All About Beauty Pageant Gowns

All About Beauty Pageant Gowns

What kind of evening gown is the best for pageant competition?

The winning evening gown will combine the best color and style for your individual hair color, skin tones and complexion; it will make you look your prettiest under harsh stage lights, fit flawlessly and convey the image of a winner to the judges. That’s a lot to expect a dress to do - so be very, very picky when choosing it.

Like the other events during the competitions, the evening gown category differs from pageant to pageant. Pageants that emphasize scholarship tend towards classically beautiful gowns, elegance, grace and composure. Pageants that put more emphasis on beauty tend more towards glamorous, fashionable gowns, glitz, charisma and poise.

If you are looking for a glamorous gown think high fashion, curve hugging gowns in luxurious crepes, beaded fabrics, French laces with crystals, sparkling brocades, gold or silver metallic or rich velvets trimmed with rhinestones.

For scholarship or family-oriented pageants the emphasis should be on the fabric itself rather than on beading. Tulle, chiffon, georgette, crepes, and velvets are good choices. Elegance rather than glamour is the goal.

In teen pageants formalwear should be appropriate for the age. Floor-length, simple, clean-cut, youthful dresses are favored over “glamorous” gowns although recently more glamorous dresses have started appearing on younger contestants. The America Junior Miss look is generally described as “debutante.”

Whatever kind of gown you decide to wear be original in your choice. Copying a previous winner’s gown in the hopes that it will be a winner for you too is one of the worst moves you can make. Once a gown has been worn by a major winner it is copied and copied and copied at other pageants. You don’t want to look like everyone else.

One of the secrets to capturing the crown is to wear an evening gown that is so gorgeous and different that you stand out and the judges can’t help but notice you. Have confidence in your choice and dare to wear a unique gown that truly flatters you.

Make sure your gown fits properly. It should look as though it was tailored just for you. This is possible even if you choose to buy a gown off the rack instead of having it made. You can always have the gown altered to flatter your figure. The dress should lay flat against the body, especially around the bodice and waist. There should be no wrinkles or puckers evident as you walk.

The hemline is particularly important. A too-short hemline looks as though you have outgrown the gown, one that is too long and touches the floor can trip you onstage. The hem should just kiss the top of the toe to be the right length. Be sure to wear the shoes that you will be wearing at the pageant to all your gown fittings.

When choosing your gown remember that intense stage lighting can change the way the gown color looks onstage. That, in turn, can change the way those colors affect a contestant’s skin tones and hair color. If at all possible test gown colors under stage lighting conditions.

There are pageant supply shops with state of the art “lighting rooms” equipped with lighting systems to test wardrobe colors. If you don’t happen to have access to one of these shops you can do the same thing in your local high school auditorium with a little bit of planning effort beforehand.

When choosing gown colors keep in mind that girls with warm-toned skin colors, that is, those with a “golden” undertone (check your wrist to see this) look better in warm shades such as peach and red; while cool-toned skin colors (a bluish undertone) look better in cool shades like pink or royal blue.

A secret that will enable you to wear any color is in finding the right shade of that color. One contestant might look positively awful in an orange-red shade while a deep wine red will be beautiful on her. Another contestant might not look good in the wine red shade but crimson red makes her glow. It’s all about finding the correct shade to go with your hair and skin color.

Try out a variety of colors, preferably under stage lighting. You can buy swatches of material in various shades of different colors, go to the local high school auditorium and drape them, one by one, across your shoulder and neck area. You will know you have found the right shade when a color brings a healthy glow to your face, minimizes shadows, makes your eyes and teeth appear bright and flatters your hair color. Take the swatches that do that for you along when you go dress shopping.

And finally, always keep in mind the image that you want to project during the pageant. A contestant in black looks sophisticated, glamorous and mature; light colors convey a younger image, red tends to make a strong assertive statement. White creates the image of purity and ladylike beauty.

The lines of the gown also make a style statement. A strapless gown with a straight skirt gives a different message than does a dress with a full skirt and long flowing sleeves. Keep the image of your particular pageant in mind as you are choosing the best gown to compete in.

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Judges look for these things in judging the evening gown competition:

• First impressions. How does the gown make you look? And does
how you look match the pageant image?

• Beauty of Face and Figure
• Poise
• Grace
• Composure
• Personality
• Charisma, stage presence
• Posture, carriage, walk
• Modeling technique
• Proper fit
• Good grooming
• Overall appearance

Other things the judges may take into consideration include: is the gown appropriate for the contestant’s age, do the gown and girl compliment each other, is the gown in good taste or too suggestive.



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This excerpt has been taken from my "Insider Secrets To Winning The Beauty Pageant" course. If you want to get it all - check it out!