You’ve heard the phrase “one-size-fits-all.” That little gem? It only really works for one thing: leggings. But airlines are not leggings. One size does not fit all. What works for one brand won’t necessarily work for another.
Enter its clingy little sister: dress like you work there.
Sounds safe, right? It can be just as dangerous if you let it tip into caricature. Then you risk triggering something far worse: imposter.
Dressing for corporate culture isn’t about red hats, cream scarves, or pinning a cute little clipped wing to your lapel. That’s costume. What we’re after is alignment — the kind that mirrors the brand’s energy without erasing your own.
Seven-inch heels or closed-toe court shoes? One whispers, you’re at the wrong door; the other, you understand our vibe. And not necessarily in the order you’d expect.
In this lesson, we crack open the first in a series of grooming lessons — not to tell you what to wear, but to show you how to think about what fits, what aligns, and what signals your understanding of the airline’s culture.
Okay, no time to waste. Let’s slip out of that unicorn onesie and into something a little more interview appropriate, shall we.
I’ve rummaged my sisters clothing donation bags, and either she’s shrinking or I’m growing. Despite her three-year head start, she wraps her fingers around her wrist with room to spare. My fingertips barely touch if I squeeze hard enough to make my skin pink and veins bulge. Each boned and underwired piece, nips, tucks, and tightens around me like tourniquets.
I managed to pair a grey skirt with a grey blazer and it sort of works. The skirt is a clever wrap around style, and that’s the only way anything of hers will ever fit anything of mine, except it can’t decide if it’s a knee or ankle length. It’s like that awkward in between hair growth stage. So, I grabbed my scissors and gave it a trim.
The blazer is a little tight around my pits and I can’t fasten any buttons, which is just fine because I’m wearing my favourite blouse, with ruffles around the neckline and sleeves. It does a good job of offsetting the legal secretary vibes.
Plus there’s my Hollywood heels — of course I’m wearing those. I’m channeling Career Spice Girl.
Ground School
Are you working tonight?
Until I was eighteen, my only mentors for becoming a woman came from my doll-head obsessed father, perpetually perfect sister, and a pair of sexist 60s flight attendant posters. That about sums me up as a teen.
Then, in 1996, Ginger Spice appeared in her platform boots and Union Jack dress, and I thought, yes, that’s it. That’s the blueprint. Naturally, my first order of business? Finding the perfect pair of platform Spice boots.
It took me two years of searching, until I finally tracked them down on Hollywood Boulevard while shopping for my Virgin Atlantic interview outfit, in a dance wear shop, right next to a gun shop, with a Hollywood star right on its doorstep. Seven inch spikes. Four inch platforms. Talk about classy.
And soon I’ll be wearing those Hollywood heels that I think are Spice Girl shoes to the interview I think is an induction. But hey, if there’s any airline that might appreciate a pair of shoes with more inches than economy-class legroom, it’s gonna be Virgin, right?
Ground School
Stop preparing for “an airline” — start preparing for their airline
On the surface, this looks like a catastrophic lapse in judgment. And in many ways, it was. But! My naïve eighteen-year-old self may have been onto something rather smart — if only I’d known it back then.
Airlines, much like people, have distinct personalities. You might have heard of it, it’s called corporate culture. Since flight attendants represent the airline, recruiters seek applicants who complement that culture.
To understand how corporate culture influences grooming standards, let’s peek behind the galley curtain of four top airlines.
Ground School
Singapore Girls – Buckets of Tears
Key points:
Deportment for walking.
Grooming to look right because girl next door is not a Singapore Girl.
Post-pregnancy weight must be lost to fit into the uniform.
Strictly-regulated hairstyles.
Buns must be spherical and measure between 6.5cm and 7cm.
“This is where I tell you if you need to cut your hair.”
“You can cry buckets of tears, but you know what you need to do, right?”
“Those eye circles, you need more sleep, okay.”
“Your ears are on the obvious side, so, tomorrow, I need your hair to cover your ears.”
“Can you cover more forehead?”
“I need you to cut your hair. Because when you tie it like this, you look like a young mother-in-law hiding in that bun.”
“You can cry buckets of tears but…”
Ground School
Etihad – Great Pride In Appearance
Key points:
Great pride in appearance.
Foundation, blusher, eyebrow pencil, 3 or 4 shades of eyeshadow, eye liner, mascara, signature purple lipstick and lip liner.
Lash gel to set.
Winged eyeliner and along the water line.
Two applications of mascara.
Any shade of blusher as long as it complements the skin tone.
Ground School
Emirates – Long-lasting Makeup
Key points:
Emirates Beauty Hub.
Carry items: Face mist for hydration, blotting paper, powder to touch up, red lipstick.
Dior Hydra Life cream for a glowy base.
Forever foundation.
Forever Skin Correct concealer.
Set foundation with powder.
Contour bronzer.
Blusher.
Eyeshadow in 3 shades.
Diorshow On Stage Liner – long-lasting.
Mascara.
Signature red lips, liner and signature 999 Forever from Dior.
Stronghold cream for fixing baby hair.
Hairstyling, nutrition, fitness, and skincare.
Ground School
Virgin Atlantic – I Am What I Am
Key points:
Diversity and individuality are at the heart of Virgin Atlantic’s mission.
Makeup is not mandatory.
LGBTQ-inclusive.
