West Virginia Uncovered

By Marissa Statler and Jessica Marghella | 02/01/2011

Connie Linger grew up dreaming of designing clothing. When she was young, her grandmother helped her to understand the techniques on an old treadle machine. While she was in college, she designed her own fashion blue jeans.

Originally from Buckhannon, Linger studied graphic design at Fairmont State University. She opened “Miss Connie’s,” a clothing design shop, in Elkins in 1994.

Unique designs and vintage re-creations inspire the real look of “Miss Connie’s.” Linger works in her shop on Randolph Avenue alone, designing gowns and costumes as well as elegant dresses, tops, jackets, jewelry, purses and hats. Linger also does alterations for customers. Linger sells many of her creations out of her shop and at shows, but she gets a fair amount of business by word of mouth.

For the last decade, Linger has been named the official costume designer for the Mountain State Forest Festival Queen and her court. Though she loves to look through clothing design magazines and the latest fashions in New York, Linger says that she enjoys designing clothes in Elkins because she likes making beautiful things for real people.