THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608180099
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 46 lines
When Miss Virginia, Michelle Kang, learned this year's theme for the Miss America Parade was ``The Spirit of '76,'' she knew exactly where to go for a gown: Colonial Williamsburg.
The outdoor living museum dedicated to re-creating life of the 18th century includes a Costume Design Center that makes period outfits for more than 1,200 employees within the Historic Area.
Kang initially called with the intention of borrowing or renting a gown, but Colonial Williamsburg responded with a tailored reproduction of a 18th-century gown worn by Madame de Pompadour, mistress to King Louis XV. Designers re-created the gown from a painting of the woman by artist Francois Boucher.
Kang will wear the hand-sewn gown, fitted just for her, Sept. 13 as she waves and smiles from a convertible inching down a two-mile stretch of Atlantic City's Atlantic Avenue. Colonial Williamsburg officials plan to leave the gown with Kang for a year as she finishes her duties as Miss Virginia.
``I'm ecstatic about all the detail,'' she said.
Made of a plum-colored silk taffeta, the English longback gown is trimmed with gilt, gilt metal lace and rhinestones.
Colonial Williamsburg's Millinery Shop chiseled the 2,000 inches of trim, a three-day task that could have been done quicker with pinking shears. ``Back then, pinking shears don't exist,'' said Mark Hutter, a Millinery Shop tailor.
The dress, finished in two weeks, took 275 hours of work by 16 employees. It comes with a matching silk-covered straw hat, a pair of plum silk shoes and jewelry.
Kang leaves for Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 29 to meet her fellow contestants in the Miss America pageant. She arrives in Atlantic City Labor Day weekend. The pageant takes place Sept. 10-14.
Crowned Miss Virginia on June 29, Kang said she had no prior pageant experience and only became interested in the contest to pursue her advocacy for children.
``I've always loved children,'' the 22-year-old College of William and Mary graduate said. ``Every child affects our future. If we lose one child, it affects all our lives.''
The Fredericksburg woman graduated in May with a sociology degree and plans to attend law school. She wants to pursue a career with a national child welfare organization. by CNB