Guest Blogger – thePageantGuy.com

August 14, 2015December 5, 2018

Inside the Making of a Gown (B. McGowan)

GUEST BLOG: Gown designer Joey Galon

My name is Joey Galon, originally born and raised in San Francisco, California. I received my B.A. degree in Fashion from San Francisco State University. In my senior year of college, I interned in the Special Events Department for I.Magnin, working with some of the greatest designers from Givenchy, Carolina Herrera, Thierry Mugler, and so many more. After graduating college, I relocated to Southern California working at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills and got to work with Valentino, Escada and many more fashion designers.

I took a bit of a diversion in my career and started planning corporate & sports related events, eventually pulling me away from the fashion world. 25+ years in the special events industry, I had a deep yearning to design some gowns of which I officially launched my line at the last "True Beauty Expo" a beauty expo hosted during the Miss USA pageant week in Las Vegas.

I remember feeling so intimidated looking at the other booths of amazing fashion design icons like Sherri Hill, Tony Bowls, Carlos Alberto and many more established pageant gown designers. Always envisioning one day, I will have a gown on the Miss USA competition stage.

Gown sketch for Miss Nevada USA 2015 — Gown sketch for Miss Nevada USA

Fast forward to today, I was approached less than a week out from our reigning Miss Nevada departing to Baton Rouge for her official Miss USA competition journey. I had designed a gown for a previous Miss Nevada USA, Jade Kelsall who loved the gown I made for her that she texted a photo of it to Shanna Moakler, Executive Director for the Miss Nevada USA pageant.

Shanna asked if I could make a gown for Brittany McGowan before she departed. I took on the challenge and made my promise to design, construct and have a gown ready for Brittany by the time she departed for Baton Rouge.

Shanna was open to my direction and design, so I at least had some creative freedom to create a special dress representing my state of Nevada. We chose silver as Brittany would be representing the Silver State of Nevada. I found some incredible lace fabric and saw a design that I felt would best compliment her figure.

I had also made the detachable Edwardian train of platinum silver dupioni silk. I've always loved working with this fabric as I love how light it is that it flows well and at the same time has great body and form when it drapes.

Close up of Brittany's gown — Close up of lace appliques

Brittany was so inundated with her last week that unfortunately, she wasn't able to meet me earlier in the week. I literally sent her a measurement sheet to fill out and then from there, we cut the fabric to make her gown. She arrived back into town on Friday as a going away party was planned for her that night.

Before she left for her send off party, she tried the gown on and it fit like a glove. I then took the gown and applied (by hand...one by one) thousands Swarovski crystals throughout the gown.

The gown is very sheer and I used a very light liner, so I reinforced some areas on her body with extra cut out lace appliques.

Basically, the gown was ready for her by the time she departed. This was the fastest gown I designed and turned around for delivery to any client.

Because Brittany had the gown for a very short time, she didn't have any prior rehearsals in the gown. She literally was practicing her walk and detaching her train in the hotel hallway.

I had Brittany's gown commissioned by a local Nevada designer, Joey Galon, three days before she left for Miss USA. I discussed the style and cut with him and chose the color and fabric! He was fantastic in executing it so quickly!

When Brittany first put it on, she had that magical moment and just knew that was her dress! We thought the detachable train would be fun and dramatic. You could tell when she walked out she simply felt beautiful and for me that is the whole purpose of evening gown competition!

-Shanna Moakler, Executive Director of the Miss Nevada USA pageant

While watching the telecast of the Miss USA pageant, it was so surreal watching Brittany make it up the ranks as finalist. I just wanted to see my gown on tv and certainly, the goal was accomplished.

Truly it was a magical experience as I had set out a goal to have a gown on the Miss USA stage and here I had the opportunity.

I could've easily declined allowing my fear and/or doubt get the best of me due to the lack of time....but I trudged forward and stayed committed to creating this gown for Brittany and finally, fulfilling my dream of a gown at Miss USA.

I will eternally grateful to Jade Kelsall (Miss Nevada USA 2012), Shanna Moakler and for Brittany McGowan for taking a chance on me and providing me with such a golden opportunity -- the chance to fulfill one of my greatest dreams.

