero trabalhar nessa empresa! 

KLM

Thank you for your nice compliments Regina!

Anthony Poon

Yeah, Cliff Muskiet is a good friend of mine & he is still after my ALM Antillean Airlines flight attendant uniform from the 1970’s but when it comes to ALM paraphernalia regardless of what it is – I will not surrender any ALM goodies once its in my possession, LOL !

In general, I like flight attendant uniforms that stands out & instantly recognizable from far like the distinctive royal blue ones from KLM, green from Alitalia, red from Virgin Atlantic, the sarong kebaya from Singapore or Malaysia Airlines, the ones from Emirates etc.
Most airlines out there have dark blue uniforms for the cabin attendants which does not stand out at all….

Anthony Poon

Yeah, Cliff Muskiet is a good friend of mine & he is still after my ALM Antillean Airlines flight attendant uniform from the 1970’s but when it comes to ALM paraphernalia regardless of what it is – I will not surrender any ALM goodies once its in my possession, LOL !

In general, I like flight attendant uniforms that stands out & instantly recognizable from far like the distinctive royal blue ones from KLM, green from Alitalia, red from Virgin Atlantic, the sarong kebaya from Singapore or Malaysia Airlines, the ones from Emirates etc.
Most airlines out there have dark blue uniforms for the cabin attendants which does not stand out at all….

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