Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502160100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: STAUNTON LENGTH: Medium
Lori Esch, admissions recruiter for the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership, who modeled the prototype uniform, said the school wanted an easily recognizable uniform that students could feel comfortable wearing.
``We wanted something that was practical, that looked like a uniform,'' said Esch. ``But we wanted something that let femininity show through. We didn't want anything too masculine.''
The uniform consists of an off-white jacket with gold trim and buttons down the front. Esch said students may choose between an off-white skirt or green pants to wear with the jacket. She said there are plans for additional pieces of the uniform, such as a hat and insignia for the shoulders.
``We're also looking into getting buttons with squirrels on them,'' she said. The squirrel is the mascot of Mary Baldwin, a private women's college.
The institute was set up as an alternative to admitting women to all-male Virginia Military Institute in Lexington.
Esch said most of the design work for the uniforms was done by the staff of the office of the dean of students. She said the staff came up with the idea for the jacket by looking through fashion magazines. ``The military look is in this year,'' she said.
Alan Duesterhaus, assistant to the dean of students, said a designer in Massachusetts made the prototype from the ideas offered by the college's staff. Duesterhaus was unsure of the total cost to make the uniform, as the pattern is still being developed.
He said Ippolitti, a Philadelphia-based company that produces the uniforms worn at VMI, will make the uniforms for the women's institute as well.
Esch said each student in the leadership program will receive money from the state to cover the cost of the uniform. She also said the students will have to wear the uniforms only once a week, when they attend ROTC class.
Esch said college administrators set a goal of 25 students for the first class, which starts in August. She said 34 students have applied for the program so far, and 20 have been accepted.
The program has been at the center of a legal battle between VMI and the federal government over the institute's all-male status.
The Justice Department sued VMI in 1990 on behalf of a Northern Virginia woman who wanted to attend the school. After a lengthy legal battle, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved the institute as an acceptable alternative earlier this year.
by CNB