Pushing the Right Buttons: Inside a 1947 Charm School for Elevator Girls

In 1947 the Marshall Field & Co. department store in Chicago ran a charm school for its elevator operators.

https://www.life.com/lifestyle/pushing-the-right-buttons-inside-charm-school-for-elevator-girls/


The elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

In the 1940s the job of stewardess became increasingly glamorized as commercial airline travel became more and popular. That trend may have reached its peak—or nadir, depending on how you look at it—when the now-defunct National Airlines ran an ad featuring stewardesses and slogans like “I’m Cheryl. Fly Me.” Many women were not amused, and before too long the people who worked on airplanes were being referred to with the more professional and gender-neutral term “flight attendants.”



But it’s worth remembering that bygone mentality when considering a 1947 story that ran in LIFE magazine headlined “Store Pretties Up Its Elevator Girls.” The Chicago department store Marshall Field and Co. wanted to give its elevator operators the same kind of glamorous profile as the stewardesses of the time. To achieve that goal, the store began to give its elevator operators special training, and it was about more than pressing buttons. Here’s how LIFE described it:



LIFE photographer George Skadding was given a behind the scenes look at the training and the makeovers these operators received. His photo of women in their uniforms stationed outside elevator doors almost has the feel of a chorus line. The story noted that at least one former Marshall Field elevator operator had become a star of screen and stage—her name was Dorothy Lamour. But for the vast majority who didn’t, their humble role attained, for a time, a touch of glamour. And the efforts did not go unnoticed.

In January 2025 on a Facebook page dedicated to Marshall Field & Co., one poster talked about her fond memories of being an operator. A fan responded “You were one of the most wonderful, talented, perfect women in the world. Oh, how, when I was 5, I wanted to grow up to be one of you . . . and I still wish it had been possible.” In the 1960s the store replaced its elevators with more modern models and operators were phased out.

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Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago went through a training program which included lessons in makeup and other beauty skills, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago went through a training and beauty program; here operator Ann Vratarich received a new hairdo, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago went through a training program; this photo demonstrated the wrong postures (too breezy, bent, leg in air) for an operator, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago went through a training program, with this photo demonstrating the proper posture (straight and modest), 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


The elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago worked on “reducing exercises” as part of their training program, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


The elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago worked on “reducing exercises” as part of their training program, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


The elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago worked on “reducing exercises” as part of their training program, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


An elevator operator from the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls at the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago went through a special training program, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator girls from Marshall Fields department store in Chicago showed off their look after attending charm school, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Elevator operators at the Marshall Fields department store, 1947. George Skadding/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock