Marylène Pion depicts the fashion world in Montreal and work in textile factories in the 1930s

After immersing yourself in the world of forestry companies in The heirs of Calder Woodnovelist Marylène Pion invites her fans to follow the journey of a young woman working for a famous Montreal milliner in her new book, The Hatter. There we meet Léa Casavant, a young woman who, despite numerous obstacles, ended up carving out an enviable position for herself by making hats in the 1930s.

Marylène Pion publishes “La Chapelière” with Éditeurs Réunis.

Like many women of her age between the wars, Léa Casavant did not have an easy life. After the family clothing store closed, she moved to a modest home.

To ensure her livelihood, she did what many women of the time did: she found work in a textile factory. Bad luck: she lets herself be seduced by an unreliable foreman, becomes pregnant, but decides to raise her child alone, in precarious conditions.

Things take a more positive turn when she finds a job in the company of a very prominent Montreal milliner, Yvette Brillon. Very quickly, the latter recognizes her talent and commissions her to make hats.

Léa realizes over time that the heart of a man, the charming Jack O’Reilly, beats for her… but has difficulty overcoming the wounds of the past.

An era of elegance

Marylène Pion was passionate about this story which delves into the heart of the fashion world in Montreal in the 1930s. A time when ladies wore elegant clothes with pride and rarely went out without a hat.

“I wanted to tell the story of Yvette Brillon, a real hat maker who lived in those years. But I am not a biographer and it is always difficult to tell the story of a real person,” comments Marylène Pion in an interview.

“This woman was a pioneer in the fashion world in Montreal. That’s why I created a fictional character who will go to work for M^me Brilliant. It’s a bit of a tribute that I wanted to pay to Yvette Brillon, through my story. In the 1930s, it had around sixty employees.”

Working in a factory

With Léa Casavant, she was able to highlight the status of women at the time, show what was happening in the textile factories where women worked and depict their daily life, which was not always rosy.

“I have a grandmother who worked in a sewing factory to help her family. There were many women who had to go into the workforce because their husbands weren’t there or couldn’t work. Many women took that path. Léa wants to get by and works hard.”

A fashion that has disappeared

Léa Casavant shows resilience and makes her mark by creating remarkable hats – a social symbol at the time and an almost essential accessory. “I wondered why the fashion for hats fell at a certain point. In doing my research, I read that it had something to do with the Quiet Revolution and people going to mass less and less.”

“It’s really connected! Women went to mass to parade with their hats. They had a new hat for midnight mass, for Easter…”

Marylène Pion searched through old catalogs to see what was being done. “M’s hats^me Brillon hats were probably more expensive, because they were unique creations. People would go and have their measurements taken. I have the impression that hats created by a milliner were a luxury good.”

The Hatter

Marylène Pion

The Editors united

Environ 340 pages

Marylène Pion has published several successful series, including The nurses of Notre-Dame, The big shop et The lights of the Ritz.
She also published The heirs of Calder Wood, published simultaneously in France and Quebec. The second volume will be released in November.
She lives in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

“The siren that announced the end of the shift sounded. This thunderous sound brought relief to the employees of Dominion Textile. The long days of almost twelve hours, spent standing and without any real break, were exhausting for the workers. The rotation of the trades imposed an almost unbearable pace throughout these hours. The workers barely had time to go to the bathroom, and they quickly swallowed a sandwich without taking their eyes off their machines. No stopping was tolerated, and the foreman made it her duty to remind those who disobeyed this. Speed, vigilance and dexterity were essential to the smooth running of the factory.”