For as long as she could remember, Alice Miller loved history and fashion, and knew what military service meant. Her father served in the Army for 28 years, her sister served 27 years in the Air Force, and her brother-in-law served in the Air Force, as well. With a grandmother born in 1878, a mother in 1918 and scrapbooking relatives, Miller, "grew up knowing history because (family) were there to witness it unfold," she said.

"They had actual newspaper articles on the titanic and women's right to vote," Miller said. "Articles on Pearl Harbor were in the desk drawer in the living room and my parents and grandparents taught me much more."

However, it was her love of fashion that tied it all together, when as she grew up, she fell in love with vintage women's military uniforms.

"I thought my sister looked gorgeous in uniform and began collecting a little at a time," Miller said.

Today, she is a nationally recognized historian who also specializes in military uniforms - more than 140 vintage uniforms ranging from World War I to Desert Storm to today. She tours and hosts shows for Children's Hospitals, United Service Organization (USO) galas, schools, museums, fundraisers and special military events. 

"Not only have women accomplished so much in history," she said, "but they did it in style, worked hard, were productive and looked beautiful. So much isn't written in history books and I want to share who they were and what was going on at the time."

According to Miller, the first female in Vietnam - Lt. Col. Vera Jones, wore heels. Nurses in the Korean War wore designer uniforms by Hattie Carenegie - rose-taupe colored big skirts up to the ribs and down the calf, short jackets that sat on the hip and tight around the waist, and side pockets and antique buttons with peter-pan collars and cafe-brown leather pumps. In World War I, nurses wore long, royal blue skirts with silk blouses and white collars, and fedoras and boots, and in World War II, the Army's Air Corps HBT's (Herringbone Twill field uniforms for women), "were very attractive with shoulder pads and high waists," she said.

Miller's Duty and Beauty collection also includes the replica uniform of Dona McDonald - the first woman to get an accommodation medal.

"In World War II, Navy women learned to fix weapons and many served in Bremerton," she said. " In France, there were 33 men to one nurse and they served in horrid conditions but were stylish. When women came home President Wilson give them the right to vote saying, ‘You went to war with us and served in the trenches.'"

Miller is now working on the Women and Courage collection, which will highlight women in combat and she's also working on a book about Duty and Beauty.

"Military women wear pants uniforms now," she said, "but may say they really enjoy learning about the older uniforms because of the make and styles. I want to capture that spirit."