Winning A Beauty Pageant

What does it take to win a beauty pageant?

To win a beauty pageant you need poise, looks, but definitely a lot of confidence. I think that's huge. If you walk out there, and you're looking around, looking at the ground, looking up, you've got to make eye contact. Confidence is huge.

How important is beauty for pageant contestants?

You know, I used to think that myself. I used to think, "Why do people do beauty contests? What's the big deal? What's the point?" But I think for some girls it maybe brings them out of their shell, makes them realize, you know, they're beautiful inside and out, and it's not all about the outer, but the inner as well. But I think it's good because it gives them confidence and it gives them self esteem. And I think that's a great thing.

How important is personality for pageant contestants?

I see personality in the eyes. You can see the personality in the eyes before you meet them. If they walk out and it's dead eyes, but if you see that little lilt, that little sparkle you know. There's a girl, I don't know, but she wasn't the most perfect but she had a lilt in her eyes and I was just like "I like that" and that's what the camera catches.

Does sexiness give a pageant contestant an advantage?

Sexy is majorly important because I consider enter my shop or anything I buy and if I do not feel sexy than it is wrong, that can be socks, underwear, shoes, shoe laces, so I think of a girl walks up, you can tell if the girl is sexy, she has her head held high, you know and her shoulders are back, you can definitely feel the sexiness without being too alert.

Does skinny help win a pageant?

You know, we don't look at that. I like a girl with curves. This isn't Paris. This isn't Italy. This is a pageant. This is totally something different. We're looking for you because you're in a swimsuit. You're in a gown. You're doing talent. We don't want a gown that just hangs. You don't want a swimsuit that hangs. You want curves. You want a figure. Absolutely.

How important is a beauty contestant's choice of evening gown?

I think you can really tell a lot by someone's gown. The swimsuit is a little iffy, but the gown, if the gown is wrong for them, if they've got puffing or shoulder pads, that's when your size comes in. If your not a "perfect size six" you don't wear something puffy and with a lot of layers underneath, you wear something a little more form-fitting. If your on the thin side, you wear something fuller, to enhance, to make you look like you have a better figure. So its going to cut the balance.