Madeline
Sirois Parker
Married in Fort Fairfield, Maine, February 20, 1928
Madeline Sirois Parker loved color. Living in Aroostook
County Maine, the sunny days were revered and often called for excursions to
pick fruit and enjoy a picnic. She loved her flower garden and had not only a green thumb
but a true sense of color, embodied in her orange “flapper” wedding dress, currently on view at
the American Textile History Museum as part of the exhibition Behind the Veil.
Madeline’s personality shines through her wedding dress selection.
According to her granddaughter, Janith Bergeron, Madeline was always a very “colorful” person. Since Madeline lived in a
very rural area of Maine, she purchased the fashionable dress in Canada. Spring
was still far off, so she chose to wear a bright and colorful dress, rather
than blending into the white on white of
winter. While a foggy wedding day may have concerned some soon-to-wed
couples, it caused her groom, Lester Parker to comment that he was glad he
could see her through “the weather.” Unfortunately, no wedding
photographs were taken so we cannot see how stunning she looked in her
shimmering flapper dress – although one can surmise she was beaming!
The
dress was (and is) eye-catching. It no doubt had a slight orange glow from the
light silk. With its uneven hemline, typical of the period, and its glimmering
beads and sequins, outlining the low waist and trimming the sleeveless garment,
Madeline would have been stunning on her wedding day. Her matching hat completed the ensemble. One senses she exuded confidence, for not every bride would feel comfortable making such a
bold statement.
Janith (a skilled designer and inspired seamstress like her
grandmother) recalls:
“sewing was a passion and I remember
many days spent in her lovely sewing room which looked out onto the potato
fields and the mountains on the other side of the St. John River. Madeline was
a wonderful hat maker...she would create lovely ensembles of all kinds and then
a hat to go with them. Ladies did not go without hat and gloves. Any trip to town was an occasion to
dress (and I mean 'to the nines'). Madeline often did sewing for a dress shop
in town...Avis's dress shop, Fort Fairfield, Maine. It was a very popular place with
garments often coming from Europe and Canada. And, oh, she was also a great
cook and I'm happy to say I still have her cookbook.”
Correspondence between the author and Janith Bergeron,
April, 2013.
Janith Bergeron is proprietress of Designs By Janith and
Co-Director of The Sewing Tree, Dover, New Hampshire.
The Sewing Tree
Designs by Janith
Photos of Madeline's dress below are courtesy American History Textile Museum; Frank Graham, photographer.
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For more stories about brides and their weddings, visit
American Textile History Museum
www.athm.org/
April
6, 2013 –
August 11, 2013
Whether extravagant or frugal, traditional or
fashion-forward, the story behind a bride’s dress has much to tell us about her
life as well as our common culture. A symbol of love and commitment, the
wedding dress personifies girlhood fantasies, a moment of transition, a
performance of cultural values. Behind
the Veil: Brides and Their Dresses explores how brides over the past 100
years have chosen their wedding dresses, and how their decisions are shaped by
fashion, family, and finances. This exhibition highlights not only the dresses
worn on the big day, but the stories of the women who wore them – whether a traditional princess-style
dress or a funky animal print, whether a simple homemade dress from the early
19th century or a mini worn in 1969. How have women created alternatives to the
iconic white dress, or how have they embraced the fairytale wedding? More than
an historical survey, this exhibition explores generations of women and the
stories of their bridal attire.
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