SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss Venezuela 2017 Finals: Winner + TOP 15 EVENING GOWNS!

SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss Venezuela 2017 Finals: Winner + TOP 15 EVENING GOWNS!

La Mas Bella: outgoing "Miss Venezuela 2016" Keysi Sayago crowns the new "Miss Venezuela 2017" Sthefany Gutierrez who was "Miss Delta Amacuro"--Miss Venezuela 2017 Finals, Caracas Venezuela

Some Photos Courtesy of MissVenezuela.com

This Thursday evening was the Finals of  one of the most anticipated beauty pageants in the world: Miss Venezuela 2017! For a short time, many pageant fans even wondered--especially since what the country has been going through--if the pageant would still happen or if they would even send contestants to "Miss Universe" and "Miss World" but Yes, Yes, and Yes, to all those inquiring mind's questions.

Top Three: (L to R) Miss Venezuela International Mariem Velezco, Miss Venezuela 2017 Sthefany Gutierrez and Miss Venezuela World Veruska Ljubisavljevic

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves IN THE WORLD but it has recently been going through some unfortunate problems. According to Reuters, the country's inflation has risen to 826% and according to The Guardian, 10 million skip a meal a day, 9/10 homes can't cover the cost of food and 3/4 of Venezuelans have lost weight an average of 20 lbs as a result of not being able to feed themselves or buy food. It's all so sad but...in Venezuela, THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!! None of the unspeakable hardships could stop the 65th Annual Miss Venezuela Beauty Pageant... 

Ayyyy Dios Mio!--Stefhany Gutierrez is the new "Miss Venezuela"--Miss Venezuela 2017 Finals, Caracas Venezuela

Fiesta Time: Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Miss Venezuela--Venezuelan singer/icon/diva Mirla Castellanos plus entertainers Jordán Mendoza, José Andrés Padrón, Natalia Moretti and Los Boys as well as hosts of the Miss Venezuela 2017 Beauty Pageant

As you may know, I grew up in Caracas Venezuela from the late 60's until the late 70's and it was a much different country than what it is now. But I will always have a special place in my heart for that South American nation. The "Miss Venezuela" Beauty Pageant inspired me to be a designer and to sketch--and particularly draw beautiful women in fabulous gowns. And now, it has inspired me to co-author my new "Pageant Coloring Book".

Sthefany Fernandez "Miss Delta Amacuro" and now, "Miss Venezuela 2017"

Now, speaking of pageants, time to discuss the WINNER as well as all the sequins, crystals and very expensive silk seen in this year's "Miss Venezuela 2017". First the winner: The representative of "Delta Amacuro" Sthefany Gutierrez, beat out 23 other beautiful women to get the coveted George Wittels-designed crown.

Sthefany is ONLY 18 years old (most recent winners have been in their early 20's), stands 176M (5' 9") and works as a model. She does not have the typical blond "Barbie" Miss Venezuela look but was still a favorite with her olive skin, gorgeous long black hair and perfect figure. She will now spend the next 12 months preparing for NEXT YEAR'S edition of Miss Universe (and hopefully learning English, if she doesn't already know it); even though she is "Miss Venezuela 2017", she will compete in the "Miss Universe 2018" Beauty Pageant.

Sequin Parade: Miss Venezuela 2017 contestants during the Evening Gown Competition Fashion Show

And now...THE GOWNS: I have NO IDEA how the Miss Venezuela Organization paid for what it costs to create these Couture-worthy gowns (especially since most Venezuelans can't even buy Harina P.A.N.!) but this year's pageant featured some intricate and UBER Glam gowns, in fact this was one of the BEST "Miss Venezuela" Gown Fashion Shows in a long time! With that said, here are my TOP 15 BEST LIST, starting with my Number One Choice, which just happened to be THE WINNER "Miss Delta Amacuro":

1. Miss Delta Amacuro (and eventual Miss Venezuela 2017 winner) Sthefany Gutierrez--Of all the 24 gowns during the "Miss Venezuela 2017 Desfile de Traje de Noche" (Evening Gown Fashion Show), this strapless sequined gown was my top favorite! The crinoline based gown was completely covered in crystals and featured a sweetheart neckline with a creme silk ziberline inner dress. The gown was designed by Alejandro Fajardo and was stage-impacting, fit gorgeously and looked like Gown Couture Art!

Score: 9.98

2. Miss Distrito Capital Sofia Santa Rodriguez--My second best gown score goes to the design worn by "Miss Distrito Capital" (she represented the capital city of Caracas). This silk gazar ballgown--designed by Alejandro Fajardo (same designer of the winner's gown)--featured a plunging neckline and conic/godet shaped pieces that formed the architectural shape of this incredible dress. I also loved the contestant's styling of her swept-back chic hair and earrings. Even one of the co-hosts--while describing the dress during the show--had to concur that this gown was SPECTACULAR!

