pageant dresses

An important announcement from our very own hometown of Linwood, NJ! Tony Bowls has teamed up with Miss America to be the official Evening Gown sponsor of the pageant.

Here's Tony Bowls' press release about the partnership:

The Miss America Organization and renowned designer Tony Bowls / Mon Cheri are thrilled to announce they have entered into a partnership to have Tony Bowls / Mon Cheri as the Official Evening Gown Sponsor of Miss America.

Sam Haskell, III, Chairman and CEO of the Miss America Organization stated, "We are truly excited to have Tony Bowls and his company, Mon Cheri, now on board as the official evening gown provider/sponsor for the 2015 Miss America Competition. Tony is a master of detail in creating beautiful collections that will now grace the Miss America stage in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall this September."

Tony Bowls' groundbreaking designs will showcase the 53 beautiful Miss America contestants and captivate the attention of millions of viewers. The Tony Bowls Collection will make its debut on the Miss America stage during this year's competition at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Sunday, September 14, 2014.

The Miss America Organization is excited to work with Tony Bowls to showcase his unique and stylish collections that will enhance the look of the show with added elegance and grace. Tall Pony Productions will once again produce the Miss America Competition and telecast on Sunday, September 14, 2014 live on ABC in the historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

According to Tony Bowls, "Miss America embodies the type of elegant confidence that inspires me as a designer. I'm beyond thrilled with this partnership and to be able to make pageant history with the Miss America Organization."

Tony Bowls/Mon Cheri support the mission of The Miss America Organization and together, they are proud to continue helping young women across America in fulfilling their aspirations and their dreams for education. Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri was crowned last September upon the organization's return home to its birthplace in Atlantic City, New jersey and she will now serve as the new spokesperson for Tony Bowls/Mon Cheri.

About Tony Bowls

Tony Bowls, who is also official designer for the Miss America Outstanding Teen Pageant, has over 25 years within the evening wear industry. Tony is a two time DEBI Award Winner whose gowns are sold in numerous stores internationally. Bowls designs have been worn by several Miss Americas, featured on numerous television shows and has been the evening gown of choice for various celebrities during red carpet events.

Head to the Tony Bowls section of RissyRoos.com to check out their beautiful dresses for prom, homecoming, and all other semi-formal and formal events!

About Miss America

The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. The Miss America Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization provides academic, community service and other scholarships to women between the ages of 17 and 24. Last year, the Miss America Foundation, together with the Miss America Organization and its state and local pageant organizations made available more than $45 million in total scholarship assistance. The Miss America Foundation, Inc. is a duly recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization.

We can't wait to hear more about the Miss America Tony Bowls partnership, and definitely can't wait to watch the event in Atlantic City in September!

And the Miss Universe crown goes to... Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler! The Miss Universe 2013 pageant was held Saturday night at Moscow's Crocus City Hall, and the crown was passed on to the beautiful Gabriela. Miss Universe 2012 was our very own Miss USA Olivia Culpo, so we're sad that the USA will no longer be representing Miss Universe for the next year, but so happy that Olivia is being succeeded by such an amazing woman!

Miss Universe 2012, Miss USA Olivia Culpo, crowning her successor, Miss Universe 2013, Miss Venezuela Gabriela Isler!

This was the 62nd Annual Competition of the Miss Universe Pageant, and Gabriela had quite the competition this year! She beat out contestants from 85 other countries to take the crown home, which is Venezuela's 7th Miss Universe win. Gabriela is 25 years old and works as an anchor for Venezuela's Venevision television. Her broadcast experience definitely showed through during the competition last night, and we're sure will continue to serve her well during her one-year stint at Miss Universe.

Gabriela definitely had all eyes on her throughout the night, from the costume competition to the swimsuit competition. But, we absolutely loved the silver sparkly gown that she wore as she accepted her crown. If you love the look as much as we do, it's one that you can wear to Prom or your next pageantM! Primavera style 9696 is a dress for the new Prom 2014 year that's so close to Gabriela's. It's an intricately designed ultra-feminine long sleeve gown with a sexy plunging neckline and accessorized with diamonte broche. It's sure to be having you look like a queen all night long, just like Gabriela!