I'm just building my evening gown design company....one dress at a time!

Look out world.....my goal is to have my company name up there in the rankings with all the other great pageant gown establishments.

(photos by Miss Universe Organization and Joey Galon)

December 19, 2014December 5, 2018

Inside the Making of a Gown (E. Safrit)

GUEST BLOG: Gown designer MacDuggal

My first meeting with Elizabeth was when she walked in my runway show for the premiere of the Spring 2015 collections. She had recently been crowned Miss United States 2014, and I was immediately impressed with her character, style and poise. I knew she would be a strong contender for one of the biggest pageants in the world and was eager to design a one of a kind magnificent creation for this beautiful woman.

Speaking with Mr. Chris Wilmer, pageant director for Miss United States shortly after, he felt based on my experience, vision and prior successes I was the perfect designer for the Miss World Pageant wardrobe and our collaboration began.

MacDuggal-Safrit — The original design with neckline beading

During our second meeting I had Elizabeth try on a variety of my gowns in all kinds of fabrics, colors, and body shapes. Right away, I knew that the mermaid style looked marvelous and provided an amazing fit for her longer body.

Now that I knew Elizabeth should wear a mermaid style dress, I also realized that I wanted the gown to look clean and grand. Elizabeth completely agreed although this was outside “the sparkle queen” image she had presented in the past wearing typical pageant gowns. We were all confident that if Elizabeth was to make an impact as Miss United States, then this was our direction.

The original design was based on a previous pageant style. Although this original style has very minimal beading, Elizabeth’s gown would not have any. In addition I added ¼ inch straps, which perfectly complimented her frame and bone structure. My vision was for her to envelope the Hollywood red carpet glamour without anything to distract from her facial beauty.

Elizabeth’s contribution to the design was a plunging neckline. My research showed that in previous Miss World competitions this is not a standard feature. However, this detail proved to be a major success.

MacDuggal-Safrit3 — Gown Sketch by MacDuggal. Named “Lal Rani”

The last decision came to the final color. Sometimes girls think of color coming first, but it is the last thing I think about. I believe that it’s best to create a design that will best showcase you and your walk first.

Elizabeth had to decide between red and white. Originally Elizabeth had been crowned in white, but she really wanted a red dress. It was truly a hard decision to make, but she trusted me with the final choice.

The red version of the dress truly lit up her face. It was unbelievable, the red gown even made her eyes glisten.

MacDuggal-Safrit5 — Elizabeth seeing her gown for the first time

When the gown was finally completed, it took up an entire garment rack on its own...

I couldn’t just give this magnificent creation a style number, it needed so much more. The dress needed a name.

I christened the gown “Lal Rani,” meaning the Red Queen in my native tongue.

Elizabeth was stunned when she first laid eyes on “Lal Rani.” She kept asking over and over, “Is that really my gown?!”

At first, my team and I had to help her walk in her dress because of the voluminous Mikado fabric, and extended train. Making her keep her eyes closed until she first saw herself in the mirror added to the anticipation. When she opened her eyes, she started crying instantly and said, “It is everything that I could have ever imagined!”

"I was so excited to see the dress that Mac took me directly back to where it was hanging, before we even got a chance to talk. He didn't want to keep me waiting any longer, which I was thankful for since I felt like I was about to burst with anticipation! When I saw it, I couldn't take a big goofy smile off my face. I also remember giggling because I was so giddy! I imagine trying on your Miss World gown is similar to trying on a wedding dress and finding the right one -- I just felt like it was part of me. It was just RIGHT and it was simply me. I had tears because it was perfect in every way. I can't thank Mac enough for giving me my dream dress and making me feel like Miss World every time we worked together. He is, like his designs, one of a kind!"
–Elizabeth Safrit, Miss United States 2014

As a designer, these words were so utterly heartwarming and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. These are the moments that have kept me enraptured with my work and profession for over thirty years.