Score: 9.85

3. Miss Potuguesa Nariman Batthika: Nariman wore this powder pink colored gown designed by Venezuelan designer Nidal Nouaihed. This was another stunning design worthy of those good ol' days of Venezuelan Couturiers like Guy Meliet. The dress featured that very popular "nude gown" tulle netting style, all covered in crystals, bugle beads and pearls in varying sizes. Through extraordinary patternmaking and technical artistry, his atelier then attached a voluminous pink satin overskirt. Beautiful!

Score: 9.70 

4. Miss Zulia Mariangel Galban: Miss Zulia came at the end of the Miss Venezuela 2017 Evening Gown Fashion Show because her state Zulia was the last one--in terms of alphabetical order. After a slew of endless all-over sequined/crystal, nude/gold/blush colored gowns...this GORGEOUS vision of red silk ziberline appeared and I literally got up from my couch and clapped! (I know, I'm gown-silly like that!). This "Valentino Red" color dress made of Italian silk ziberline was designed by designer Joan Delgado and he did a marvelous job. It was dramatic, elegant and architectural.

Score: 9.65

5. Miss Barinas Mariem Velazco: This white gown from designer Alejandro Fajardo is my 5th pick. The dress was A LOT but somehow, it worked. The gown, which was made of silk crepe and gazar featured an asymmetrical column dress with nude panels, covered in incredible silver sequin applique. It looked like a Wedding Gown from "Game of Thrones" (or at least MY dream-like "Game of Thrones"!).

Score: 9.50

6. Miss Aragua Oriana Rodriguez: This dress above was the gown worn by Miss Aragua Oriana Rodriguez for the Finals of Miss Venezuela 2017. The design was made of ivory silk crepe and nude illusion, cut into panels that created a fit-and-flare silhouette. The beautifully-fitting dress was designed by Julio Mora and featured thousands of degrade-style crystals. I loved the heavy-to-light sequin work and the panels were done in an exquisitely sexy yet not vulgar manner. Muy bien!

Score: 9.40

7. Miss Vargas Versuska Ljubisavljevic: This royal blue colored sequined gown--designed by Benito Santos--was one of the most striking dresses of the pageant. The color was bold and stage-impacting. Inspired by an "Ocean Queen", the design featured thousands of Austrian crystals, an illusion panel neckline and silver crystal waist.

Score: 9.35

8. Miss Nueva Esparta Yerardy Montoya: Yearady wore an ensemble/gown which included an extravagant cape made of thousands of ostrich as well as Coque/rooster feathers fully lined in pink silk satin. She started with this and then released her coat/cape to reveal a beautiful pink sequined applique gown. It was a VERY INTENSE entrance which I admired and the entire look was quite fabulous!

Score: 9.25

9. Miss Falcon Bilianniz Alvarez: Bilianniz wore this golden/nude gown designed by Hugo Espina. The gown featured a column shape with a nude tulle base and golden colored "petal"-like sequins in varying sizes. It was simple, sequin-stunning and an impressive Pageant Fab gown.

Score: 9.20

 

10. Miss Tachira Maria Sofia Contreras: Maria Sofia wore this silver/ivory/lilac/nude gown from designer Dheymid Galaviz. It was pretty impressive! The gown featured 10,000+ pastel colored sequins sewn on the gown, a "plunging" neckline with nude illusion panel, as well as dramatic back falls...oh and yes, there were baby blue colored ostrich feathers on the hem of the gown and those falls. I would have probably removed those feathers, otherwise, this was a VERY FABULOUS gown.

Score: 9.15

11. Miss Amazonas Megan Beci: Megan wore this golden/nude VERY Versace-like sequined gown. The dress featured asymmetric lines, a nude base and thousands of crystals. It was a clean, chic and modern gown from Colombian designer Alfredo Barraza, known for creating gowns for these Colombian beauties:

 Score: 9.10

12. Miss Merida Yoselin Rojas: This fit-and-flare shaped gown was designed by Carlos Ferrera and featured a "nude" tulle base with 300 meters of crystals and pearls sewn in a magnificent manner covering all the necessary parts. She looked like an Ice Queen! And I have to add: Notice that in this and all the other "nude"/see-through gowns there was NEVER any tacky inner lining as we saw in the gowns worn by Miss Grand Indonesia and Miss Grand South Sudan at the "Miss Grand International" HERE. Well done Carlos!

