SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss USA 2017: Top 10 Preliminary Gowns

SASHES AND TIARAS.....Miss USA 2017: Top 10 Preliminary Gowns

Best In Gown: Miss USA 2017 contestants during the Evening Gown portion of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Competition--Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas

Last night was the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries, which occurred at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Preliminary Competition is very important because it's when the Top 10 Semifinalists are decided that will go on to compete in Sunday night's Final Miss USA 2017 pageant. 51 contestants representing the 50 states plus District of Columbia competed in Swimsuit and Evening Gown. Naturally here on my Sashes and Tiaras blog, I'm interested in the EVENING GOWNS!

Satin and Sequins: Miss USA 2017 contestants during the Evening Gown portion of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Competition--Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas

The Preliminaries give pageant fans a "glimpse" into what the contestants will wear for the Evening Gown portion and their taste level and more importantly, who went the "Pageant Betty" route or tried to be at least more Fashion Runway Fab. As a fashion designer--and beauty pageant fan--when commenting on the Evening Gowns, there are several things I'm looking for...

Exhibit A, B, C, D & E: Fashion-forward, Red Carpet Fab and...Pageant Gown Gorgeous--Miss South Dakota USA 2016 Madison McKeown at last year's Miss USA 2016 Finals

My criteria for judging a gown is based on my desire to see an element of Fashion-forward/Fashion risk-taking designs combined with the understanding that these dresses are primarily for stage and have to somehow be "Pageant Appropriate"--which inherently has their own set of "Dress Criteria". A perfect example of how one can bridge Fashion & Pageant/Stage Impact would be last year's Miss South Dakota USA  Madison McKeown who wore this cape-fab gown from Lebanese designer Tony Ward and his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2015 Collection seen in above photo. With that said...



Here are my TOP 10 Best Gowns of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries--in order of Highest to Lowest:

Miss Massachusetts USA Julia Scaparotti: Julia's black gown was probably my favorite of the night. She wore this black halter neck gown featuring gorgeous sequined lace applique in a smooth fit-and-flare "mermaid"-like silhouette with Open Back. The gown fit her perfectly, defined her figure and best features and was the correct length (hiding those tacky nude platform pumps!). This is a nice example of a fashionable style that was Pageant Perfect as well--and notice lack of HOOCHIE-licious too-high slits and no breast-a-licious cleavage (Thank You Julia!). I also liked her modern hair and the earrings. I hope, though, she lightens up on the too-heavy makeup. Score: 9.9

Miss North Carolina USA Katie Coble: LOVED this gold gown worn by Miss North Carolina USA. It was my second favorite. The gown featured gold lame pleated fabrication and great criss-cross torso draping detail. The style gave me a definite "Old Hollywood" vibe, harking back to the 1930s and 1940's days of Lauren Bacall, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich with a nod to Cleopatra. The look was unique and stood out, for all the right reasons. Score: 9.89

Miss Kansas USA Catherine Carmichael: Catherine was a STUNNER last night during the Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Evening Gown Competition. When she came out in this coral colored gown, I was like "OK, NOW we're talking!". The crepe gown--which fit her perfectly playing up her 6' 1" tall statuesque beauty--featured a multicolored sequined bodice and DIVA-like dramatic chiffon back cape which she modeled as if THE RENT WAS DUE! Every pageant girl worth her sash needs to watch her modeling this to learn and take a lesson on how to work a gown with a chiffon cape. ASAP! She looked like a QUEEN. Score: 9.8

Miss Louisiana USA Bethany Trahan: Miss Louisina USA Bethany Brehan comes in fourth position of my Favorite Gowns of the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries. She made quite a fashion statement with this black sequin applique-over-nude gown with iridescent organza back overskirt. The base gown was GORGEOUS: The sequin work was outstanding and it fit her to a 1/4" of her life! To be honest, I would have done without that back overskirt. I understand why it's there (drama, stage presence, etc.) but it needed to be re-thought. It did not seem organic with the beauty of the dress. Score: 9.65

Miss Nevada USA Lauren York: Lauren--who is one of the favorites to win the top crown (according to many pageant followers/missosologists on the internet) didn't disappoint in her choice of evening gown for last night's Preliminaries. She wore this very pretty column-style gown featuring a side nude illusion panel, white crepe base and unique geometric sequins and pearls. It was from Venezuelan fashion designer Dheymid Galaviz who has created many a sequined-and-crepe gown for many Miss Venezuela contestants and last year's Miss World Venezuela. Sometimes they can look similar to one of his design compatriots Gionni Straccia and at first I thought it was an Straccia gown because the sequin work looked like this: Score: 9.6

