NAMES & FACES

From 'Runway' to Smithsonian

"Project Runway" star Chloe Dao spent yesterday checking out the sights in Washington -- and now she's part of one. Dao's winning dress from season 2 of Bravo's reality-TV fashion design competition went on display yesterday as part of the "Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon: Vietnamese America Since 1975," an exhibit at the Smithsonian's Ripley Center and International Gallery. Dao, 34, was born in Laos and emigrated to the United States with her family in 1972.

The Lot 8 designer says demand for her clothes has increased "tenfold" since she took home the top prize on "Project Runway."

Her Gown Is Going Places

How's this for trusting your "constituents"?

Well-wishers at a send-off party for Miss District of Columbia Thursday night selected which dress Kate Michael will wear for the evening gown competition in the upcoming Miss America pageant. A halter-style teal dress with a lace overlay made the cut.

Michael and Miss Virginia Adrianna Sgarlata hopped on a plane to Las Vegas together yesterday where they'll compete against fellow beauty queens, including Miss Maryland Brittany Lietz, for the Miss America title. The pageant will air on CMT Jan. 29.

'Emerald City' Plans

"United 93" director Paul Greengrass is slotted to write and direct the film version of "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." The book, an account of the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, was written by The Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran. We're told "The Good Shepard" star Matt Damon has expressed interest in the project. Filming is expected to begin by the end of this year.

-- Korin Miller