John Burbidge and Cile Bellefleur-Burbidge Wedding Design Collection
name: label: Creator
content: Bellefleur-Burbidge, Cile
label: Creator
content: Priscilla of Boston.
label: Creator
content: Burbidge, John (costume designer)
topic: label: Topic
content: Fashion design -- 1970-1990
label: Topic
content: Costume designers
label: Topic
content: Costume design -- 1970-1990
label: Topic
content: Wedding costume -- 1970-1990
label: Topic
content: Wedding cakes
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Burbidge.  The design drawings were donated in 1997 and the scrapbooks were donated in 2007.
creator: label: Creator
content: Bellefleur-Burbidge, Cile
label: Creator
content: Priscilla of Boston.
label: Creator
content: Burbidge, John (costume designer)
setName: label: See more items in
content: John Burbidge and Cile Bellefleur-Burbidge Wedding Design Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Includes Burbidge's design drawings for wedding gowns while employed by the Priscilla of Boston firm, and scrapbooks documenting Cile Bellefleur-Burbidge's wedding cakes.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: John Burbidge was a creative and prolific fashion designer for the Priscilla of Boston wedding gown company from the late 1940s to 1985.  Burbidge, born in 1922, went to work for the Priscilla of Boston firm in 1948, after graduating from the New England School of Art and Design and serving for three years in the Army during World War II.  He started out operating a button machine and gradually worked his way up to designing.  His technique involved clipping photographs of models from magazines, laying tracing paper over the cut-out, and tracing the figure, onto which he added his design.  After creating, in his words, "hundreds" of sketches and doodles, he would work out the details in muslin.  Eventually he achieved status as Priscilla Kidder's favorite designer and was known for his use of certain features, such as bows, bustled backs, puffed sleeves and "star" bodices.  The high point in his career with Priscilla of Boston was in 1971 when he designed the wedding dress worn by President Nixon's daughter Tricia at her White House wedding.  The design had a strong influence on wedding fashion, though the design used was never duplicated by the company.  Since leaving Priscilla of Boston, Burbidge has made a second career designing and creating dolls in elegant historic costume, while Burbidge's wife, Cile Bellefleur-Burbidge, designs and creates elegant and elaborate wedding cakes.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.6 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1951-2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0562
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Design drawings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into three series.

Series 1: Wedding Gown Design Drawings and Materials Relating to John Burbidge, 1968-1985

Series 2; Wedding Cake Scrapbooks,

Series 3: Books,
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Catherine Keen, archivist, November 1997; revised by Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist, November 2010.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Design drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks -- 20th century
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Includes Burbidge's design drawings for wedding gowns while employed by the Priscilla of Boston firm, and two scrapbooks documenting Cile Bellefleur-Burbidge's wedding cakes. Also included are two books written by Cile Burbidge on cake decorating.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Home and Community Life has a collection of several Priscilla of Boston wedding gowns.