Cherry Trail Maid?!
Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 9:32 amSome of you may know, but most of you probably don't, that I live in Mobile, Alabama--the beta test for New Orleans (historical fact!). This is my hometown, and we're famous for a lot of things--not all of them nice--but possibly the most famous of all are the Azalea Trail Maids. These are the girls (fifty in all) who show up in the Tournament of Roses parade and all over the country promoting the South in general and Mobile in particular, wearing dresses inspired by mid-1800s gowns with hoop skirts and long pantaloons and ruffled hats.
At the start of every school year, hundreds of high school girls compete for the honor of being a Maid. There's an application and interview process that utterly boggles the imagination, and if you're selected to be one of the fifty Maids, you get assigned a color (pastel shades of peach, aqua, yellow, green and purple--only one, the Queen, wears pink) and your family has to shell out literally THOUSANDS of dollars for your dress and travel expenses. Hell, the faux-antebellum dress and its accoutrements can cost anywhere from $5000 to $20000, depending on whether anyone in your family can sew (the fabric is all hand-dyed and imported).
No, I never tried out. They don't let you wear black.
Still, despite all the extravagance and controversy, the ATMs are an important part of my hometown's culture, and I decided since I'm celebrating ten years of having Cherry as my doll, I' d make her a dress in the Azalea Trail style. We need more Asian Maids, anyway.
Now of course this isn't made from authentic Azalea Trail fabric (though a coworker's mother does make the dresses and I might be able to purchase some scraps next year), and it's also made along the same pattern as the corset dresses I've been making for Cherry, but it's still a fair approximation. All the accessories are made to specs with a couple of notable exceptions. The outfit has an overdress with organza ruffles, a bodice with a shoulder ruffle, a hoop skirt, bloomers, stockings, gloves, and a long-tail sash--all complete, just like the real Maids.The ruffles are organza ribbon hand-gathered to fit. Yes, it took forever.
Showing the full sash with the ends almost trailing the ground. Since this was an experiment/learning curve, I went with peach, but I might go for teal/green next year (or later this year, since by rights I should start working on it in November).
I'm rather proud of the gloves. AT gloves are fingerless, which is good, because I cling to the shreds of sanity remaining to me.
The parasol is a plastic drink dome (from an Icee) and a coffee stirrer reinforced with wire and painted white. All covered with peach fabric, of course.
Not only does this shot show off the hoop skirt and bloomers, but it seems to be obligatory to show at least one of the Maids doing a "bloomer shot" every season.
The bloomers are always ankle length and usually have pockets for the Maids to carry their valuables, cell phones, ID, etc. The shoes are usually dyed to match the gown, but I chose to go with basic white this year.
It's also classic to have a picture with a Maid sitting on the Great Lawn at Bellingrath, but I didn't make it to the Gardens this year. Maybe next season.
Thanks for looking!
At the start of every school year, hundreds of high school girls compete for the honor of being a Maid. There's an application and interview process that utterly boggles the imagination, and if you're selected to be one of the fifty Maids, you get assigned a color (pastel shades of peach, aqua, yellow, green and purple--only one, the Queen, wears pink) and your family has to shell out literally THOUSANDS of dollars for your dress and travel expenses. Hell, the faux-antebellum dress and its accoutrements can cost anywhere from $5000 to $20000, depending on whether anyone in your family can sew (the fabric is all hand-dyed and imported).
No, I never tried out. They don't let you wear black.
Still, despite all the extravagance and controversy, the ATMs are an important part of my hometown's culture, and I decided since I'm celebrating ten years of having Cherry as my doll, I' d make her a dress in the Azalea Trail style. We need more Asian Maids, anyway.
Now of course this isn't made from authentic Azalea Trail fabric (though a coworker's mother does make the dresses and I might be able to purchase some scraps next year), and it's also made along the same pattern as the corset dresses I've been making for Cherry, but it's still a fair approximation. All the accessories are made to specs with a couple of notable exceptions. The outfit has an overdress with organza ruffles, a bodice with a shoulder ruffle, a hoop skirt, bloomers, stockings, gloves, and a long-tail sash--all complete, just like the real Maids.The ruffles are organza ribbon hand-gathered to fit. Yes, it took forever.
Showing the full sash with the ends almost trailing the ground. Since this was an experiment/learning curve, I went with peach, but I might go for teal/green next year (or later this year, since by rights I should start working on it in November).
I'm rather proud of the gloves. AT gloves are fingerless, which is good, because I cling to the shreds of sanity remaining to me.
The parasol is a plastic drink dome (from an Icee) and a coffee stirrer reinforced with wire and painted white. All covered with peach fabric, of course.
Not only does this shot show off the hoop skirt and bloomers, but it seems to be obligatory to show at least one of the Maids doing a "bloomer shot" every season.
The bloomers are always ankle length and usually have pockets for the Maids to carry their valuables, cell phones, ID, etc. The shoes are usually dyed to match the gown, but I chose to go with basic white this year.
It's also classic to have a picture with a Maid sitting on the Great Lawn at Bellingrath, but I didn't make it to the Gardens this year. Maybe next season.
Thanks for looking!
