"Habillé pour la modernité"

Founded in 1921, the McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum here in Montreal, dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of Canadian history.

The museum is known for its extensive historical costume and textile collection, which includes over 18,000 clothing and accessory pieces, many of which were created by some of Montreal's most legendary fashion designers. Among the plethora of antique dresses, parasols, hats, fans and footwear, the museum also counts a collection of Expo 67 hostess uniforms.

The Montréal Fashion Bureau ("Mode Montréal") sat down with Cynthia Cooper, head of collections and research, and curator of costume and textiles for the McCord Museum.  Herself dressed hostess-esque, Ms. Cooper gives us a look into our beloved Expo girls, "dressed for modernity"...  

Check out the video, above...!

Michel Robichaud mixed modernity and folklore for the Indians of Canada costume.

The British uniform included a fabulous union jack purse. (McCord Collection)

The brown and aqua Quebec ensemble, with space-aged hat. (McCord Collection)

A U.S. raincoat like the one I acquired.  (I think mine is displayed better...)

images: (1-3-5) screen captures, montages by author

(2-4) mccord-museum.qc.ca, montages by author

Expo 67 Department Store Display

The image above is a rare shot of an Expo 67 promotional display at the now-defunct Denholm & McKay store in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Such displays would have been commissioned by the public relations department for Expo 67, to drum up enthusiasm for the upcoming fair.

Check out the ultra-sexy Expo 67 hostess cardboard cutout, below! That, too, was meant to drum up, er... enthusiasm.

images: (top) flickr.com
(bottom) montage by author

U.S. Hostess Raincoat and Handbag

As a collector of Expo 67 paraphernalia, I've always dreamt of actually owning something that a hostess wore.

Well... dreams do come true!

I regularly peruse eBay's Expo 67 auctions. A few weeks ago, I noticed the official raincoat and handbag worn by U.S. pavilion hostesses up for auction.

I watched that auction day in and day out. I was prepared to bid whatever it would take to get this ultra-rare item...

Lucky for me, it only took $33.00 (U.S.)!

The coat's label tells us it was made by Travelcoats by Naman.

The label inside the handbag identifies it as an Expo 67 artifact.

A hostess in her raincoat.



images: (1, 2, 3) author's own
(4) images: www.canada.com/montrealgazette

Hostess Application Form

Ever wonder just what it took to be an official Expo 67 hostess?

Expo Lounge readers can now download and print out their very own copy of an unused Expo 67 application form, complete with original envelope!

images: author's own, from the Barbara Asgary collection

Michel Robichaud

Born in 1939, Montreal designer Michel Robichaud studied in both Montreal and Paris before opening his couture house in 1963. In 1964, Robichaud successfully re-vamped Air Canada's flight attendant uniforms, prompting mayor Jean Drapeau to call upon him for Expo 67's hostess outfits, after an unsuccessful design competition yielded no satisfactory results.

Robichaud recalls that the infamous powder blue uniforms he designed for general Expo hostesses were actually quite in tune with 60's street fashion, except for the tri-color hats. These were designed with function in mind, meant to be instantly visible in a crowd. Combs were fitted into them, to prevent hostesses from losing their hats on the often-windy Expo islands.

Michel Robichaud also designed the uniforms for 10 other Expo pavilions, including Air Canada, Indians of Canada as well as a last minute design for Germany's hostesses. [Germans were under the impression that Canada was bitterly cold year-round, designing uniforms that were way too hot for humid July weather...]

At the time, Robichaud dressed all of Montreal high society. Among his clients was mayor Drapeau's wife, for whom he designed 15 evening ensembles for her to wear to Expo 67 related social functions...

images: (top) cyberpresse.ca (bottom) library and archives Canada

Telephone Pavilion Video

This Telephone pavilion video comes from the CBC/Radio-Canada archives. About 2 minutes into it, two ultra-happy hostesses give a bilingual demonstration of exciting future phone technology, including phone banking, call waiting and a popular Expo attraction: the videophone.

image: alamedainfo.com

Hostesses-a-gogo!

These fab photos of Expo 67 hostesses are from the Montreal Gazette:

A lovely general Expo 67 hostess.

