The 95 Annual Miss America pageant was a night to remember, from the various competitions of the pageant, to seeing gorgeous Sherri Hill dresses on the runway, to the moment of truth: seeing Miss Georgia, Betty Cantrell being crowned... in a Panoply gown! As usual, all of the contestants wowed the crowd, but Betty took it to a whole new level and is our new Miss America 2016. Her opera performance showed off her unique and wonderful talent, and her thoughtful response when asked about the Tom Brady scandal showed just how up-to-date she is on current events.
Now that we have a new Miss America, it's time to learn more about her! E! Online recently got the scoop on our new pageant queen and put together 5 must-know things about her. Check them out below! Continue reading
pageant queen
-
Miss America 2016: Miss Georgia, Betty Cantrell!
-
Sherri Hill Named Official Gown Sponsor For Miss America Organization
Our favorite dress designers are taking over the Miss America pageant left and right! Just last year, we had announced that Tony Bowls was the Official Evening Gown Sponsor for Miss America 2015. Well, we have a new surprise for the Miss America 2016 Pageant: organizers of the competition recently announced that Sherri Hill will be the event's official gown sponsor!
The designer's dresses will be featured during the live broadcast of the 95th Annual Miss America Competition in Rissy Roo's very own hometown of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 2016 Miss America Competition will air on Sunday, September 13, on ABC-TV, so make sure not to miss out. Amongst getting to wear the crown and represent Miss America in various ways for an entire year, this year's winner will also wear Sherri Hill dresses to the various events and public appearances she attends throughout the year. Rocking Sherri Hill is definitely a perfect way to compliment any crown. Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantesev, certainly rocks Sherri Hill perfectly in the photo below, even without her crown on! Continue reading
-
Olivia Jordan is Our Miss USA 2015!
We love our pageants at Rissy Roo's, and one of the biggest pageants out there was held this past Sunday night (June 13, 2015): the Miss USA 2015 pageant! At the event, Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez passed on her crown to Olivia Jordan, formerly Miss Oklahoma, to be crowned the new Miss USA 2015! While all of the contestants were beautiful (especially in their Sherri Hill and Mac Duggal dresses!) and gifted, the the Oklahoma native truly did stand out in the from the 50 other women vying for the crown. After all, could you blame the judges for picking her just based off of the beautiful pink gown she wore, alone?!
Watch the big moment as Olivia is announced Miss USA 2015 and crowned:
https://youtu.be/0XIVgEhrhRI
So beautiful!! Olivia is 26 years old and is no newbie when it comes to winning pageants or showing off for the camera. She is a model and the 2013 winner of the Miss World America contest. She was followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra, second runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada Brittany McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mamé Adjei. All gorgeous ladies! Continue reading
-
Miss Universe 2014: Miss Columbia, Paulina Vega!
All of the hard work of the Miss Universe 2014 contestants finally came to an end this past Sunday, and our new Miss Universe has officially be crowned! Out of contestants from over 80 countries, one pageant queen was chosen: Miss Columbia Paulina Vega! Congrats, Paulina! Last year, Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler, took the Miss Universe crown, so for the second year in a row, the crown is being worn by a Latina.
This year's Miss Universe pageant was held in our home turf, in the USA (Miami, FL to be exact!). And, that's our very own Miss USA, Nia Sanchez, all the way to the right in the picture above. We were, of course, rooting for her, and she made it all the way to be the first runner-up! The second runner-up was Miss Ukraine, Diana Harkusha, pictured in the middle above.But, all eyes were on Paulina for good reason. Donald Trump, who owns the pageant, said that many thought that Paulina would be the Miss Universe Pageant Queen a few weeks ago when all of the contestants first arrived in Miami. Trump said, "from the minute she walked into the building, people said, 'She's a star.'" Trump and everyone else was definitely correct!
Paulina is a 22-year-old student of business administration from Barranquilla, Columbia. You could tell that she definitely has the poise of a business woman from the question and answer portion of the pageant! Professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek asked her what women could learn from men. She answered strongly and confidently that women can learn equality from men. Watch her response here (at the 4:15 mark):
Of course, our favorite part of the entire pageant were the gowns, though! Miss Columbia looked absolutely gorgeous in her sparkly silver deep v-neck gown. This is hands-down a look that's perfect for prom! For a sparkly look like Paulina's, go with BG Haute E01017.
It's a glamorously sexy full-length gown that features a deep v-neckline, beaded and sequined shoulder straps, a sultry open back with intersecting strap overplay, and a fitted bodice with a seductive side slit. It's a classic look with just the right amount of glam!
Did you love watching Miss Universe 2014? Who was your choice to win? Leave a comment below!
Sources: Yahoo! News, AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
-
Miss America 2015: Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev!
We've kept you posted on the Miss America 2015 competition for a couple of months now because one of our favorite designers, Tony Bowls, is the exclusive evening gown sponsor of the event...and the wonderful pageant has officially come to an end as of last night! We're very excited to announce that Miss America 2015 is Kira Kazantsev of New York!
Does something about that statement sound familiar? It's because this is the third year in a row that Miss New York took the Miss America crown...that's right, this is a threepeat! Last year, Nina Davuluri took the Miss America 2014 crown, and she must have been very happy to pass it down to her fellow New Yorker, Kira, last night. That's not all, though...even Miss America 2013 was from New York, Mallory Hytes Hagan!
While Kira is our new Miss America, all of the girls looked stunning... especially in their Tony Bowls dresses! The first runner up is Courtney Garrett, Miss Virginia, the second runner up was Ashton Campbell, Miss Arkansas, the third runner up was Victoria Cowen, Miss Florida, and the fourth runner up was Lauren Kuhn, Miss Massachusetts.
