The dress "was made from kitchen curtain material -- and people went crazy, " Pulitzer said in her book, "Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining, " excerpted on her company's website.

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In the dress-making department and shop, new cloth-ing (using also Tanzanian material) is produced and sold, and second-hand clothing is mended and refashioned.

UNESCO: Background

According to the Web site Ecouterre.com, the dress is made from what's sometimes known as ahimsa, or "peace silk" a material spun from cocoons without killing the worms inside.

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