Abstract

In 1967, the world came to Montreal with the International World Exhibition of 1967. The event served as host to over 50 million visitors and 62 participating nations. Expo 67 was a multimedia event, encompassing architecture, art, design, fashion and new technology to create a visually interesting world’s fair. Working at Expo were 250 young women who served as hostesses – welcoming, guiding, assisting, and informing guests. It is the aim of this thesis to examine the role that the hostesses performed within the larger cultural landscape at Expo 67. This thesis will conduct a critical comparative analysis of the hiring and training of the 1967 Expo hostesses with that of airline stewardesses in the 1960’s. This thesis will also examine the role that the hostesses’ uniforms played in their transition from pre-war women to modern, single women. To do so, a critical analysis of fashion trends and the designer uniforms worn by both hostesses and airline stewardesses will be used as a marker of their transition. The questions this thesis seeks to answer are: What role did the uniform play in the position that the Expo 67 hostesses performed? What were the similarities or differences in hiring and training procedures between airline stewardesses and Expo hostesses? In what ways did these hiring and training procedures influence the performance of the Expo hostesses? How did the uniforms both confine and free these women during a time of great change? How did the uniform and guidelines of Expo influence their behaviour?