Interview and Personal Introduction together account for 60% of your score at National American Miss state pageants. This is one of the reasons we love NAM!
Over the years, pageant interview attire has slowly transitioned from custom interview suits made of Thai silk to more relaxed, yet professional “career” dresses that are more easily found off the rack in better department stores.
R: 2017 Pre-Teen & 2018 Jr. Teen
Case in point! In 2012, it was not unusual to see suits with embellishments like fancy buttons or rhinestone accents. We used that orchid suit for two years, just making alterations to have it last a little bit longer. By 2017, a more streamlined and career-oriented look had started to become the norm and so we opted for a dress. We typically will re-use an outfit until it no longer fits or is no longer age-appropriate.
The main things you will want to keep in mind for Interview/Personal Introduction are the following:
- Use the same outfit for BOTH competitions. Sometimes they will be back to back and sometimes they will be on different days depending on your age division and state. Why make your life harder? One outfit to remember makes it so much simpler!
- Accessories should be minimal! Small stud earrings if ears are pierced is all that is necessary. Nothing should draw focus away from what your contestant is saying.
- Nude shoes are always the right answer. I understand greatly the challenges facing girls whose skin tone isn’t the typical “light beige” that is available. There are more options coming available and some of them are quite expensive, so I can understand not making that investment until their feet are done growing. However, the point of a nude shoe is to keep the focus on the face, not the feet. So if you need to paint a pair of shoes that’s perfectly fine! The shoes on the left above are painted because back then there weren’t character shoes small enough for my daughter’s feet.
- When in doubt, read the magazines you received! Look VERY closely at the pictures. Scrutinize them and use them as your inspiration!
I’ve always said that if I can’t be a good role model, at least I can be a cautionary tale… BEHOLD!
Each of these outfits was designed by my daughter except for the orchid suit! We did get our money’s worth out of it because she wore it no less than three times and is STILL years later her favorite. It was based on a vintage girls’ outfit from the 1930s.
The “shark skin” dress of 2015 was a play on the orchid suit (hey box pleats!) and was gorgeous on her but just a little “extra”. This style/fabric has not aged well.
The fuschia sleeveless dress had a jacket that closed in the back based off a vintage 1950s design and is made from all natural fibers. The outer fabric came from our trip to Mood in LA in November of 2015. We made a literal last minute decision not to wear the jacket and it didn’t read well from stage. You live, you learn.
The rose gold embossed knit dress was also a custom design based off a vintage girls’ dress. This was ALSO a favorite and unfortunately, she grew inches(!!!) before really getting to wear it much. It only lasted one summer because it went from just at the knee to where it was over the course of a few months. Sadly, the fabric was no longer available or we would’ve remade it because it was well-received.