(Photos courtesy of MacDuggal, Miss United States Organization, and Miss World Organization)

August 27, 2014December 5, 2018

From Heartache to Hope: A Two-Time 1st RU’s Journey

From Heartache to Hope: A Two-Time 1^st Runner Up’s Journey

When life has cut too deep and left you hurting
The future you had hoped for is now burning
And the dreams you held so tight lost their meaning
And you don’t know if you’ll ever find the healing

You’re gonna make it, you’re gonna make it.
And the night can only last for so long.

Whatever you’re facing, if your heart is breaking,
There’s a promise for the ones who just hold on.
Lift up your eyes and see. The sun is rising.

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I’ve probably played “The Sun is Rising” by Britt Nicole about a hundred times over the past few weeks. It’s an interesting feeling...when you believe with all your heart that your prayer could be answered and squeal at the thought that this is it – it could really, truly, finally happen.

Like the moment before the love of your life gets down on one knee to propose and you can barely breathe. Or after dozens of interviews, you get a phone call and this could finally be the job. Or after four years of competing, placing 1^st Runner Up, winning double prelims, and taking time off law school to train, this could actually, finally be “your year” to win Miss Texas.

For years, ever since high school, I had my guard up. I was afraid to let myself believe things like that could happen for fear of being let down. So instead, I built a glass box around me. People could walk up and I’d smile and wave hello, but I was very cautious about who I let inside my box and into my life to know the real me.

But this year, all that changed. This was my fourth and final year to compete for Miss Texas. I had gone from Top 10, to Top 5, to 1^st Runner Up and double preliminary winner, and this year I was going ALL in. No regrets. I was going to break down that glass box once and for all, train ten times harder than last year, and just let myself believe that my dreams could actually come true. I just knew it would be worth it. So I took off a semester of law school to train full time.

Thanks to my incredible prep team, they set up about fifty mock interviews to ensure I was more than prepared. I had phone prep sessions with my coaches twice a week, worked out twice a day, learned how to home cook all my healthy, low-sodium, low-fat, high-protein meals, and practiced piano morning and night.

I made dozens of appearances, spoke before thousands of students across Plano, collected backpacks and suitcases for foster children in support of my platform, and did everything possible to make my dream come true.

And the thing is...sometimes we can do everything possible, and it still doesn’t come true. For one simple reason: God didn’t create us to have a perfect life; He created us to have a close, intimate relationship with Him. And sometimes it takes heartbreak for us to grow closer.

The night I was called as 1^st Runner Up was undoubtedly the most difficult night of my life. When they called my name it was like slow motion, and my heart shattered into a million pieces all over the stage.

In addition to winning double preliminary awards as the pageant’s only double prelim winner again, I also ended up winning Overall Talent, Overall Fitness, and Overall Evening Gown. Which was such an honor to receive, but also made the pageant outcome even harder to swallow.

That night was like a crashing tsunami of so many unfamiliar emotions – pain, hurt, shock, heartache, and grief. You anxiously await for what you’ve let yourself believe will be the happiest night of your life, to be bursting with joy, but instead, suddenly you’re struck with a raging tidal wave of sorrow and pain, and when you’re finally alone, you collapse from the weight of your grief and crumple into a ball to the floor. Poof. Your dream is gone. And it’s never coming back.

"The Miss Texas title was never mine; it belonged to God. He could choose to give it to anyone He wanted to and I believe His plan is always best." - Christine Tang

It’s been exactly one month since that night. In the weeks that followed, while my family and I tried to quietly heal and recover, we found out my sweet grandfather got diagnosed with aggressive cancer. So it’s been quite a rough month for our family. When things like that happen, I want to look back and just ask God “why?” but instead, I’ve had to daily choose to look forward with faith. We have to choose to be grateful. We have to pursue joy. We have to actively persist living a life full of light and love. I believe with all my heart that when we entrust our life into God’s hands, He plans the absolute best for us.

So when something doesn’t go our way, we can find comfort and strength in the fact that God has something even better. We can never understand the magnitude, the depth, and brilliance of God’s magnificent plans, but I personally find comfort in reflecting on His faithfulness in my life for the past 24 years. And since He has never left my side, I will not leave His. I will not let myself be filled with anger or bitterness – I won’t give in.