Mariam Habach Miss Lara (and eventual Miss Venezuela) at the Miss Venezuela 2016 Pageant wearing Gionni  Straccia

Miss Ohio USA 2017 Dinaleigh Baxter: One of my other Top Ten favorite gowns from the Miss USA 2017 Preliminaries was this black and fuchsia dress worn by Miss Ohio USA 2017. One of my all-time favorite color combinations are black and fuchsia mainly because Cristobal Balenciaga utilized this combination in a lot of his super stunning Haute Couture creations back in the day (Lower Photo above). So when Dinaleigh came out, I was like "You Go Girl!". Her gown had a very fitted black velvet base gown with plunging sweetheart neckline and a GORGEOUS satin cape that was precariously knotted and twisted into these tiny shoulder straps. It was dramatic, entrance-making and yes, VERY fashionable and Cristobal Balenciaga-like. Score: 9.55

Miss New Hampshire USA Sarah Mousseau: Nice gown. BAAAD shoes. Let's discuss the dress first (please!). I liked this gown so much that yes, I included it here in my Top 10. I thought the style was impacting, suited her well...I admired the unique silver sequin work and I even liked the back overskirt. Here, in this gown it seemed a bit more natural to the rest of the gown. I also thought her hair and styling were on-point. But then, she wore those nude platform pumps!!! One question: WHY??? Where there no silver strappy shoes available? I just don't get it. It baffles the mind. NO ONE would be caught wearing these type of shoes with this type of a gown on the red carpet, black-tie gala, Haute Couture fashion show...ANYWHERE! Score: 9.3

Miss Montana USA Brooke Bezanson: I included Miss Montana USA's gown here because of its elegant simplicity and chic style. It was giving a little bit of a nod to what Miss South Dakota USA wore last year in the Finals (go to the top of this post). It was also a nice breath of fresh (Gown) air to see NO SEQUINS, NO SLIT and NO tacky platform pumps (she still made a wrong color choice in wearing NUDE shoes!). The white satin crepe gown featured a column shape highlighted by a dramatic hi-lo cape. While I liked this gown, I'm not so sure it was the right gown for Miss Montana USA. Brook is a lovely looking woman but I think this might have been more effective and had more "Diva" stage effect if it was worn by an olive-skinned or darker skin toned contestant...a "Miss Venezuela" or "Miss Curacao"-type.  It also needed to be just 1" longer. Score: 9.25

Miss Tennessee USA Allee-Sutton Hethcoat: In 9th place of my Top Ten Favorite Gowns was this golden/Blush-colored sequined gown worn by Miss Tennesse USA Allee-Sutton Hethcoat. In terms of style or silhouette, there was nothing really Earth-shattering Fashion Diva about it, but it looked beautiful nonetheless. The halter-style gown fit her well and the sequin-over-nude fabric looked expensive and nice. From head to toe, this was a perfect Miss USA look. Score: 9.2

Miss Washington USA Alex Carlson-Helo: Finally, I want to give MAJOR props to Miss Washington USA Alex Carlson-Helo. While I liked her black sequined gown and thought it was impacting, I just about FELL OFF MY COUCH when I saw that she was NOT wearing those tacky nude platform pumps that EVERY OTHER contestant wore: She wore the PERFECT strappy black heels! Who knew that these women actually had other choices?? And for her perfect shoe choice, Miss Washington USA belonged in my Top Ten list! Score: 9.2



**UP NEXT: The UH OH/Oh No She Didn't/Could Have Been Better...of Miss USA 2017 Preliminary Evening Gowns

Miss Universe Contestants Shattered the Pageant Dress Stereotype

Miss Universe Contestants Shattered the Pageant Dress Stereotype

Steve Harvey’s Miss Universe gaffe stole the show during the 2016 Miss Universe competition. Yet for this year’s scandal-free event, the gowns (and, of course, the women wearing them) were a focal point of the night — which was good news for Marquis Bias, the stylist for the Miss Universe Organization.