Score: 9.00

13. Miss Yaracuy Rosangela Matos: When the co-announcer was describing this Honicer Sandoval gown, she said it was Art Nouveau and Art Deco-inspired. Not sure where that "inspiration" is (maybe the gold?) but it was an impressive work of fashion art! The mermaid-shaped dress featured 30,000 gold and amber crystals fitted very close to her body, showcasing the lines of the strapless bustier and shaped skirt, all culminating in hundreds of Coque/rooster feathers. Notice the heavy-to-light crystal work...and the silver crystals that looked like exaggerated princess seams. While it was slightly gaudy, it still looked rich and fabulously extravagant. Rosangela looked like she was OOZING gold!

Score: 8.99

14. Miss Miranda Oriana Gil: At No. 14, I wanted to add this design by Carlos Ferrera worn by Miss Miranda Oriana Gil. First off: She is GORGEOUS! OK, frankly, they ALL were! Moving on... when she walked out, she wore this Empire-waist tulle concoction and at first I thought "Ooooh, someone is trying to give a Giambattista Valli Moment"(and not so well!) and then I thought "I bet she's going to remove it ASAP!" (I hope!). And she did...well, kind of; when she untied it, it drew gasps since, it turned into the overskirt of a quite stunning sequined column gown that she was hiding underneath. The tulle thing was a MESS and did not flatter her at all and then it looked so unnecessary once she displayed the dress underneath. The saving graces were: Oriana was GORGEOUS (I think I already said that!), and the inner dress was quite pretty.

Score: 8.85

15. Miss Sucre Zharat Bruzal: Last but not least, I included this ivory colored gown worn by Miss Sucre. The dress looked well-done and was VERY "Miss Venezuela" circa 1980's; look at the crystal bustier, the cascade overskirt, those OUT OF CONTROL earrings AND THAT HAIR!!!! OMG!!! I literally thought I was 8 years old and still back in Caracas watching Gilberto Correa hosting this darn over-the-top show! And for that, I had to include her!

Score: 8.10

CONGRATULATIONS & Felicitaciones to Sthefany Gutierrez and her "Miss Venezuela 2017" Royal Court!! 

And don't forget to go to AMAZON.COM to Purchase my NEW "The Pageant Coloring Book". There are over 25 hand-drawn Pageant Gown Sketches for you to create your very own Evening Gown Competition! Click HERE to purchase:

Cute Outfits For Curvy Figures - Spring Trends

Cute Outfits For Curvy Figures - Spring Trends

Curvy girls have it tough when it comes to dressing. But, there are no set rules in fashion which you should stick to, and the fashion gods will not come crashing down on top of you. Dare to make a statement this season with all the apt fashion essentials in town. Most importantly, you need to know how to hide the ample curves.

Read on to find out how in a few easy ways you can transform yourself into a slimmer self. Here’s how you can easily enhance your best assets.
Vital Fashion Staples

The rule is to opt for solid hues instead of crazy or neon colours or large prints. Sleek, simple, non-ruffled outfits will complement you.

    Have a few button up shirts and feminine tops in your closet, it can make you look feminine and classy. In fact, it would look good on any body type.

Fabulous Spring Trends for the Curvy Girl

    Opt for full-printed jumpsuits or rompers. These should be in every curvy girl’s wardrobe. The prints camouflage the not so great parts, giving a toned look.

    Get yourself a skater dress in varied hues or floral prints, it beautifully hides you waist down if you are well-endowed, camouflages the bottom and makes your waist look thinner. Skater dresses in fit and flare styles also make you look feminine and skim over your hips.

    Sheath dresses flatter your figure type. This is almost a staple, works from day to night so go pick a few in black, navy blue, slate grey or maroon.

    Maxi skirts and maxi dresses are always appealing and flatter curvy women. They are easy, breezy, and casual so why not make them your best friend. Get them in chiffon, georgettes, satin and knife pleats.

    Embrace midi-skirts like it’s your go-to item in your wardrobe. These skirts preferably in A-line or pencil skirts can hide the flab on your thighs and buttocks. Pair it up with a shirt or a plain tee and you are instantly transformed.

    If you wish to go short, don’t fear! Simply shop around for chino shorts or Bermuda shorts or Capri instead of the teeny weeny hot pants. They are comfortable and high on style quotient.

    Go retro! The 70’s style fashion can hide those extra kilos with ease. From high-waisted pants to bell bottoms, just let go of your inhibitions.

    Do you want a piece which serves serious glamour moments? Well, embrace the fringes. Fringes on a top or dress or skirt can hide extra flab and give you a cool look.

    If you like denims then opt for darker versions and not the light ones. Make sure you refrain from the slim fit or skinny ones as they can draw attention to wide hips and thighs, the regular fit or high-waisted or wide legged would suit you better.

    Off shoulder or peasant tops are having a moment. They highlight your shoulders and hide the flaws waist-up. If you are top heavy, this is quite the ideal clothing for you.

