Pageant Prep and Packing Tips
As we head into these last months before the pageant, I want to give you some helpful hints for pageant weekend. I wrote the blog below after the Mrs. International competition this summer, but I would like to share it with you now as well as gives you some tips specifically for our state competition.
State competition:
Prepare as much as you can for every aspect of competition. Think about everything from the introductions to each area of competition and through the end of the evening. I really encourage you to practice each part often so your body knows the muscle memory of poses and walks and you can enjoy the spotlight and the entire weekend!
Interview – 50% for Mrs. – practice your platform, know it inside and out, have a plan for your year and honestly – execute that plan no matter what the results of pageant weekend are!
Plan and try on each outfit you will wear complete with undergarments, jewelry and shoes. Pack everything but the dress/outfit together in a large zip lock bag and label it with the area of competition. That way you just need to grab that bag and you know you have everything you need giving you plenty of time to change and refresh between areas of competition so you can be calm, cool and collected.
Saturday:
Rehearsal outfit
Private Interview outfit
All shoes for competition
Comfortable tennis shoes or other comfortable shoes to save your feet
Sunday:
Comfortable tennis shoes or other comfortable shoes to save your feet
Rehearsal outfit
Fun Fashion (not Mrs.)
Opening number outfit (black or red)
On Stage Interview outfit
Fitness wear
Evening gown
Contract Signing outfit/Going home outfit
Pack as concisely as you can so you are organized over the weekend. You don’t need a million extra earrings or shoes, know what you are going to wear and throw in one ‘just in case’ pair and call it good. The adrenaline and nerves want to overtake us, so control and prepare for the things you can. I want you to be able to ENJOY the weekend, you will meet some of the most amazing women you have ever met you will become your best friends and greatest cheerleaders!
If something happens, your earring breaks, you get oil all over your evening gown right before you go out (yes, this was me), you can’t find your shoes, whatever happens, know that your sisters got you! We all have each other’s back and we will make it through together! Ask for help and we will be there for you in a heartbeat! I have seen the most kind, generous acts between competitors backstage. The North Dakota International Pageant sisterhood does not disappoint! Please ask, reach out to any of us, we are happy to share things we have learned, or others were kind enough to share with us to help you succeed.
If you would like to read on here are some more tips for packing for a successful pageant including tricks for saving your feet and staying in a hotel:
Some tips for Mrs. International Week
Another aspect of being prepared is packing for a successful week.
Start with your handbook, it gives you the schedule of the week including all events you will attend.
Spreadsheet – make a spreadsheet for your wardrobe, make columns for every event/outfit/undergarments/
TRY ON! It may seem like a pain but it will save you precious time at Mrs. International week. Try on every outfit you will wear including undergarments, jewelry, shoes and purse and then pack it all together in a large zip lock bag and label it with the day and event. If you need to hang the outfit in a garment bag put everything else in a ziplock bag and label both.
Clothing rack – you will need to purchase at least one basic clothing rack for more hanging space in your hotel room – the closet will NOT be enough for you and your roommate.
Command hooks – bring different sizes of these to use in the hotel room, to hang a long gown or a magnifying mirror in the bathroom. Also bring these to the theatre – we could’ve used these in the dressing room as there wasn’t ideal space for all of our gowns and outfits. It also would’ve helped when steaming gowns.
Steamer – a small one was very convenient as I brought it to the theatre with me for touch ups. I was lucky that my directors had a full sized one to use for bigger jobs. I steamed everything before I left so we only had to touch up.
More zip lock bags – I used different sizes of these for other items, such as tanning supplies, hair products, medications; this way nothing leaked and it helped me stay organized in a small hotel room packed with all of your and your roommate’s stuff…there is a lot of STUFF!
More tips....
Stay with another contestant at the International level – part of the fun pageant week experience! No one else understands the weird things we have to do to get ready and keep ourselves going, not to mention someone who can zip you up before you go out the door, like another contestant!
EAT and DRINK WATER!!! We had one contestant that was hospitalized for dehydration and had to miss most of one day. Drink a bottle of water every chance you get! Eat every time they feed you and bring snacks – especially protein to carry you through the long days! Your weight is not going to change this week, you need energy or you won’t make it to the end. This is not a sprint, it is more like a really weird iron man marathon.
Your feet – oh those poor feet. Tip from my predecessor Laura Schmidt, wrap your feet! Bring KT tape, moleskin, arch support, some different options as the week and different shoes will wear on you. Check your shoes before you go and prepare them with moleskin or know where they hurt your feet and have products with you. Amazon has anything you can imagine to make your feet more comfortable, But the best advice was to just start wrapping your feet right away every morning BEFORE they get sores and blisters. I wrapped my feet with KT tape every morning and also had a couple of pairs of shoes that were a little shorter heels (like 3-4 inch instead of 6 inch) and I made it through every day without having to take off my shoes or dying in my heels. My feet were tired, but never painful thanks to the advice of my sister queen.
The are also things like clear shoe straps to help your shoes stay tightly strapped to your feet helping you walk with ease, and tiger balm to take away the pain if those preventive measures aren’t working. Try on those shoes, walk in them for at least 10 minutes and find out what you need to make your feet happy!
When it’s your turn, prepare the best you can, show your North Dakota grit and give it your all! If you don’t win you won’t regret your hard work, you will know you did everything you could and held nothing back and that truly is all you can do in the pageant and in life.
Let your light SHINE brightly,
Jessie Aamodt
Mrs. North Dakota International 2019