A guy wearing sparkly sunset eyeshadow.
Emphasis on being themselves.
“Your life is a sham, Til you can shout out, I am what I am.”
“Your life is a sham, til you can shout, I am what I am.”
Ground School
Cultural Differences
Let’s be real — those videos are marketing. They do not represent the entire grooming regime of the spotlighted airline. We’re seeing the sanitised, preened, and groomed PR-approved version, a curated glimpse based on what is available through official and verifiable channels.
There’s more going on behind the galley curtain. And yet, even within this curated glimpse, the cultural differences are as obvious as Etihad’s darling shade of purple lippy. (Note to self: Check eBay for an Etihad purple lipstick.)
Singapore Airlines
At one extreme, Singapore Airlines run a military-grade beauty camp.
Hair — Strictly regulated. Buns — Spherical orbs measuring precisely between 6.5cm and 7cm.
Bun too big? Cut it.
Too small? Also cut it.
And if you dare get emotional about it — irrelevant, here are the tissues.
Eye bags? Unacceptable.
Prominent ears? Better find a way to hide them.
A forehead exceeding regulation proportions? Disguise it.
In short: If your face doesn’t fit the Singapore Girl standard, fix your face.
Virgin Atlantic
At the other end, we have Virgin Atlantic, the flamboyant, gloriously unbothered counterpoint to Singapore’s strict regimentation, where the philosophy is simple: be yourself.
Think of that effortlessly cool aunt, who gives you wine at 16, rolls her eyes at your mother, then sighs dramatically as she tosses a glittery scarf over one shoulder and says, — “Life’s too short for sensible shoes, darling, but be sure to use edible glitter in your eyeshadow in case it gets in the food.”
Diversity? Check.
Individuality? Double check.
Makeup? Optional.
Sunset glitter lids? Sure.
Want to go full drag? Oh, yes, love that look.
Feel like rocking bare skin? Oh, love that too.
In short, instead of “Fit into this mould or else,” it’s “Be your fabulous self, babe” because, and I quote, “Your life is a sham ‘til you can shout out, I am what I am.”
The In-Betweeners
And then, of course, we have the in-betweeners — the airlines that aren’t quite coming at you with callipers to assess the spherical integrity of your bun, but will absolutely scrutinise the precise tilt of your hat, the exact nipple length of your veil, and whether your lipstick is one scandalous shade away from individuality.
P.S. I love and wanted to work for Virgin. But oddly enough, it wasn’t Virgin’s be yourself approach that first made me dream of flying. It was the extremely precise approach similar to Singapore that first made me think, yep, this is the life for me. Neither is wrong — it’s just a question of which cult, sorry, culture, you want to belong to. Some people thrive on the structure of a precision bun. Some people want freedom to wear sparkly eyeshadow. Others, like me, just want a uniform and instructions on how to use it so I don’t have to think for myself.
Ground School
Bold or Stupid?
What do you think of my fabulous garment choices now?
Seven-inch heels — Bold? Stupid? An absolute power move? But, wait, a little devil’s advocate first.
Let’s pretend, for a moment, that I am sensible, and entertain my sister’s tragically dull suggestion: grey jacket, grey skirt, alabaster tights, white blouse, grey court shoes, and a prim little up-do.
Is that going to scream Virgin?
No way. That says, “Hello, I am here to audit your tax returns”. I know this because I made that mistake at the modelling audition — turning up nipple-height in corporate garb while everyone else strutted in ballgowns and jumpsuits. Talk about awkward.
Virgin doesn’t do grey. Virgin is blood red. Virgin is so red it named itself after a state of sexual inexperience and still managed to sound thrilling. Their website says, “It’s being bright red when others are grey.” In other words, wearing grey makes me “other”, and then I am literally defining myself as not Virgin material.
So, grey is definitely out.
But, if grey is out, does that mean red is in?
Damn, I should have bought those Hollywood heels in red.
But, they do say be yourself, so technically, grey is not a problem, right?
Except, if I turn up in grey, am I actually being myself? Clearly not. Which means I’d actually be betraying their motto.
By that logic, I must wear the seven-inch heels. Ugh.
So, what do you think? Given what you’ve seen of those four airlines, what would you have worn to Virgin?:
a) Be bold and wear those Hollywood heels? b) Be ultra-conservative and wear my sister’s grey, soul-crushing, closed-toe courts?
Ground School
There is no one-size-fits-all way to dress
Obviously I chose (a), so you’ll get the insight in simulated real time.
In the meantime…
…beware of all or nothing thinking. When people claim flight attendants must fit into some universal mold, they fail to grasp the intricacies of airline culture.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” airline culture, and there is no “one-size-fits-all” standard of dress, behaviour, or approach either. But there is an airline standard.
Know the difference, then groom and behave accordingly because understanding the airline’s corporate culture is the first step to knowing what recruiter’s are seeking.
What you wear and how you approach Emirates or Singapore or British Airways should not be the same as your approach to Virgin or Etihad or Southwest.
Corporate culture will not only influence your grooming, but also your attitude, how you approach your answers, and your shoes. It also dictates how different airlines choose to conduct their auditions — I mean interviews.
Alright, if you’re ready, let’s see how these shoes and my ankles hold up around the cobblestones of Crawley. Dressing to look pretty is one thing, dressing for functionality and practicality is, ouch, quite another. We’ll get to that soon enough.