So what made this year’s pageant fashion, which is typically overlooked, different than in the past? Contestants shifting away from wearing typical “pageant” looks (think voluminous tulle skirts with jewel-encrusted bodices in bright colors) and opting for more typical red carpet ready stunners.

Bias, who is a fan of the trend, says that the change is being brought on by the participants themselves and that IMG, which bought the organization in late 2015, has also been a proponent of the shift.

“Of course there’s still girls that are tried and true pageant girls, and their gowns are very of that inspiration, but I feel that a lot of the girls that are more successful in the evening gown competition are girls that choose gowns that could easily be seen on any red carpet,” Bias tells Yahoo Style.

Case in point: the dresses worn by the competition’s top nine finalists, especially those of Miss Kenya, Miss Thailand, and Miss Haiti. Of course, no one’s fashion was more emblematic of this trend than that of the crowned winner herself, Miss France, Iris Mittenaere.

The dental surgery student, whose honesty during the Q&A section made her a shoo-in for the crown, dressed in a gold couture gown that reportedly took five months to make for the evening gown portion of the night. Yet, Bias admits that he “was just very excited to have a Miss France because it’s been 64 years, if I’m not mistaken, since Europe has had a winner.”

As a function of his role, Bias works with the crowned Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe throughout their respective reigns. “We often have Latin winners, which is wonderful; we’ve had several winners from Asia; we’ve had quite a few American winners; we’ve had some African winners as well; but we haven’t had a European winner in quite some time.”

Miss Universe 2016, Pia Wurtzbach, who’s from the Philippines where the competition took place and also collaborated with Bias, crowned her successor in a blue custom-designed Michael Cinco couture gown.

Bypost: yahoo.com

OLYMPIC STYLE.....Rio Olympics Opening Night Ceremony Fashion: My Favorites--and some Uh Oh's--of the Parade of Nations Outfits

OLYMPIC STYLE.....Rio Olympics Opening Night Ceremony Fashion: My Favorites--and some Uh Oh's--of the Parade of Nations Outfits

Olympics Style: A collage of some of the Fashion at the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony Parade of Nations

This past Friday night, Rio de Janeiro and the famed Maracana Stadium was home to the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. The spectacle featured over 6,000 volunteers, incredible Samba dancing and original digital 3-D imagery and strong influence of Brazil's rich cultural and ethnically diverse history as well as an obvious nod to the environment...Oh, and Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen walked her (allegedly) final catwalk.

Rio 2016 Summer Olympics Opening Night Ceremony--Maracana Stadium Rio de Janeiro

So, since I love talking about FASHION and I also LOVE a good Parade of Nations (Hello Miss Universe!!), I wanted to do a recap here of my favorite fashions and looks from the Rio Olympics Opening Night Ceremony Parade of Nations. Usually, this is one of the BIG HIGHLIGHTS for me when watching the Olympics; it's a lesson in geography, fashion, local style, and ethnicity/population. I remember being a young kid seeing past Parade of Nations, learning what people from Comoros look like, for example, or enjoying the great traditional costumes worn by the African or Asian nations in particular. So...with all that in mind, here are my Favorite Fashions from Friday night's Rio Olympics Parade of Nations--including some of the Traditional ones. I am also giving "Special mentions" to Fab Flag Bearers and one Hottie McHottie from Tonga!



Let's begin with my Top Fave (and then the rest are in no particular order):

Indonesia: Seriously! When Indonesia's Rio Olympics delegation walked into the stadium and led by this man in his fabulous red-and-white ensemble...and flanked by a male and female SUPER-fabulously dressed in traditional costume...well, I just about screamed to the TV "You Go Indonesia!" First off, naturally, I adored the traditional costumes. So wonderfully done, festive, and perfect for the occasion. I also loved the "uniform" of the red-and-white jacket and bright red pants. The color is bold and perfect to be seen from the nose bleed seats and I give props to the fact that the print in the jacket miters and perfectly matches down the center front. That is COUTURE DAHLINGSSS!!!

Canada: Love the colors (of course--red and white). But I especially like the very bold Maple Leaf and "Canada" lettering in the back of each jacket. So well done, and again, very visible from the nose-bleed seats. This is SOOOOO important when thinking about designing what the Olympic athletes are to wear. You would think this was a no-brainer but some nations--and their uniform designers--completely forgot about that (I am talking to you Germany and New Zealand).