People may say, “Christine, you were robbed.” But I wasn’t. The Miss Texas title was never mine; it belonged to God. He could choose to give it to anyone He wanted to and I believe His plan is always best.

My parents named my middle name “Diana” after Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, and I’ve always loved her for her compassion, humility, and grace. Despite having her crown and royal title taken away, she was and is still deeply, forever cherished by the world as the “Queen of Hearts.” Proving that we don’t need crowns, titles, or trophies to change the world – just a selfless, loving heart and a joyful spirit!

So I’m choosing a life of joy by being grateful. Grateful for the opportunity just to simply stand on the Miss Texas stage. Grateful for the chance to have had four years of priceless training and experiences. Grateful for my scholarships and awards. Grateful for my coaches, trainers, mentors and friends. Grateful for the life-changing lessons of learning how to break down the glass box...how to pick yourself up off the ground when you get hurt...and how to move on with faith knowing no good thing does the Lord withhold from those who love Him.

As we journey through the hills and valleys of life, we have to trust that God gives us those valleys to give us depth and dimension. And in that exhausting, tear-stained struggle climbing out of the ditch, tired but stronger, braver, and more resilient than before, that’s how He equips His best soldiers. God uses a degree of pain to change who we are, to make us better fit and able for the beautiful life He has planned for us to live. I wouldn’t have it any other way. So cheers to living lives of joy and gratitude!

May we never be defined by what we gain, but by how we live.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us.” – Ephesians 3:20

For His Glory,

Christine Tang - Miss Plano 2014

1^st Runner Up to Miss Texas 2014, Overall Talent, Overall Fitness, Overall Evening Gown, Overall Fitness Preliminary Award, Overall Talent Preliminary Award, Quality of Life Top 10 Finalist

March 24, 2014December 5, 2018

Inside the Making of a Gown (N. Davuluri)

GUEST BLOG: Gown designer Gaspar Cruz

I met Nina from her local director, Johnny Triquet, over the phone as he had served as one of the judges on the panel at the local she had won and then was assigned to her as her “mentor/local director”.

Johnny said he instantly knew that he was going to contact me after having watched Miss America 2013 when Mallory Hagen from New York had won. I worked with Lexie Madden from Wyoming and had designed the black gown she had competed in and placed 3^rd runner up to Mallory.

So when Nina and I connected...Nina, Johnny, and myself did a lot of texting back and forth. She described and sent me text messages of dresses she liked and possibly wanted.

Taylor Swift Side by Side — Taylor Swift's white gown at the People's Choice Awards 2013

Her ideas were great but she said she wanted to make a statement and have an impact. The dresses she was showing me were very pretty and very red carpet but not much for impact.

Her favorite gown was a white crepe dress worn by Taylor Swift. I used the gown as inspiration with some modifications. I built a corset into the dress to maximize her small waist and give her great structure for her bust.

I wanted to be sure to add the cap sleeve so that it would define her shoulders and not make her look too wide with excess fabric.

Nina sketch — Gaspar Cruz's original sketch of Nina's gown

I also wanted to show off her back, so we cut a keyhole in the back so when she turned around it would have some detail.

Then of course I added the two foot train to make her look taller as she walked off.

I sent over one of my measurement charts and she said to me she had lost over 60lbs at that point and wasn’t sure if she was going to lose any more weight.

I said let’s make the dress to the size you are now and we can work on the small details after the fact. We discussed chiffon, crepe, and a few other fabrics and decided to go with 2 layers of chiffon and charmeuse as lining.

I sent her photos of a few dresses, one of them was for a client that I had designed for competing in my pageant.

Nina Top 5 Miss America 2014 — Nina Davuluri with the Top 5 at the Miss America 2014 pageant

She liked the idea but was a little nervous about the color and the plunging neckline because she is Hindu and wanted to be sure she didn’t embarrass her parents or insult her religion.

I told her that I would add some sheer netting to it so that it would be classy and tasteful at the same time. After a week or so, I emailed her and her director and see if they had decided on what she was going to do. We went back and forth on color and finalized yellow.

