Episode Three, the evening gown competition. Now when I think of the number three, I think of my favorite show Stranger Things. And my favorite season, the third season, I've definitely watched about 50 times. But we're not here to talk about Netflix originals. We're here for pageantry. So let's get into it.

Welcome back to the girl in the gown. I'm your host, Lauren Rodgers, and today's topic, we're going to be talking about the evening gown competition. Now for each and every episode, The topic is going to revolve around what I like to call my three P's knees stand for preparation, practice and performance. In preparation, I will help you gather your resources of what you'll need to do your very best in this area of competition. So These could include shoes, wardrobe accessories, and they'll give you positive quotes to help you get into a positive mindset.

In practice, I will give you tips and tricks on how to practice like a pro. And in performance, I will give you a pre staged checklist of things you need to make sure you do before you go on stage and what you'll need to know while you're on stage. Now you might be asking yourself, What even is the evening gown competition? Well, the evening gown competition is a required competition in all pageants. But in today's episode, we're going to be talking about what nams requirements for this competition are.

Now this is your time on stage with your escort, in a gown of your choice. You get your time in the spotlight to walk in a simple pattern on stage and show the judges how poised and graceful you are. Your escort which can be your dad, uncle, cousin, brother or any male figure of your family will walk you on stage and escort you offstage. See what I did there. Okay, Okay, enough with my jokes. Let's jump right into the three P's.

kicking it off with preparation. What do you think the first step is? Girl we need to get you a gown. Now there are many great dress shops and boutiques and some of them are probably near you. You can also have a fun shopping day and try on dresses as well. I love going to my local dress shop and trying on dresses. But a little secret is that there's these resale sites where you can get designer dresses for a fraction of the price than what you would normally buy them at a boutique. Also, 90% of these dresses have only been worn once or twice because kids grow so fast. A common mistake for newer pageant girls is that they find a brand new dress the first time around. So feel free to use these resale sites for your next pageant dress. I will also make an Instagram post sharing the links to these websites. So you don't have to break the bank on finding a dress for this competition.

While you're shopping, if you're a part of one of the younger divisions, I strongly suggest finding a gown that is one or two sizes bigger than what you would normally wear. This way you can hire seamstress and they can have an alternate for you. Pro Tip don't have your seamstress actually cut the fabric and have her keep it. So if you grow a little bit before your next pageant, she can always let it out. And then you can have a fit for future pageants.

Now, you might be lucky enough to have somebody in your family who knows how to sew, I have a grandma who lives kind of far away, so it doesn't make sense for me to visit her every time we need an alteration. So if you have somebody in your family that lives close by and wouldn't mind altering your dresses for you, you could have them be your seamstress.

Keep in mind that NAM looks for clothes that fit nicely, so very rarely, you'll be able to find something right off the rack that will fit perfectly.

Pro tip. Don't start alterations without your shoes. If you start humming your dress, but don't have your shoes, your dress might end up being too short. Speaking of shoes, for the younger divisions, I recommend having only one to two inch heels. But for the older versions, you should choose whatever works for your dress and how comfortable it is to walk in them. For example, if you have trouble walking in six inch heels, I don't recommend buying them for this competition.

Keep in mind that NAM wants to keep everything age appropriate. So if you are part of one of the younger divisions, you can get away with wearing flats, just do whatever makes you feel comfortable on stage.

Now on to accessories. If you're going to pair your dress with an accessory, I highly recommend choosing earrings that match the color of your dress. Even a simple study ring or heavier jaw, that matches would work perfectly. Other things such as necklaces and bracelets really shouldn't be worn during this competition, because it's less to change into because you're going from the production number right to address during the finale. And you don't want any wardrobe malfunctions while you're on stage. So if you're walking and your bracelet snags on your dress, that would not be good. Just remember that with the accessories less is more during the evening gown competition.

Alright, we're moving on to hairstyle. You're gonna want to actually start thinking of what your hairstyle will look like well before pageant weekend. If your mom is doing your hair, have her practice

curling and styling it so that she can get a feel of your hair before you go on stage, you can actually find good ideas of what you want your hair to look like on Pinterest and Instagram.

Pro tip about three to four weeks before the pageant I recommend getting a fresh trim on your hair so the ends look happy and healthy. Another pro tip, I recommend having a good heat protected by your side. So then your hair doesn't get dry and your ends don't split. Finally, we're moving on to makeup. Now this only applies to my older division girls, so my junior team and team contestants for my younger girls. Keep in mind that Nam wants no noticeable makeup, so you will get points taken off if they can see makeup while you're on stage. Just like hair for my older division girls, you're going to want to get some inspiration of what you want your makeup to look like on stage well before you go to the pageant. Again, you can find some inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest as well.