    For party wear, you can actually pick a one shoulder top, scoop neck or slightly loose tube top which again camouflage the upper body flaws/flab or curves. Even a halter top frames a large body beautifully well.

    Avoid over-sized or loose clothing as it would invariably make you look big, however you should also steer clear of figure hugging outfits. Well fitting and tailored clothes are just what you need to get the apt look.

    If you are going holidaying, make sure you carry along a printed or bold coloured one piece bikini and tie a sarong on it.

    Tailored blazers can give you a chic and classy look. Needless to say, they make a difference to your look and flatter the figure.

    Now, here is a must-have to go every attire that you have in your wardrobe – the waist belt! This miraculous piece can make you look slender by adding definition to your curves.

The "Project Style 2012" National Winner Is...

The "Project Style 2012" National Winner Is...

April Yang !!!

April Yang, Winner of "Project Style 2012"

Last week, we crowned our National Project Style 2012 Winner! She is April Yang! April is 19 years old and hails from Murrieta CA. She attends Palomar College where she studies Fashion Design and Visual Merchandising. April also has a fun Fashion & DIY YouTube Channel  that has recently hit over 31,000 subscribers and
over 4 million views (!).

Style Trois: Nick Verreos, April Yang and "Project Style 2011 Promendae Temecula" winner Lexi Laura

"Project Style" is a
national contest organized by Forest City Centers to
find the Next Top Trendsetter of the Country. Selected Forrest City Centers/Malls across the Country held local competitions looking for the next great Stylista--someone who could style a fab outfit using shopping gift cards. They also had to put videos of their outfits up for people to vote.

 Nick Verreos, Project Style 2012

The top vote-getters then got  the chance for a "Live Style Off" at their local malls--some of which I had the pleasure of hosting! The winner of each "Live Style Off" received a Shopping Gift Card worth $1,000 and a chance for the National Prize--

A trip to NYC, attend a NY Fashion Week fashion show, a SoHo shopping trip (both with me!) and lots more!

 Nick Verreos Hosting "Project Style 2012" Promenade Temecula

Now, back to our winner: April Yang happens to be the Winner of Promenade Temecula's "Project Style" which I had the honor of hosting as well as judging not too long ago. At the time, she showed all of us (myself and the other judges) her individual style, great eye for color and professionalism. She also brought a HUGE crowd of family and friends to support her at the time--with big ol' posters and photos.

April Yang, Winner of Promenade Temecula's Project Style 2012 "Live Style Off" and National Winner

Subsequently, she was crowned "Project Style 2012 Temecula Mall" Winner, which put her in the running for the overall National Finals. She then competed against 14 other "Project Style 2012" regional winners for the Grand Prize. They all had to submit videos, photos and explanations on their outfits.

Jeannie Mai and Nick Verreos--Project Style 2012

I've been part of "Project Style" for several years now and this year, I was made their Official Co-Spokesperson--along with the gorgeous and fabulous--Jeannie Mai of Style Network. Jeannie and I were two of the three Final National Judges. The other esteemed judge was:

Jane Lisy, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Forest City, recognized by the industry for her award-winning retail leadership and
technology experience with shopping centers

Each of the 15 finalists received a $200 mall gift card and were challenged to create the ultimate outfit/ensemble that best represented their sense of style. We judged on Concept, Creativity, Sense of Style, Presentation and Fashion Knowledge, giving the stylistas scores for each of the five criteria. It was a really difficult decision to pick a Winner and trust me, we deliberated for a very long time. The scores were very, very close. But finally, we all agreed on April as our Project Style 2012 National Top Trendsetter.

Here are Photos of April's Winning Look:

 

April Yang, Project Style 2012

Here are excerpts of what she said about her Project Style 2012 Winning Outfit:

"The
juxtaposition of contrasting textures is a classic design aesthetic for
beautiful architecture. My outfit is inspired by the soft curves, hard
lines, and ornate details of the buildings at Balboa Park in San Diego. I
layered a denim button up underneath a black body-con dress to create a
mix of textures between the leather and the denim...The body-con dress is feminine because of its fitted
style but I loved how the leather cut-outs on top give it an edge. This
created a very structured look which is why I decided to choose jewelry
with soft lines. I kept my shoes a neutral color to draw the attention
first on my outfit and then down to my shoes. The contrasting textures
of my clutch sums up my theme and brings harmony to the overall look"

She went to Forever 21, Reflection, Macy's, Charming Charlie and H & M for her outfit.



Congratulations to April and to all the other finalists in "Project Style 2012"! April: see you in NYC next year! Can't wait--we'll have SOOOO much fun!

Click Below to watch April's Winning Video: