Ruby Slippers

That’s right girls, last week Virgin Atlantic unveiled new red shoes for their female uniformed staff. The new patent red shoes made their first appearance on the launch flight of Virgin Atlantic’s brand new Airbus A330 which flew stylishly from Manchester to Orlando with the new shoes sashaying down the aircraft aisle as though they were walking for Dior.

All female uniformed staff will be issued with the new red shoes, which have been made in two styles named ‘Dorothy’ and ‘Dotty’. Fabulously, both types of shoes are packaged in a yellow “brick” box. Dorothy is a 3” red patent leather shoe and Dotty is a 2” red patent leather shoe that supports the sister shoe Dorothy for those staff who find longer spells in Dorothy are one click too far. The shoes have been made exclusively for Virgin Atlantic and whilst the design of the shoe is on trend, it has all the functionality of a working shoe. What I love the most though, is that Virgin Atlantic clearly cares about the appearance of their staff (in particular female staff, funnily enough) to the point that they have created a fashionable shoe as part of the uniform.

Virgin Atlantic’s uniform is iconic and is a strong representation of the brand. The current uniform is designed by John Rocha and was introduced almost ten years ago with the female staff originally wearing black shoes to complement the outfit. However, following on from the great success of the recent TV campaigns, the uniform became a major factor for Virgin Atlantic, particularly the patent red leather shoes that featured in the ads.

Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic Airways commented: “We have listened to our staffs’ comments and we have been working very hard to develop a pair of patent leather red shoes that will reflect the glamour of our iconic uniform and I am very pleased to see the launch of the new shoe on a day when we launch our new shiny Airbus A330 at Manchester Airport. I am sure the new red shoe will add even more glamour to our female uniformed staff worldwide.” Obviously, our Steve likes his ladies to look as good as his airbuses.

The new red shoes will be given to all female uniformed staff over the next couple of months and by the summer, the glamorous red shoe will be seen at airports all around the world. For those of us who have to buy our own shoes, I suggest Clair by Gina. Hopefully, the  gorgeous red satin pumps will make up for the fact that you have to catch a regular bus to work rather than an airbus to the Caribbean.