Up until she received the dress I think she was still a little nervous. As you know she eventually won Miss New York 2013 and was headed to Miss America.

Initially I wanted to add rhinestones to the gown should she have won Miss New York but she was firm on keeping it completely simple.

I had this gut feeling that she was going to win Miss America regardless of what gown she had on. I think the fact that she had this very “red carpet” sort of gown separated her from the other contestants more typical pageant type gowns.

March 6, 2014December 5, 2018

Inside the Making of a Gown (A. Nugent)

GUEST BLOG: Venezuelan gown designer Gionni Straccia with Ali Nugent

Ali Nugent was the second Miss Texas USA I had the privilege to dress.

I met her through Julie Roberts, the owner of the boutique Elizabeth Anthony in Houston, TX and from the very beginning I knew the beautiful combination of light colored eyes, dark hair, and light skin tone had to be the focal point of attention.

Ali Side by Side — Design for Bianca Aljibes - Miss Venezuela International 2012

Every time I design a custom gown, I like to sit down with the customer and hear the ideas she has about her dress.

Whether it is a specific fabric, a color, or the event she is going to wear it for...in this case there was no difference.

I sat with Ali and her team at the store and Ali was very open to any ideas.

She trusted my work and gave me the freedom to design, so the process began.

First, she started trying on some of my other gowns, just to see what shapes and colors worked best for her and while she was at it I was coming up with possible designs…

One of the pieces she tried on was a red 4 ply crepe dress I had designed for Blanca Aljibes, the Venezuelan contestant for Miss International 2012.

She loved it and the color made a perfect match with her skin tone, hair color and eyes, but for obvious reasons I could not repeat it, so I designed something similar.

"The inspiration for my gown came from a combination of a Gionni Straccia gown that was designed [for Miss Venezuela International 2012] and the the emerald green long sleeve gown that Miss Venezuela wore at Miss Universe 2012. I actually tried on that exact gown in person and fell in love with the fit! Jewel tones have always been my "go to". I feel they look best on me and so that’s why I chose the shade of red that I did.

The mixture between the gold and silver and clear beads and stones was so beautifully done on another design that I wanted to bring that into my gown in some form. The fabric chosen was Gionni’s most popular fabric choice I believe. The way it hugs you and fits is so flawless and beautiful that you cant help but fall in love with it."

-Ali Nugent

The final version was this spectacular red 4 ply crepe gown, beaded with Swarovski crystals, plus silver and gold rhinestones, with a very sexy neckline.

The beading was done only in the torso, because as I mentioned previously, I wanted all the attention to be in Ali’s upper body. The crepe fabric added fluidness and grace to her walk.

Since I was not going to see Ali again before the pageant, I did a fitting using a standard muslin I had already brought with me. The great thing about her is that she has an incredible body and I barely had to make any alterations to the muslin.

Ali Fitting — Ali fitting her gown for the first time

After that, the rest is history, by mid April Ali was at Elizabeth Anthony picking up her gown and ready to leave the audience speechless.

Having over 18 years designing gowns for the Miss Venezuela, Miss World, Miss Universe and now for Miss USA pageant contestants, I still get excited about every single girl that competes with one of my gowns.

It is extremely rare that I miss watching a pageant because it is important for me to see the girl perform on stage and even if it is from a distance, support and cheer for her.

It is also an opportunity to be my hardest critic. With Ali Nugent it was not the exception.

I loved the grace and poise with which she carried the gown and I was a little bit sad when she was not called into the Top 5, but you could imagine my happiness when she was picked as the 6th finalist based on the number of tweets received!

I like to think that somehow, my dress, was part of that whole team work that accompanied her that night.

(photos by Miss Universe Organization, Gionni Straccia, and Ali Nugent)

February 21, 2014December 5, 2018

Inside the Making of a Gown (K. Graham)

GUEST BLOG: K. Lee Graham with Jennifer Graham, gown designer

We all know that one of the most exciting parts of pageant preparation is finding the gown. Luckily for me, I’ve been blessed to have a mother that has been particularly involved in helping me choose my wardrobe. Together, we designed my off-white silk charmeuse and organza gown, and she handmade it.

