Fashion Trends of the 50's and 60's
British designer Mary Quant widely popularized this daring, thigh-skimming skirt length in the 1960s.
Mini skirt
This 1950s rock and roll pioneer told us about his "Blueberry Hill."
Fats Domino
This highly fragrant, ruffled flower is a traditional choice for Mother's Day corsages and comes in almost every color.
Carnation
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, he hosted the game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons until his passing in 2020.
Alex Trebek
This layered Italian dessert features espresso-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese, and cocoa powder.
Tiramisu
In, "Hey diddle diddle," This farm animal famously jumped over the moon while a little dog laughed
Cow
Credited to Juli Lynne Charlot, this popular flared felt skirt for teen girls famously featured appliqués like dogs and musical notes.
Poodle skirt
Hugely important to Canada's early economy, this historic trade involved Indigenous peoples and European companies like Hudson's Bay.
Fur Trade
This white, three-petalled wildflower is the official provincial floral emblem of Ontario.
Trillium
This iconic songstress from Dawson Creek, Alberta, won multiple Grammys and dominated the 1990s with hits like "Constant Craving."
K.D. Lang
This savory Greek pastry is filled with spinach and feta cheese wrapped in flaky phyllo dough.
Spanakopita
This merry old soul called for his pipe, his bowl, and his three fiddlers.
Old King Cole
Audrey Hepburn famously brought this calf-length, slim-fit pant to the mainstream, pairing it nicely with ballet flats.
Capris
These tightly coiled, edible green shoots of the ostrich fern are a traditional springtime delicacy in Eastern Canada.
Fiddlehead
Often climbing up garden trellises, this sweet-scented climbing annual shares its name with a popular type of old-fashioned candy.
Sweet Pea
As Prime Minister from 1963 to 1968, this Nobel Peace Prize laureate introduced Canada's national universal healthcare system and the maple leaf flag.
Lester B. Pearson
This "stuffed," folded or rolled, tortilla favorite is filled with meats or cheeses and was traditionally wrapped in corn or banana leave
tamales
In, "Sing a song of six Pence," Four and Twenty of these are baked into a pie fit for a king.
Black Birds
Men in the 1950s business world wore this classic, wide-brimmed felt hat, heavily favored by Frank Sinatra.
Fedora
This Middle Eastern staple is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas or fava beans.
Falafel
Ottawa hosts a massive annual festival celebrating this bulb flower, originally gifted by the Netherlands after WWII.
Tulip
Known simply as "The Rocket," this legendary Montreal Canadiens forward was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in one season.
Maurice Richard
Originating in Italy, this soft, creamy, and mild cheese is traditionally made from the leftover whey of sheep's or cow's milk.
ricotta
This character, who famously "could eat no fat," shares a name with a 17th-century dietary proverb about a couple who left nothing on their dinner platter.
Jack Sprat
Jacqueline Kennedy popularized this small, structured, brimless hat style throughout the early 1960s.
Pillbox Hat
This is the only chemical element on the periodic table that starts with the letter 'F'.
Fluorine
William Wordsworth's famous poem starts by saying, "I wandered lonely as a cloud..." and then mentions a field of these yellow spring flowers
Daffodils
This beloved actor played the bumbling but lovable, "Officer Montreal 'Cookie' Cyr," on The Red Green Show and also starred in Due South.
Gordon Pinsent
This iconic Greek dish is made with warm, baked layers of eggplant, spiced minced lamb or beef, and creamy béchamel sauce.
Moussaka
Often interpreted as a critique of Queen Mary I or Mary, Queen of Scots, "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" features "cockle shells," "blue bells," and these traditional garden decorations, which historians link to instruments of torture.
Pretty maids-
The "silver bells" and "cockle shells" are not pleasant flowers, but rather colloquial terms for brutal torture devices used against religious heretics—thumbscrews ("bells") and iron clamps for the genitals ("shells"). The "pretty maids all in a row" are thought to represent the rows of executioners or the guillotine-like device known as "The Maiden."
This ultra-thin, boyish British supermodel became the definitive face of 1960s mod fashion.
Twiggy
This world-famous annual summer festival in Edmonton is North America's largest alternative theatre event.
Fringe Festival
This rare pink-and-white wild orchid is the provincial flower of Prince Edward Island.
The Lady's Slipper
This "First Lady of Racing" from Milton, Ontario, became a national hero by winning three Olympic speed skating medals at the 1932 Lake Placid Games.
Lela Brooks (Gaétane Boucher did it in the 1980s)
These small, bite-sized Chinese dishes are traditionally served in steaming bamboo baskets.
Dim Sum
This historical, royal figure was the one who stole the tarts that the Queen of Hearts had baked on a summer day.
Knave of Hearts
The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer's day; The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts, And took them clean away. The King of Hearts called for the tarts, And beat the Knave full sore; The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts, And vowed he'd steal no more.