Serbia: I thought these blue, white, red and black looks from the athletes representing the nation of Serbia were quite chic. I liked the outfit for the women especially, which consisted of a navy cropped/bolero jacket, a white top and striped maxi skirt. These ladies look like they could easily belong in the South of France on a yacht. Note to France: You should feel ashamed because these should have been YOUR uniforms (as opposed to the boring Lacoste ones!); and easily could have been because of the similar colors. And I especially love the espadrilles! Fashionista Alert: Serbian Olympics Athletes are more fashionable than their French counterparts. Ooh La La! 

Croatia: OK, I know, Croatia ALWAYS does this--the red and white checkered print; it's their thing of course. Just take a look at their flag! So, yes, even though they have "been there/done that', I still give them credit for making it work via a cool zip-up track jacket/bomber and points for continuing to utilize the checkered coat-of-arms print since well, you can see it (repeat after me!) FROM THE NOSE BLEED SEATS!

Norway: I liked Norway's fun and sporty red, white and blue looks. Their ensembles featured a printed track jacket (cool print by the way!), a horizontally striped polo, white shorts and a baseball cap. This was a great use of a bold print, and keeping their athletes cool in shorts yet at the same time, looking all very unified. PS: Where can I buy that track jacket!!?? I sooooo want it; I can work that with skinny jeans!

Jamaica: We know Jamaica's Olympic athletes would be outfitted by Puma and that it would probably be the colors of the country's flag. And we were right on all counts. I liked their SUPER bold neon highlighter yellow track jackets and joggers/leggings and shorts looks. Once again, a wonderful use of BRIGHT colors to bring attention to them and be seen from those cheap, cheap, cheap seats at the top (probably not so cheap for the Opening Night!).

Puerto Rico: Me encanta! Great colors (red, white and blue, of course!) on Puerto Rico's Olympic athletes. The jacket and red pants/skirt combo are muy bien. But I especially love that some of their female athletes got to wear this shirt collared hi-lo "tent/baby doll" top (Right). Oh and every person wearing a stylish straw hat...The U.S. island territory may be broke but their Rio Olympics Parade of Nations fashion are SUPER RICH mija!

Spain: One word: Ole! The colors of blood red, SUPER navy blue and white--perfectly bold! Love the hats and the fun yellow-and-red Spanish flag belts. I especially loved seeing some of the Spanish ladies showing off their abanicos (fans). Oh and yes, Rafael Nadal looked kinda cute (I don't usually think so--sorry Rafa fanaticos!) except for maybe looking a little too tan-a-rific but then again, who am I to judge a deep dark tan.

South Korea: South Korea unveiled these Zika-proof uniforms several months back and I liked them! They were, yes, very "uniform-y" but classy and prep-school looking. I admire the fact that every man was wearing a tie and the ladies donned their printed scarves. Nice hats too!

People's Republic of China: Great colors and very put-together looks. I want one of those SUPER BRIGHT red jackets...like NOW! And I also liked the canary yellow ones worn by the women. This is another example of designers/sportswear companies using bright bold colors to have their athletes be noticed from afar. Well done. The mens ties are pretty cool too!

Barbados: Love the super bright highlighter yellow blazers and royal blue pants on the women. Barbados may have had a small contingency but they were powerful with their color-bold styles.

Portugal: Jeans? At the Olympics? Well, yes! I'm including Portugal's Eurotrash Fab looks of jeans and a blazer look here because I love them! Very sporty but still chic.

Bermuda: Bermuda HAD to show their athletes in Bermuda shorts, after all! They all looked very nice. Caribbean Prep School Chic.

Great Britain: I liked the uniforms and fashion worn by Great Britain's athletes at the Rio Olympics Parade of Nations. It was very sporty yet still subdued chic. If you notice, they were all wearing a cotton trench. Naturally: They are from the United Kingdom! I also had to add a photo of the back of those aforementioned trench coats: take a look at those crests! Representin' Great Britain!

Australia: I liked Australia's seersucker notched-lapel jackets and white pants/skirt looks. They were very WASPY for sure but I liked how polished they all looked.

USA: Speaking of WASPY...The Americans took the "WASPY Fashion Award" at the Rio Olympics Parade of Nations with these Ralph Lauren Polo designs. I know that some people have criticized their too East Coast Upper Class Prepster looks but I like them! Check out those Ralph Lauren Polo Team USA boat shoes. They're $350! (Yikes!).

