Now that I have covered the Miss Teen USA gowns, let’s switch gears and cover its sister pageant: Miss USA. As promised, I am going to give my opinions on each of the gowns. I shouldn’t have waited so long to do this (thanks, my inner lazy bones), but it’s time.
Like for Miss Teen USA, all of the Miss USA contestants had to wear Sherri Hill gowns (because that’s part of business now, apparently). While I wish they had more choices on the designer they could wear, it is what it is. I have to judge based on what I see. And based on what I see, here are the good gowns, bad gowns, and copycat gowns.
Good Gowns:
Macy Christianson- North Dakota
My oh my! The blue color, style, and overall presentation is stunning! The shine from the sequins really catches my eye, and this gown tickles my fancy without being over the top. It may be a typical gown to some people, but typical isn’t always a bad thing, is it? Okay, but from my eyes, I love this gown! I say that and I stand by that.
Julia Van Steenberghe- Maine
Another blue gown I love, the vine print does it for me! I love the blend of the sparkles and the solid blue background color. The gown left a memorable impression on me, and it’s really “blue-tiful” (pun intended) in my opinion. Beautiful, beautiful presentation!
Sabrina Victor- Massachusetts
This gown shines so bright! It’s very beautiful, from the top all the way to the bottom. The combination of the orange color and glimmer makes for a stand-out gown among a sea of contestants. Though sometimes, it’s the color choice alone that makes a gown memorable. Especially since orange is not an extremely common color in pageant gowns, Sabrina’s gown is refreshing for sure!
Victoria Piekut- Pennsylvania
My favorite part about this gown are the tints of red. I love the tints of red in this gown! I feel that if it was solely beige, it would’ve been forgettable. But the red and beige truly balance out here. I love this gown, because two colors complement each other, which is not something I see all the time. The red drape accented the gown too.
Hayden Brax- Kansas
Maybe the cape part wasn’t necessary, but the gown itself is beautiful! I know that this is the third blue gown I’ve highlighted, but it looks like something I would wear on a special occasion. The light blue color, jewelry, style, and glam slightly remind me of a princess (or queen if we’re talking pageant terminology).
Now since this is the end of the “good” section, let’s hop over to the “bad” section to cancel it out. Starting with…
Bad Gowns:
Rachel Slawson- Utah
Rachel, I get that you didn’t want to wear a gown. But this isn’t Miss America 2.0, sweetie. Your outfit wasn’t hideous, but you really thought you were doing something here. This would’ve been a nice outfit for the Interview round, but for the Evening Gown round? Ehh… no.
Allyshia Gupta- California
It’s not a highly flattering gown. The top and skirt parts do not go together. Plus, it looks cheap. It’s like someone found some red fabric lying around in their closet and chose to make that gown. A more attractive gown would’ve made a better impact on Allyshia.
Susie Shannah Weller- Vermont
I’ve never been a fan of gowns in that style. The purple color is nice, but the whole thing looks too teen-ish from my perspective. And I don’t even like those kinds of gowns on the teens either. It’s just not a beautiful gown style (at least to me).
Katerina Villegas- Oregon
This gown would’ve been fine if the bottom part was uniform with the top. I don’t know who said it was a good idea to cut off the bottom part and put some white skirt on it. That gown is the outcome of what happens if you try too hard to be different.
Victoria Olona- Nevada
Oh, how this gown looks like your typical on-the-rack prom gown. Okay, it’s the skirt part that lowers the value of the gown. It makes the whole thing look more like a parachute than anything else. Again, there should’ve been coordination with this gown. Also, stop using that white material for the skirt. It cheapens the value of the dress.
Okay, let me stop venting about that. How about I vent about the copycat gowns, shall we? Mind you, there are more of the actual duplicates this time. I want to get into them, so let’s go!
Copycat Gowns:
Mariah Clayton- Louisiana (reminiscent of Alyssa Klinzing’s gown from Miss USA 2019)
Did you think I was lying when I said that there were more copycat gowns coming? Well, I never was. And when I saw an Instagram post showing that Mariah’s gown was the exact same one Alyssa wore the previous year, I couldn’t believe it. Why do these girls have to wear some of the exact same gowns? Oh my word.
Samantha Neyland- Hawaii (reminiscent of Samantha Redding’s gown from Miss USA 2019)
Here’s something even more funny. How is it that two women with the exact same name end up wearing the exact same gown style? This is from two different years, but I realized that both of them had the same first name. Only difference is that Samantha N. wore a purple version of the gown, while Samantha R. wore a white version a year and a half prior. Such a coincidence, right?
Chelsea Demby- Connecticut (reminiscent of Alice Magoto’s gown from Miss USA 2019)
Hey, notice that the original copycat gowns I’ve mentioned so far were all worn back at the last Miss USA competition? That’s how PROMINENT it is. Although there is a noticeable difference on the skirt part between these two gowns, it’s still similar enough to deem Chelsea’s gown as an altered duplicate. Now hear me out. Having to wear the same gowns from previous pageants is not the fault of the girls, but rather the fault of the Sherri Hill requirement. And while I love some of Sherri Hill’s gowns, it’s not fair for the girls to be restricted on which designer they can wear.
Alyssa Beasley- Georgia (reminiscent of Alexandra Miller’s gown from Miss USA 2016)
Now Alyssa’s gown was worn a few years back, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is still the exact same gown. Sherri Hill designs really are recycled over the years, huh? Mix it up, please!
(And yes, there was a Miss 52 USA. Alexandra was selected to be the 52nd representative via fan vote in 2016. There had never been a 52nd representative beforehand, and there has not been a 52nd representative since then. Fun Fact: She was runner-up to Olivia Jordan at Miss Oklahoma USA 2015, who ultimately won Miss USA 2015.)
Hannah Carlile- Alaska (reminiscent of Erica Bonilla’s gown from Miss Teen USA 2019)
When I saw Hannah’s gown for the first time, I immediately thought back to the pink gown Erica wore at the last Miss Teen USA competition. While these two gowns aren’t exactly the same, the style and cape are similar enough to warrant a resemblance.
And a quick shout out to the winner!
Asya Branch from Mississippi won the Miss USA 2020 pageant! I saw the whole pageant, and I’m glad she won! This is the first time Mississippi has won the title, and I’m happy that a different state won this year. I look forward to seeing how her reign goes!
And that concludes the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA evening gown coverage for this year, folks! I’m glad that I shared my take on them, and while this is all for now, be on the lookout for more evening gown coverage in the future (including more pageant gowns)!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT! Read my take on the the Miss Teen USA 2020 gowns here: miss-teen-usa-2020-gowns-the-good-the-bad-and-the-copycats