Kira's got the smarts and talent all rolled up into one - she's a vocalist, and is a future law student, having been accepted to Fordham's law school. For her talent portion, Kira surprised everyone by singing Pharrell Williams' "Happy" while sitting cross-legged on stage and banging a red plastic cup on the floor! And, she named combatting sexual assault in the military as the issue which she would want female U.S. Senators to press their male counterparts. She clearly has a very unique mind, very deserving of the Miss America crown!
Kira was crowned in a stunning backless Tony Bowls couture white long sleeved gown. She looked so elegant and graceful in it! If you want her look for Prom, or Homecoming, go with Tony Bowls Evenings TBE11457, a long sleeve jersey slim-fitting gown with beaded triangle bodice inset, beaded center front, softly gathered front bodice, beaded cuffs, open back with cowl drape, and a skirt with a flared back and train.
Are you happy to see that Miss New York took the crown again? Leave a comment and let us know!
Source: USA Today
-
Nia Sanchez is Our Miss USA 2014!
This past Sunday night (June 8, 2014), Miss USA 2013 Erin Brady passed on her crown to Nia Sanchez, formerly Miss Nevada, to be crowned the new Miss USA 2014! While all of the contestants were incredible, the Las Vegas 24-year-old wowed the judges and audience through all 3 rounds of the competition: Swimsuit, Evening Gown, and Interview. If you missed the event, you can watch Nia getting crowned here:
http://youtu.be/7A6THtyHqOo
As Miss USA 2014, she is now the 63rd Miss USA, and there is so much to know about this amazing girl. So, we loved that Parade Magazine simplified it for us with their "5 Things to Know about Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez." Check it out below!
5 Things to Know about Miss USA 2014, Nia Sanchez, from Parade Magazine:
1. She has a black belt in Tae Kwan Do
Nia is one badass girl! The Nevada native is a fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do. Nia To E!, "I started training when I was 8, and I started teaching when I was 12, and I was a certified instructor when I was 15. It's a good workout. It's a full body workout. I never get more tired working out than when I'm at the studio." And, she sure looks good doing it!
In the final round of the competition, Nia even related it back to learning Tae Kwan Do. When asked about the issue of sexual assault on campus, she explained the importance of self defense for women. She said, "More awareness [of the issue] is very important so that women can learn to protect themselves...I learned from a young age that you need to be confident and able to defend yourself, and I think that's something that we should really start to implement for a lot of women." We couldn't agree more!
2. She's a Disney Princess!
Aside from wearing the Miss Nevada and now the Miss USA crowns, Nia has worked as a Disney Princess at Hong Kong Disney. Parade said that while there, she spent time dressing up as Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Belle, and Snow White. Check her out as Belle from Beauty and the Beast below!
3. She loves to travel
Nia began as an international traveler when she finished high school and moved to Europe to be a nanny. Since then, she has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as Miss Nevada. You can follow her on Instagram to see all of the amazing places she's been!
4. She is half Mexican
According to her bio on the Miss USA website, Nia is half Mexican and loves to travel to Mexico on mission trips.
5. She had a tough upbringing
When she was 6 years old, Nia and her mother lived in a women's shelter. The experience has taught her the importance of giving back, and she how works in a shelter. She said, "I can really relate to the women on a personal level because I've been there and I've been through those experiences."
We can't wait to see what our new Miss USA does in her year-long reign! And, we definitely cannot wait for her to compete in Miss Universe 2014 later this year!
Source: Parade.com
-
Miss Universe 2013: Miss Venezuela, Gabriela Isler!
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!
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
-
Miss America 2014: Miss New York, Nina Davuluri!
After all of the preliminaries, and of course the Show Us Your Shoes parade, the Miss America 2014 pageant finally came to an end on Sunday night, September 15th, in Atlantic City, NJ. We're so exited to announce that Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, is your new Miss America!
At around 10:40 last night, the pageant dwindled down to only 5 contestants: Miss Oklahoma Kelsey Griswold, Miss Minnesota Rebecca Yeh, Miss California Crystal Lee, Miss New York Nina Davuluri, and Miss Florida Myrrhanda Jones. One of the most interesting parts of the pageant is always the interview portion, and that's what the Top 5 Contestants competed in before the final winner was chosen. All the contestants were given difficult questions, from celebrities to politics, and gave us some great insight into their beliefs.
Miss New York's question was: "Julie Chen had plastic surgery to appear less Asian. What do you think of her decision?" Nina said she opposes plastic surgery, but added, "I've always viewed Miss America as the girl next door and the girl next door is evolving." Such a great answer, and with Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, showing off her tattoo so prominently this year, it couldn't be more true.
The final results for the Runner-Up spots ended up being: Miss Minnesota taking Fourth Runner-Up, Miss Florida taking Third Runner-Up, Miss Oklahoma taking Second Runner-Up, and Miss California taking the spot as First Runner-up.
Some other highlights from the pageant we loved: Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, so proudly and confidently wearing a knee brace on stage. We especially love that the knee brace was bedazzled! Myrrhanda ended up hurting her knee during rehearsals for the pageant's last night of preliminary competition, and instead of calling it quits, she put on the brace and continued on to become the Third Runner-up! Such persistence!
We also loved Miss America 2013's farewell note that was posted on the official Miss America Organization Facebook page. She wrote, "Signing off, guys... Love you! -Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan," and posted the above image. Too cute!
And, you have to love that Miss New York has now been crowned Miss America for two consecutive years! Former Miss New York and Miss America 2013 must have been very proud to hand over the crown to Miss New York in this year's pageant. Nina is also the first contestant of Indian heritage to win the Miss America pageant.
Congrats, Nina! We're so exited to welcome you as our Miss America 2014, and cannot wait to follow your happenings and experiences over the coming year!
Source: Associated Press, ABC