NPR

The Dress Hasn't Changed, But The Girls Have

Photographer Adair Rutledge returned to Alabama to learn how the Azalea Trail Maids are redefining what it means to be a symbol of the South — while they wear a 50-pound, custom-made antebellum dress.

They marched in President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration parade.

They appeared at processions ranging from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City and Disney's Easter Parade in Orlando, Fla., to the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

They are the Azalea Trail Maids — the embodiment of old school Southern hospitality with a modern twist.

Photographer Adair Rutledge, a native of Mobile, Ala., returned to her hometown to learn more about how some girls are redefining what it means to be a symbol

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