The Cost Of Competing In A Pagent

What are pageant sponsors?

I did not have any sponsors. My sponsors were my parents. That was it. I know with some of the girls, they go out and they get all of these people to help them to get to that amount but I just did it on my own. But once you win Miss California USA there are some amazing sponsors and a lot of it is just really material things. I had a jewelry sponsor, which was amazing. And I had a shoe sponsor. I had a dress sponsor. And there is not an actual cash reward so you kind of just have to take what you get and just use it to the best of your ability.

How much do pageant contestants spend on wardrobe?

Well, on top of paying up to fifteen hundred dollars, you seriously have to pay for your dress, your shoes, all of your rehearsal clothes, your business suit, and sadly, that's not a part of the fifteen hundred dollars! So it's really around two thousand, twenty five hundred...yeah, it's got it up there, it's very expensive!

How much do pageant contestants spend on evening gowns?

Evening gowns can range from $80 to a couple of thousands of dollars. I know that my gown for Miss USA (because it was actually designed by Nick Vareos who was on Project Runway), I don't the exact amount, but it was a couple of thousand of dollars. It was really nice. But my gown for state, when I competed for Miss California USA, It was $580 or something like that. So, it can range, but that's the point. It can be very expensive.