Not-so-Mucheey-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brazil: I wish Brazil would have done a little bit more with what their Olympic athletes wore to the Rio Olympics Parade of Nations. It was a bit of a let-down but...I did like the printed dresses (or is it a top and a skirt?) and the fun hats. Other than that, they all looked like flight attendants for a budget Brazilian airline.

Germany: Oh Germany. Can you say "Bland" in German? What the heck are these looks? Not only are they bland, they are style-boring and quite bad. Let's just discuss the outfit: a wine colored top, a GRAY skirt, black leggings, and a silver/gray plastic raincoat. And that is what the ladies wore. The men just wore a black track jacket, white t-shirt and black joggers. YAWN...

No Style Germany. I just do not understand who approved this and why. I don't think that people sitting in the SECOND ROW could even see them! A major Olympic Fashion Fail. The only good thing about this entire outfit were the shoes. And that is it. These get the Auf Wiedersehen from me!

Sweden: When I first saw the Swedish Olympics athletes, I was intrigued by its flag bearer Therese Alshammar and her H & M designed hi-lo blue and yellow striped zip-up hooded dress. It was kind of fab in a Sporty Couture sort of way. But then...

Oh No Sweden: My eyes began focusing on what the rest of the Swedish team was wearing. The worst fashion offender was the design for the women. Take a look at those canary yellow tops and skirts worn with knee-high socks. Bless. Their. Swedish. Hearts. Unflattering and badly designed. Maybe they should just stick to making cheap furniture for college kids.

Traditional Olympic Couture Fab-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Burundi: Go on Burundi! I loved the men in their traditional ensembles! (look at those printed robes/dresses and white satin cape/shawls!) and the women in their brightly printed one-shoulder draped looks...just FABULOUS!

Mali: Kaftan Fashion...epitomized by the Mali Olympic contingency. I love these Mali kaftans--or boubou full length tunics--the perfectly ivory looks stand out and I especially love the decorative trim on the women's and men's yokes

Mauritania: Speaking of kaftans...I also loved the looks seen on Mauritania's Rio Olympic athletes. The Haasaniya/Mulafa dresses worn by the women and long white tunics/kaftans worn by the men were quite impressive.

Madagascar: This African East Indian Ocean island nation's Olympic representatives looked quite nice in their striped Malagasy looks finished off with straw hats and draped shawls.

 Malaysia: Great pumpkin orange color and love the beautiful print of the wrap skirts.

Cambodia: Cambodia's Olympic representatives went with purple and very chic semi-traditional Khmer ensembles. The peplum'ed jackets and wrap skirt looks are quite stylish.



Flag Fashion Divas and Divos------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marshall Islands: Flag bearer for the Marshall Islands Mathlynn  Sasser (she's a weight lifter!) wore a traditional red-and-wheat colored straw costume. And she looked quite festive!

Chile: Erika Olivera held the Chilean flag wearing a traditional Chilean ensemble consisting of the cropped bolero jacket, long skirt and ruffled top and underskirt. The entire design did look a little "polyester-y" but I appreciated how she paid homage to her culture in this.

Turkmenistan: This very tall and very skinny young man--Merdan Atayev--is a swimmer from Turkmenistan. And boy do I love his ensemble--especially that fur hat and embroidered-trim coat!

Kazakhstan: The Kazakhstan flag bearers at the Olympics are known to always look quite Traditional Fab. And this young man was no exception.

 Tuvalu: Printed shirt, flower headdress and multi printed overskirt. Check. Check and Check.

New Zealand: New Zealand did a miserable job in terms of what their Olympics athletes wore at the Rio Olympics Parade of Nations (here's a hint: it's all black with a little bit of blue!). Heck, The Air New Zealand flight attendants uniforms are TWENTY TIMES more Fashion Fabulous! Anyhow, I still had to give props to their flag bearers Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (first time TWO flag bearers would do this for New Zealand) who wore these gorgeous Maori Kakahu cloaks.

 And my SHAMELESS MALE PULCHRITUDE Hottie McHottie Award goes to-------------------

Tonga: Pita Taufatofua, a Taekwondo athlete, was Tonga's flag bearer. He's half Tongan and part Australian/British. And he's very muscle-y and hunk-y hunk-y. He lives in Brisbane, Australia and...He also STOLE MY HEART. Wearing almost nothing. God Bless Tonga. And Pita.