When it comes to natural pageants for girls and teens, National American Miss (NAM), American Coed (Coed), and International Junior Miss (IJM) are popular choices for many families. My daughters and clients always rave about the quality of these contest systems when they enter them. Because these three contest systems have similar categories of competition, when you prepare for one, it’s easy to compete in the other two.

The 3 main areas of competition for state pageants are formal dress, personal appearance, and interview. Fun Fashion/Modeling is added as a fourth category of competition in the national IJM pageant.

Special tips for formal wear:

• Dresses must be long and touch the floor for all three pageants. Better a little too long than too short; but the contestant must be able to walk in the toga without stepping on it. Shoes must not be visible when standing.
• Make sure gowns have straps for girls ages 4-12. The 13-15 year old age groups are a bit tricky. You will see strapless and strapless dresses on girls in these age groups. Here’s a question to ask yourself when looking for a Jr. Teen dress. When you’re wearing the dress, do you look older than 15? It is better to be conservative. If he could pass for an 18 year old in the dress, he’s too mature. Add straps. In the teen divisions, strapless dresses are perfectly acceptable.
• Make sure the skirt isn’t too full or puffy. The judges want to see your daughter. If the dress is too wide or too ruched, it will shorten the contestant’s height on stage and draw attention away from the girl. There’s a fine line between making a statement with your dress and being too much. You’ll start to see straighter skirts and mermaid styles at Teens in COED; and on Jr. Teens and Teens in NAM and IJM. Slit skirts are not common for teenagers in these three pageant systems; however, you will occasionally see one. It all depends on how elegant the style of dress is. Again, I think it’s best to be conservative and opt for no cuts. A high slit is never appropriate in these three contests.
• Solid color dresses with tasteful embellishments tend to score better in these systems. If you think about the colors of sherbet ice cream flavors, you’ll get a pretty good idea of ​​the color palette you’ll see on stage. And of course, you will always see white.

Special Tips for Personal Presentation and Interview:

• Mixed presentations should not be longer than 20 seconds. Points will be deducted if you exceed the time limit. In NAM and IJM, 30 seconds is a guideline and you can increase it to 40 seconds. The focus here is not on how long it is but on delivery. The introduction must catch the judge’s attention within the first 7 seconds. Thinking about how TV commercials are made will help you write your introduction. The line is very fine between showing your personality and being over the top. You want people to be attracted to your true self and personality.
• For the interview, all contestants must wear closed-toe nude shoes and pantyhose. Children need to buy nude color dance character shoes. Your best bet is to order them online at a discount dance store because you won’t find them in the department store shoes. Capezio is a new trusted brand.
• A solid color interview suit with minimal stones or rhinestones is your best option with the hem slightly above the knee. Mid-thigh is too short. It should fit snugly against your contour without being too tight, especially at the bottom. If your butt looks like a capital D on your skirt, it’s too tight. Most children’s suits are custom-made because they are not easily found in stores.

Special General Tips:

• No makeup on girls 12 and under. Don’t even put sparkly clear gloss on her lips. Makeup for older age categories must be age appropriate.
• No tight curls or party hairstyles. They like the hair to look natural in these systems. Natural doesn’t mean staying straight, although some injured girls can pull off that look. Loose hair with lift at the roots and soft body at the ends is the ideal style. Hair must be off the contestant’s face. If you have bangs, gently sweep them to the side or lift them off your forehead. Bangs will cast a shadow over your eyes and face and the judges will not see those features.
• The clothing style for the fun fashion and casual wear modeling competitions is real clothing, NOT fancy dress or ostentatious clothing. You’ll see high-low dresses, jeggings with cute tops, and a variety of clothes that express the personalities of the contestants. Avoid denim. Show your fashion sense by adding accessories and personalizing your outfit, but don’t cross the line into vulgar.