It took her a year to gather enough materials and 8 months to finish the dress. There are about 900 rings and tops in the outfit. It was worth the wait. She won first prize in the Design Competition at Delta College.

Every year there is an Earth Day celebration at Delta College in Saginaw, Michigan. The past couple of years they hold a recycling fashion show, featuring designs by students.

Melissa participated in 1998 with a dress using men's ties for a skirt and the top part of overalls as the top with an onion sack as shirt.

This year, she entered the competition with her Milk Caps Outfit.

She made a dress out of 900 milk tops and ring. She also made a cloak, shoes and earrings. She sewed the milk tops on by poking four holes in each sewing them like a button.

The rings were attached with twisty ties. The shoes were designed like Roman sandals and for accessories, she created dangling earrings.

There were about 20 entries in the Earth Day Design Competition. Melissa Maynard garnered First Prize.

Winning the top prize was just the beginning.

The Milk Caps dress was featured in the Delta college Fashion Museum and at the Michigan Recyling Coalition in Midland.

The dress was such as hit, that Melissa has been invited to do fashion shows in Detroit and Traverse City, where she she would model the Milk Cap Dress on the runway.

With the invitation to model at Traverse City, Melissa proved that she is not only a great designer, but she could also be a professional fashion model.

Well known designers who encourages reusable, recyclable materials and textiles on their designs would be showing their new collection on the runway. Melissa is holding her own among the professional fashion models on the catwalk.

When asked if wanted to be a fashion model or fashion designer, Melissa answered, "I am not sure yet what I will do. My immediate plan is to transfer to Northwood University or to Michigan State University this fall."

"But, I also want to study French culture. I have completed four semesters of college French and studied 5 weeks in Quebeck at Laval University. I was in Paris this late spring, and I just fell in love with the city," she added.

Talented and beautiful, Melissa Maynard at twenty has the world at her feet. Don't be surprised if you see her name as a designer or a model on the New York or Paris runways.