Contests and pageants to celebrate and determine who is 'the fairest of them all' have been ongoing since Ancient Greece and the Judgement of Paris. Through time, contests and pageants have evolved. Not only are they celebrating versions of femininity on a competitive stage to aware titles and crowns to the winner, but they are also about presenting and representing today's issues. Pageants showcase values, concepts, and behavior at the center of a group's sense of itself. Many people worldwide still view them as crucial, as a winner can become the symbol of national identity, group values, and pride.

Navigating your first pageant or fifth pageant can be difficult for any contestant. Keeping up with fashion trends and deciding which pageant dress and styles of dress work best to represent current design and the contestant's personality is challenging.

If you have no idea what to wear or where to start, we're happy to share our expert tips on choosing pageant dresses and styles.

What to Wear to The Check – In

Pageant directors may be vague when answering questions about pageant attire. But, ask your director for tips anyway, as some information is better than none. Ask about the check-in process, as some are quick and informal, while others may be long that transition into orientation or rehearsals. The differences will help you determine what is appropriate for you to wear.

Typically, many contestants choose to wear outfits appropriate for interviews or business-casual attire. We don't recommend going to a check-in wearing your pageant wardrobe because you won't want to get it wrinkled or dirty, and there is such a thing as being overdressed in this case.

On the other hand, try not to show up in flip-flops, shorts, or oversized sweats. Your first impression is essential, so you don't want to be too casual or formally dressed.

The First Step

When planning for a pageant, remember this won't be your usual day-to-day outfit planning. Pageant dresses and styles are trickier; you must know what image you want the world to know about you through your wardrobe. Your pageant attire is a tremendous tool to communicate yourself to the world and should be something that speaks about you without being verbalized.

Consider the following before you begin shopping:

• Your personal brand or image. Are you resilient, empowered, confident, artistic, soft, approachable, classy, sophisticated, or reserved? Who are you? Your pageant attire should amplify your personality or brand because it's a perfect means to get yourself noticed—and once you know what you want, your clothing should be consistent in those aspects you wish to present.
• Understand your body type and your skin tone. What shape is your body? Are you triangle, spoon, hourglass, top hourglass, bottom hourglass, round or oval, apple or diamond shaped? Do you have a long or short torso? What's your face shape? When you know these things, you can narrow down the styles and dresses that are the most flattering for you. Knowing your skin tone can also show you what colors look best for you. Not every skin tone can pull off every color.
• Once you've found your style or brand, your body shape, and your skin tone, you can begin working on finding the pieces and accessories that mix and match perfectly to go along with your ideal pageant dresses.

The Evening Gown

We suggest choosing and preparing at least 4-5 evening gowns, especially for international pageants. The reason is that the evening gown can be split into two categories.

• The competition gown is the dress you want to wear on stage. This gown will be the one with the most wow factor. A competition gown should capture attention with embellishments and create beautiful movement, whether beaded, dotted sequins or a subtle shimmery dress.
• An evening gown should be suitable for wearing during the welcoming dinner, a fancy party, or any ball or charity gala. This dress can be a bit more understated than the competition gown. A cocktail dress is also excellent attire for these types of events.

The Pageant Dresses and Styles

Ballgown

Few dress styles are as timeless and worthy of a fairy tale as the regal ballgown silhouette. With fitted bodices that flare at the natural waist to form a full skirt, they create beautiful movement and use inner layers of poufy fabrics like tulle to give them structure. In a sea of pageant contestants wearing slim styles, the mixture of tulle and voluminous materials creates an airy look and practically makes you appear to float on stage.

Mermaid

A glamorous silhouette, the mermaid dress amplifies and flatters your natural curves for a sultry and beautiful result. Most mermaid dresses will be fitted through the chest and torso down to above or at the knee, where the skirt flares outward dramatically.

Trumpet

The trumpet dress is similar to the mermaid, as it hugs the torso and the hips. The difference here is where the skirt begins to flare outward. Trumpet dresses spread dramatically at the middle or lower thigh, not the knee.

A-Line

Unlike the ball gown, a-line skirts don't have a lot of fullness or puffiness. The A-line usually has a fitted bodice and a defined waist with a dress that naturally flares at the waist or hips to create an A shape. This style is considered universally flattering on every figure as it mimics the classic feminine hourglass.

Sheath or Column

The sheath dress creates straight lines from the top to the bottom of the gown. A sheath dress can be generously cut to gracefully skim your natural curves or form-fitting that hugs the body. Many of these fitted sheath gowns will have slits in the hem for more effortless movements.

Colors Count

Not only do you want a dress and style that flatters your body and a color that works with your skin tone, but you also want a color that may affect a person's impression of you. Understanding a little bit about the psychology of color is a great tool to use before purchasing or choosing your pageant gown.

• Black - Black is often associated with authority, strength, and power.
• White – White is a common color you may note in large pageants like Miss America. Since 2000, 10 of the last 16 winners have chosen a white, nude, or silver gown. White is thought to represent innocence, purity, and cleanliness.
• Red – Red is another popular choice as it is captivating and reflects energy, power, strength, and maturity.
• Blue and Green are associated with tranquility, peace, nature, relaxation, and loyalty.
• Purple – This color can either be challenging or perfect, depending on how it is worn. Purple is a color rarely found in many pageants, yet it has a long history of representing royalty and wealth.
• Yellow - There are many different hues of yellow, from almost white to neon bright. Your hair and skin tone can make or break this gown. In general, yellow is associated with bright sunshine and happiness.
• Pink – Pink is often associated with femininity and youth.

No matter what gown you choose, remember that during the evening gown presentation, what truly will get you the highest score is the ability to be yourself. It is easy to dismiss it as a cliché, but by being yourself, you set yourself apart from everyone else.

If you would love to find a pageant dress perfect for you, Rachel Allan is happy to help! Please browse our amazing inventory of breathtaking gowns and check out our store locator to find a Rachel Allan pageant gown near you!