My mom, Jennifer Graham, has always made my pageant gowns and they have all been special, but to me this was her masterpiece! I originally wore it in my high school pageant last February, but it made me feel so confident that I knew it was the dress that I needed to wear for the Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2014 pageant!

It’s pretty interesting how my mom got started with creating gowns. When she competed as a teen, my grandmother made her gowns. It looks like I’ll have to take some sewing classes soon if we want to continue the tradition!

“My mom and I made my gowns because we couldn’t afford to buy them, but I always loved it since I would have a beautiful gown that no one else would have.”
–Jennifer Graham

When people hear that my mom makes my gowns, they’re always interested in learning how she does it. As you can imagine, making a gown from scratch is much different than ordering a dress from a designer. But like any gown, we start with a concept.

For this gown, we knew we wanted a side train. We already had yards of this beautiful ivory silk organza, so that became the first element we based the design on. We wanted to create a gown that reflected me and my personality, it had to be very elegant and somewhat sophisticated but still age appropriate.

Mom's gown at Mrs. South Carolina America

Closeup Skirt Hips — Lace appliqué on skirt (hips)

In order to remain cost efficient, we always check to see what we can use from dresses she already made. Normally we take elements from a few different gowns and use them to make a completely new one.

After trying on dresses, we decided to use the skirt of a gown Mom had made for herself years ago when she was Mrs. South Carolina America. It was made completely of silk charmeuse, even lined in it.

Closeup Skirt Bottom — Lace appliqué on skirt (bottom)

Lace appliqués were placed all around the hips, and the bottom of the gown was also accented with the same appliqués, but these had soft white feathers attached to them to create an ethereal look and movement when I walked.

So after determining what we already had, Mom and I took a trip to our favorite fabric store. These trips are always so fun for us, and very special.

When my mom was a teen, her mom took her to the same store to get lace for her gowns, so as you can imagine it means a lot to me to share this experience with my mom. At the store, we found some gorgeous lace appliqués that would look fabulous to accent the bodice we planned to make.

After buying the new appliqués, we started putting together the gown...

“I didn’t learn to sew until I was 30, when I took a sewing and smocking class. I wish I had known how much I enjoy it, I would have started much earlier in life.”
-Jennifer Graham

When it comes to actually creating a gown, we have a unique sort of process. There’s definitely an element of flexibility, fabrics don’t always work the way you want them to.

Much of our creation process is trial and error. We have a general idea, a look that we go after, and work out the details as we construct the gown.

K Lee front-side-back — Front, side, and back view at Miss SC Teen USA 2014

We already had the skirt, so after experimenting with a few different options for the bodice we settled on a corset style top with a sweetheart neckline. This gave the gown some structure, and balanced out the flowiness of the skirt.

So we had the basic form of the gown, the next step was to add the detailing. My mom’s designs are characterized by her attention to detail; she has an amazing eye for placing lace and stones just so in order to create a gorgeous overall image.

After attaching the top and skirt, I would just stand there in the gown while we would pin and unpin appliqués until we were both happy with how it accented the dress and me. We also had to work out the placement of the train. It had to be placed a certain way so that it would be cohesive with the rest of the gown.

By bringing it diagonally down across the torso, there weren’t any unflattering lines. We also added a drape of lace across my left arm to continue the line created by the train.

After a few months of fitting (and in my mom’s case sewing and rhinestoning) whenever we had a chance, the gown was finally finished!

K Lee and Mom Collage — (Top Left) Jennifer Graham - Miss SC Teen USA 1985, (Bottom Left) K. Lee Graham - Miss SC Teen USA 2014, (Right) K. Lee and Jennifer Graham

Wearing a gown created by my mom made my experience at the Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2014 pageant all the more special.

The dress is a tangible representation of how supportive my Mom is of me and my goals, and working on it together has been a bonding experience for both of us.

I’ve never felt more confident in a dress and I am so grateful to have such a talented woman in my life!

I'm so proud of Mom for winning Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1985, and to follow in her footsteps as Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2014 is a dream come true!

Author: Guest Blogger