What's next on Gabriela's list? She was already seen modeling in a jewel-studded swimsuit that's valued at $1 million. The Yamamay Million Dollar Swimsuit made as a special surprise for the Miss Universe winner, and it definitely looked perfect on Gabriela!

Congrats, Gabriela! We can't wait to see what's to come from you this year!

Source: LA Times, Huffington Post, AP, Inquirer

For all of our local New Jersey customers out there, we just wanted to update you on the latest Roo's News! The Jewish Times of South Jersey recently featured us in their newspaper - the article is called, "Something to Suit Any Style."

 The article talks all about how Rissy Roo's is the perfect place to find your perfect dress, whether at our store or online at RissyRoos.com, and we couldn't agree more! The full article is below.

"Are you looking for “the perfect” dress for your upcoming social occasion? Whether you prefer to shop local or would rather shop online, you are guaranteed to find that perfect stand out dress at Rissy Roo's and RissyRoos.com. Choose from all of the top designers; Sherri Hill, Jovani, Tony Bowls, La Femme, and Mac Duggal, just to name a few. You’ll find all of the latest trends for 2014 including, lace dresses, peplum styles, jewel tones, and simple elegance along with timeless evening trends such as jewels, sequins, beads, and tulle.

At Rissy Roo’s there is a dress to suit any style. Whether you’re attending a Prom, Pageant, Sweet Sixteen, Wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Graduation or Homecoming; Rissy Roo’s is the one-stop shop for any occasion! Rissy Roo’s also has a great selection of stunning shoes and shimmering accessories to complete your look and make your special night memorable.

Stop by the Rissy Roo’s retail store located at 1201 New Road in Linwood NJ or visit RissyRoos.com! Follow Rissy Roo’s and get social on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Vine. No matter what the occasion a dress is always in order, Life’s A Party… Dress Up!"

Miss Latina Global 2013 was recently held in August, and it was a night to remember! There was so many gorgeous looks all throughout the pageant, that it had us getting so excited that Homecoming Season is finally here, and Prom is just around the corner. This pageant got us especially in the Homecoming and Prom mood, though, because two of our favorite dress designers were at the forefront of the pageant: Shail K. and Jovani!

All of the delegates wore Shail K. KL3224 as the opening dress to the pageant. It was the perfect dress for an opening number because everyone looked so sparkly and glamorous! 

Miss Latina Global 2013 Delegates wearing Shail K. KL3224

Shail K. style KL3224 is a unique combination of sweet, shiny, and sexy. This short cocktail dress seamlessly combines a beautifully hand beaded lusciousness with an off-shoulder neckline and a fun, flowing skirt, giving this party dress a timeless look. If you don't have a pageant to wear it to like the Miss Latina Global delegates, get it for Homecoming, and wear it again for a Holiday Party!

Newly crowned Miss Latina Global, Grecia Garcia, & Miss Teen Latina Global, Karla Mercado (wearing Jovani 1531), along side runner up, Lexi Lopez (wearing Shail K. KK3133L).

That's not the only time you see Shail K. at the pageant, though! Lexi Lopez wore Shail K. KK3133L as she was crowned Miss Latina Global 2013 Runner Up. This hand beaded gown fits like a glove and accentuate your curves perfectly. It's a great gown not only for a pageant, but for Prom, too!

Miss Teen Latina Global 2013, Karla Mercado, looked so elegant being crowned in Jovani 1531. It's a lace floor length mermaid gown that features piping and sheer panels at the top bodice and a tiered tulle skirt. Karla showed so well that this dress is the perfect combination of elegance and sexiness!

Congrats to this year's winners! All of the girls who competed were so talented and beautiful - it definitely must have been difficult for the judges to pick the winners!

In November, one of our Roo Girls that we sponsored in her state pageant, Sophia Hadeka, was crowned Miss Vermont Teen USA 2013, and we were so proud of her! We wrote a blog post about her winning the pageant earlier this year, but she recently sent in a very nice thank you note and pictures, that we had to make sure to share them with you! Check them out below.

Here's Sophia's thank you note:

And, here are some pictures of her in her winning Rissy Roo's dress:

Thank you so much, Sophia, for sending in the touching note and gorgeous photos! We hope to see you at Rissy Roo's in September! Good luck competing in the Miss Teen USA Pageant - we'll be rooting for you!

