Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Tips for Riding in a Parade

If your daughter has won a beauty pageant, she might very well be invited to ride in a parade. Some larger pageant systems have their own floats on which all the queens ride. Lots of other pageants don’t have their own float, so for these, you’ll probably have to ride in a convertible. Some pageant directors are good about providing convertibles, but others might not have access to convertibles. In that case, of course, you’ll have to find your own car.

Finding a convertible to ride in might not be an easy task. It’s a lot easier if you have a friend or family member with one. If you don’t, and if the pageant director can’t help you find one, ask around at local car dealerships. They might be willing to loan you a used convertible for the parade. Another option is to rent a car for the day of the parade.

If you have a toddler or young child scheduled to ride in the event, she’ll need some supervision, obviously. If it’s a float she’s riding on, you’ll probably want to be up there with her to keep her from falling or jumping off. But how would it look for you to be up there with the queens? A better idea is to have the miss queen be in charge of the child. This is how we’ve handled the situation, and it always worked out well.

If the child is riding in a convertible, place her on the trunk, with her legs hanging down in the back seat. You or another adult should sit in the back and hold her legs. That way, there’s no way she’s going anywhere! Remember that parades travel at a snail’s pace, so there’s really very little danger involved.

What to wear? Your pageant director will provide you with some guidelines. Some pageants want all the queens dressed in their pageant dresses, some want all the girls to be wearing the same color dresses, and some require special apparel like long gloves. Make sure you know before you go!

Watch the weather closely, too. If there’s a chance of rain, you might not want your new $2,000 glitz pageant dress exposed to water. If pageant dresses are required for the ride and rain is a possibility, wear a cheap pageant dress.

What if it’s cold? Pageant dresses aren’t made for cold weather. Most are either sleeveless or have short sleeves. If it’s cold outside the day of the parade, supply your daughter with a white faux-fur cape. This is very elegant looking, and it will keep her warm!

If you’re dealing with a younger girl, don’t go all out with her hair. Just have it neat, attractive, and SPRAYED!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Choosing a Pageant Coach

If you’re serious about competing in glitz pageants, you’ll probably need a pageant coach. Pageant coaches can teach your daughter how to walk correctly on stage, how to make eye contact with the judges, how to maintain a beautiful smile, and how to strike poses that will impress the judges. Many pageant coaches will also offer advice on dresses, hair, and/or makeup.

Most glitz pageants include events like casual wear, outfit of choice, swimwear, and/or costume wear. In most cases, a pageant coach can help you choose an outfit or at least give you feedback on outfits you’ve selected. She can also help your daughter learn a routine for these events.
As you can see, the pageant coach is an extremely important part of your pageant strategy. Glitz pageants are very competitive, so winning a big glitz pageant without a pageant coach would be difficult. But how do you choose the right pageant coach?

Anyone can claim to be a pageant coach, so you’ll have to do your homework to find a good one. One of the best ways to check out a pageant coach is to talk with her current or former students. Ask them if the coach is effective, if she’s reliable, and if her students win consistently. If your child is small, you might also want to find out how she works with younger girls. If you have a little girl who’s temperamental or shy and doesn’t respond to a pageant coach, you might want to find another teacher. She might be the most knowledgeable coach in the world, but if your child won’t work with her, you’re probably wasting your time and money.

If you don’t personally know any of the students of your potential pageant coach, find out where her girls will be competing. Attend the pageant and watch her students perform. How did they do? Were you impressed? Even more important, were the judges impressed?