A British pavilion hostess (love her purse!) with a general hostess.

The British girls' uniforms featured the shortest skirts at Expo 67.

Two more British hostesses posing in front of their pavilion.

A hostess from the U.S. pavilion. Their outfits were designed by Bill Blass.

Austrian hostesses arriving in Montreal for Expo 67.

Happy hostesses from the Canadian Pacific Cominco pavilion.

Expo's commissioner general Pierre Dupuy was all smiles with these pretty hostesses.

General Expo 67 hostesses at Montreal City Hall, with Mayor Jean Drapeau.

images: www.canada.com/montrealgazette

The General Expo 67 Hostess

"How do I look?"

Each country represented at Expo 67 hired its own hostesses.

There were also general hostesses, employed by the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition, who were stationed at 15 strategic information booths throughout Expo. These girls answered visitors' questions, guiding them to all the sights that Expo 67 had to offer.

General hostesses at parliament in Ottawa.

The general hostess uniform was designed by Montreal designer Michel Robichaud. It consisted of a conservative light blue Fortrel polyester suit, which was worn with a hat and gloves (of course).

A brooch of the Man and His World emblem completed the ensemble.

A rainy-day raincoat was also included as part of the hostesses' uniforms, with a hood that reminds me of Emilio Pucci's Space Bubble helmets...

Variations of the official hostess uniform, including, a mod rain coat (left).

images: library and archives Canada

Revisit The German Pavilion!

With over 10 million visitors, the Federal Republic of Germany pavilion was the third most visited at Expo 67 (after the USSR and Canada).

Architect Rolf Gutbrod and structural engineer Frei Otto won critical acclaim for their gleaming white tent. It was completely portable, weighing one third to one fifth less than structures of comparable size... it covered an expanse of 100 000 feet!

Our charming German hostess (sporting fab go-go boots) invites us to take a second look at this spectacular pavilion situated at water's edge on Île Notre-Dame:


Seperating walls were almost completely omitted in the exhibit area:

Natural light flowed in freely through the pavilion's translucent "skin":

The pavilion's patio restaurant was one of the most popular at Expo:

Germany's magnificent tent was particularily stunning lit up at night:

images: (1-2-4-6) library and archives Canada
(3-5) FOS productions

The Expo Hostess

Expo 67's hostesses were responsible for the reception of the more than 50 million visitors that came through Expo's turnstiles. They played a pivotal role in the success of Expo 67.

As early as 1965, a nation-wide selection process began in Canada to fill the positions of the 200+ hostesses required for the Canadian and provincial pavilions, as well as "general" Expo hostesses.

Each participating country was responsible for hiring their pavilion's hostesses. These women became ambassadors of their own cultures at Expo 67.

Though not politically correct by today's standards, physical appearance played a very important part in the selection of Expo hostesses. One pavilion went so far as to hire only former Miss Canada winners and contestants! (I wonder if there was a swimsuit competition?) Official hostess training also included makeup lessons!

Beauty aside, these girls needed to be intelligent, friendly, and quick to answer any question that a typical Expo visitor could have. (I imagine that these girls also had to be able to withstand un-funny jokes and comments from leering old men...)

A little known fact is that a small amount of young men were also hired as hosts, mostly for late-night duties and information booths. A total of over 1500 young men and women hosted at Expo 67, some even putting their studies on hold to work in Montreal during Expo's 6-month run.

Another interesting note is that while pavilion hostess uniforms were styled in the latest fashion by their countries' leading designers (hats and gloves a were a must), the waitresses that worked in the pavilion restaurants were usually in traditional costume...

photos: library and archives Canada

Hey Friend Say Friend

After years of searching, I have finally found the original cover art to the 45 single of the Expo 67 theme song, as done by Michèle Richard. Michèle is dressed in the official Expo hostess uniform.

Needless to say, it is very rare and ultra hard to find!

Side A is the original french version Un jour un jour while side B features the English version.

It is the ultimate piece in my collection, the one that bridges the gap between my two biggest passions: Expo 67 and Michèle Richard!

image: personal collection