There were so many beautiful Sherri Hill dresses worn during this year's Miss USA pageant, that we couldn't possibly fit them all into one (or two!) posts. Sherri Hill style 21187 was one dress that we loved, but didn't mention in our Miss USA 2013 posts earlier this week. So, we decided to give it a special shout-out and make it our Dress of the Week!

Miss Nebraska wore this sexy red lace dress during the pageant, and she looked absolutely breathtaking! It hugged her curves so well, and the nude coloring made her tan skin glow even more. We also loved the statement necklace she wore with the dress - it complimented the lace in the dress so well and gave her such an elegant look!

Sherri Hill style 21187 is a glamorous short cocktail dress complete with classy and chic lace design and scalloped hem. It's such a pretty minidress for graduation, homecoming, a semi-formal party, or just a fun night out! It comes in a variety of colors, such as black, blue, ivory, navy, and blush. We love how the variety of colors this dress comes in lets you dress it up with a more formal color like black, or even give it a more summery look by choosing the ivory or light blue color. It definitely makes it an easy dress to wear to so many different social occasions...or maybe even on stage at a pageant like Miss Nebraska!

For this week, our Dress of the Week is Shail K. style KK3133L in honor of The Bachelor now being back on the air for Season 17! The Season Premiere aired on January 7th, and the second episode aired earlier this week on Monday, January 14th. This season, The Bachelor that all the ladies are vying for is Sean Lowe - a 29 year old entrepreneur from Dallas, TX.

We picked this gorgeous Shail K. gown as our Dress of the Week because Jackie Parr, one of the ladies on the show, wore the dress on the Season Premiere! Jackie, a 25 year old cosmetics consultant from Ormond Beach, FL, couldn't have looked more stunning as she met Sean for the first time. She must have left a lasting impression because in both the episodes so far, Sean gave her a rose! We can't wait to see what happens in the coming episodes!

Shail K. style KK3133L is a hand beaded gown that fits like a glove and accentuates your curves. It has a sexy high front slit and comes in 3 colors: Bronze, Ivory/Silver, and Platinum. Jackie wore the Bronze color on The Bachelor.

Do you have a favorite on The Bachelor already? Leave a comment and let us know!

We're so happy and proud that our very own Miss USA, Olivia Culpo, was crowned Miss Universe 2012 this past Wednesday (Dec 19th)! She looked so incredibly beautiful, and we can't believe that the USA finally has the crown again after 15 years! Olivia beat out 88 competitors to take the crown!

Olivia is 20 years old and is currently a sophmore at Boston University. It's so impressive that she's juggling college while competing in such difficult pageants - really shows you what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it!

During the preliminaries, when Olivia was named one of the final 16 contestants, she donned a purple Sherri Hill  bandage mini-dress (style 2932). During the final competition night on Wednesday, Olivia wore a tight navy blue mini-dress with a sequin bodice on stage for the event's opening number. For the swimsuit portion of the competition, she wore a purple and blue bikini. At the end of the event, she looked gorgeous in a wintery red velvet gown with a plunging neckline.

There were also so many other beautiful ladies and dresses at the event - it must of been hard to be a judge and pick the winner! A lot of the women were wearing some of our favorite dress designers - Sherri Hill, Mac Duggal, and Tony Bowls! Check out some of the dresses below.

The contestants all looked so pretty when they were wearing the Sherri Hill bandage dresses at the preliminaries. You can see Miss USA all the way to the left in her purple dress.

A lot of the contestants were wearing Mac Duggal dresses! Below are some of the contestants in their beautiful MacDuggal gowns - clockwise from top left: Costa Rica, Nazareth Cascante; Great Britain, Holly Hale; Jamaica, Chantal Zaky; Slovak Republic, Lubica Stepanova; Peru, Nicole Faveron; Ghana, Gifty Ofori.

Miss Tanzania, Winfrida Dominic (left); Miss New Zealand, Talia Bennet (middle); and Miss Ghanna, Gifty Ofori (right), all looked gorgeous in Tony Bowls dresses!

Are you excited that Miss USA won, or were you rooting for another contestant? Leave us a comment below and let us know!