[1][2] Graeme Potter, director of Queensland Museum South Bank, called her "Australia's original bikini designer".

[5] The bikini is generally credited to Louis Réard in 1946, but two-piece swimming costumes had existed before then.

[5] She sold her clothes to stores including British retailers Selfridges and Liberty of London, and in Australia Myers, Georges, Buckleys, and David Jones.

[2] In a famous incident in 1952, model Ann Ferguson was asked to leave a beach in Surfers Paradise because her outfit was too revealing; she was wearing a Paula Stafford bikini.

[5][7] In 1993, Paula Stafford was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division for service to the fashion industry.