When Brian and David Whittington visited their grandmother in Houston as kids in the 1970s, they’d gaze, starstruck, at the machine sitting in her kitchen: a Frigidaire Flair electric stove. With polished chrome handles and stark block typography on its dials, it looked more like a car dashboard than an appliance. Most dazzling was its stovetop: four electric burners set into a “roll-to-you” drawer that slid seamlessly out of sight. In the boys’ eyes, the Flair was a wonder. When Brian, now 49, moved into their grandmother’s house as an adult, he consulted other Flair owners to ensure the stove’s continued survival. In 2010, Brian started a Facebook group for fellow “Fans of the Frigidaire Flair.”
David, now 52, joined, and soon so did others—many others. As of February 2024, the group includes almost 17,000 members, who exchange tips on diagnosing problems, scavenging yard sales for parts, and cleaning and cooking techniques. Meanwhile, a Google group of Flair fans features more than 1,800 posts; TikToks showcasing the stove boast more than 69 million views. To present-day Flair fans, it’s the epitome of culinary Americana, a kitchen appliance worthy of public display.
The stove was designed by Jayne Van Alstyne, who joined General Motors in 1955 as a “Damsel of Design,” one of a handful of women hired to make GM’s products more “female-friendly.” She was eventually promoted to the head of Frigidaire, GM’s appliance division, and from there led Frigidaire’s design of the 1956 “Kitchen of Tomorrow,” a
