--- title: Stewardess School: 'Glamor Girls of the Air' in Training, 1958 description: A 1958 cover story in LIFE magazine offered a surprisingly rich picture of a stewardess-in-training's day-to-day existence. canonical: https://time.com/3879489/stewardess-school-life-photos-1958/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-29T18:00:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:34.709Z og:title: Stewardess School: 'Glamor Girls of the Air' in Training, 1958 og:description: A 1958 cover story in LIFE magazine offered a surprisingly rich picture of a stewardess-in-training's day-to-day existence. og:url: https://time.com/3879489/stewardess-school-life-photos-1958/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5a892e70b068a1/69884a8ecd68481c4309f4fe/01_114062615.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Stewardess School, 1958 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Stewardess School: 'Glamor Girls of the Air' in Training, 1958 twitter:description: A 1958 cover story in LIFE magazine offered a surprisingly rich picture of a stewardess-in-training's day-to-day existence. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda5a892e70b068a1/69884a8ecd68481c4309f4fe/01_114062615.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # When Flying Was Fun: LIFE Goes to Stewardess School, 1958 > Sponsored content. 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Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Mar 29, 2014 6:00 PM UTC When LIFE ran a cover story in August 1958 on women that the magazine dubbed “Glamor Girls of the Air,” a career as an “air hostess” was still a relatively new pursuit. The way that LIFE described that pursuit, meanwhile, verged on the (almost laughably) patronizing: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- You get the picture. But above and beyond the mid-century blather about slender hips and rich husbands-to-be, the article in LIFE offered a surprisingly nuanced picture of a stewardess-in-training’s day-to-day existence. From emergency drills and comportment exercises to the sisterly camaraderie forged during a month and a half spent working and playing together _—_ in this case, at a stewardess school near Dallas, Texas _—_ it’s clear that learning to be a “hostess with the mostest,” as LIFE put it, was no walk in the park. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Emergency exit from plane is practiced by Louise Becker who leaps down canvas slide at Fort Worth's airport. Slide is dusted with chalk to make it slippery. Louise made perfect seat-first landing. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Graduating class of air hostesses with brand-new uniforms marches to commencement ceremony, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Stewardess school, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Wearing wings, new-stewardess Barbara Cline is congratulated by Millie Alford, head of school, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Farewell for newly graduated stewardesses, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduates, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduates, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduates, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduates, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduates, 1958. Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Recent stewardess-school graduate, 1958. 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