If you or your mom is doing your makeup, make sure to practice different looks on you as well. You might even want to set up a session with a makeup artist to have them teach you tips and tricks before you go on stage.

And that rounds it out for the preparation part of my three P's. Now we're gonna move right along to practice.

Now we're moving right along to practice. Something I really want to highlight with everybody is that you might think that you have the wardrobe and you know where the walking pattern is and where the marks are on stage. But you really need to work on practicing about three to four months before the actual pageant. My mom and I spend time in my basement and even on our driveway and just practice for about an hour. Just know that feels very different when you're actually on stage than when you're practicing at home. Because the stage lights are on you You are in front of an audience and you are going to be in your full length gown. Typically you don't practice in your gown you practice with just your shoes. So just know that you really need to get familiar with the walking pattern before you actually go to the state pageant.

As far as learning the walking pattern goes, the pattern actually changes for different divisions. So I will post this on my Instagram at the girl on the gown. Be sure to follow there for more updates just in case Nam posts anything and I can notify you guys as soon as I can.

The routine is very easy to learn, just remember that you need to practice it.

Now that you've looked on Instagram and you memorize the walking pattern, there's a couple things that you need to remember to do on stage. And you should always practice as if you are on stage. It is important to keep good eye contact with the judges as you walk on stage. An exercise that I like to do when I'm practicing is I set up a couple stuffed animals and have them be my judges in practice eye contact with them as well as have my mom video my practice so that I can see if I have clenched hands or I'm not giving proper eye contact.

And also have a nice genuine smile and think happy thoughts. Maybe some members of your family are in the audience. So think of them while you're on stage.

You might also want to practice with your escort a couple of times. So then you know what it's like to have somebody else on stage with you. You also want to practice in your shoes to get more comfortable with them as well.

Pro tip you should always scuff your shoes before you go on stage, the Nam stage can be kind of slippery. So all you need to do is take the soles of your shoes and scuffed them on the asphalt of your driveway. So then you have a little bit of traction before you go on stage.

All right, I've saved the most important part of practice for last, the actual evening gown walk. When I'm on stage, I always keep my head held high, my shoulders are backed My arms are to my side with a slight sway because of their pen right to your side it won't look natural, and the actual walk, you want to feel like you're gliding on stage, I always imagine that I'm walking on a cloud. There's no balance, it's very smooth walk and it's slightly slower than normal walk. I also want you to command the stage and give each of the judges eye contact. And I also want you to be very confident spend the time in practicing. Because if you practice enough, you will do absolutely amazing in this area of competition.

By this time you've prepared by having your dress, hair and possibly makeup. you've practiced by learning the walking pattern and you're ready to move on to performance. I'm going to give you a pre stage checklist of things you need to make sure you've done before you go on stage. You need to have a steamed dress. This means no wrinkles. It will help you look stunning while you're on stage. This is an easy step because all you have to do is get a steamer from your local target your hair done nicely. We talked about hairstyles in preparation. So don't forget you already have to have an idea of what you want your hair to look like before pageant weekend. You want your scuffed shoes, just like we talked about in preparation. You need to scuff your shoes because the Nam stage is slippery. Your dress fluffed and ready to go.

All you need to do for this step is when you're backstage, make sure that the dress gives you enough room to walk gracefully onstage.

I always put myself into a calm state of mind before going on stage. Something I want you to know is that the butterflies you feel when you're nervous versus when you're excited, feel the same. Saying that you're excited gives you a sense of positivity.

Give it your all when you're on stage. Remember everything we've talked about and you'll do great.

Don't forget eye contact with the judges. This is a super important step.

For every time I've competed in the evening gown competition, I've been lucky enough to have my dad as my escort. Before I go on stage, he always gives me a couple words of encouragement, and it always helps me do my very best.

As you step into the bright lights of that stage, give the judges eye contact and hold your head up high. You are putting everything we've talked about into this time in the spotlight. You glide effortlessly and smoothly across the Nam stage and visualize yourself doing great in this competition, because I know you will.

I encourage you to give everything you've got into this time you have on stage in this competition. And that's a wrap on the evening gown competition. Today we talked about the three P's preparation, practice and performance. In preparation we talked about your dress, which you will hopefully get at a great discount. We also talked about your shoes and alterations. In in practice, we talked about how you should practice even before stage because perfect practice makes perfect. Always think that you're practicing as if you were on stage. And in performance. We talked about my pre staged checklist before you go on to the National American Miss stage. Be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast and follow me on Instagram at the girl and the gown for more updates.

And I'll see you all next episode.