‘They didn’t need to walk around in a g-string to be sexy’: Former meter maid talks fashion exhibit

Baby oil was used as tanning lotion, land was $1000, and under 50,000 people lived on the Gold Coast – and this was the hottest fashion. Check out this blast from the past.

Baby oil was used as tanning lotion, land was as little as $1000, only 49,000 people lived on the Gold Coast and this was the hottest fashion.

One-time Meter Maid Deborah Miller is taking readers on a trip through time in a special exhibition that showcases Gold Coast clothes trends of the 1960s.

Clothes from some of the old Gold Coast’s most iconic fashion designers will be on full display – gold bikinis and all.

Deborah Miller is hosting a fashion show to celebrate 50 years of GC fashion. Picture Glenn Hampson

The retrospective will be held on Friday at Shuck Restaurant and Bar in Main Beach.

Ms Miller, a golden girl for legendary former city mayor Sir Bruce Small, said the Gold Coast reached a high on the national fashion stage when tourists from Melbourne and Sydney would flock to the beachside boutiques for the best bikinis and dresses money could buy.

Former meter maid and golden girl Deborah Miller was a fixture of the Gold Coast fashion scene in the 1960's and 70's. Picture: Supplied

“You had some of the best designers in the country operating at the time. These included the creator of the modern bikini as we know it, Paula Stafford, plus other icons like Ivy Hassard, Helene Walder and more,” she said.

“It was a special time before mass-conglomerates and huge department stores arrived on the Coast. The clothes were one-off, individual and quite unique.

“It all coincided with a certain freedom after the 1950s, where the music changed and female attitudes shifted. It was an iconic moment for these women to go out and establish themselves as reputable designers in what was then really just a small beachside village.”

Ms Miller in a classic promotional advertisement for the Gold Coast. Picture: Supplied

“It’s wonderful to acknowledge and pay homage to these designers who really aren’t talked about enough today. Their impact at the time was immense.

“There wasn’t proper models back then so the best way to showcase the clothing was through tourism.”

Deborah Miller with former Gold Coast Mayor Sir Bruce Small. Picture: Supplied

Ms Miller said meter maids and golden girls were “the most effective tool” for promoting the Gold Coast as a major tourist destination to Australia and the world.

“They were the faces of the day and were seen everywhere in print, advertising and television media at the time.

Advertisement for famed bikini designer Paula Stafford. Picture: Supplied

“Meter maids and golden girls were a great weapon for someone like former Mayor Sir Bruce Small, who always had a vision for putting the Gold Coast in the global spotlight.”

Ms Miller recalls that in the 1960s and 70s women were celebrated for their natural physiques and down-to-earth beauty, something that has “changed a lot”.

“The women still had grace and were elegant. They didn’t need to walk around the streets in a G-string to be sexy like the girls I see today.

Former Gold Mayor Sir Bruce Small with his golden girls. Picture: Supplied

“The whole attitude was ‘if you feel good, you will look good’.”

Over 100 people are expected to attend the Golden Age of Gold Coast Fashion Lunch and Exhibition. It starts at noon.

Originally published as ‘They didn’t need to walk around in a g-string to be sexy’: Former meter maid talks fashion exhibit