![]() He's been in the business 30 years, and he says there are lots of people making money in the beauty pageant industry.ĭUNN: First off, you have the event itself. We've made our livelihood in it for many, many years. USA is $995.ĬARL DUNN: It's a big business. Hair salons and gyms give her money to promote their products. She works a part-time job just to be able to compete in pageants. She's getting her masters of public health at the University of Maryland. SALINAS: Jessica won't tell me the price of the one she bought for the competition, but this is what some other dresses in the store cost:įERINO: This one is 1,427. ![]() It's been one of my favorite colors, the royal blue. This is the third time she's buying a pageant gown from the store.īERMUDEZ: It's beautiful. SALINAS: She knows the manager, Derek Ferino, very well. She's come to a boutique in Virginia specializing in pageants to pick the perfect gown. NPR's Brenda Salinas has our story.īRENDA SALINAS, BYLINE: This weekend, 24 women compete to be the next Miss District of Columbia USA. It's a big industry, and there's lots of money to be made - money for the organizers, the designers, the coaches - everyone, it seems, except for most of the contestants. Fifteen other organizations sponsor similar contests at the local, state and national level. Ten thousand women will compete in beauty pageants sponsored by Miss USA this year. It seems like the only thing all the contestants can expect is a hefty price tag. "You go in as prepared as you can, but you never go in expecting anything." ![]() "You always go in with high hopes," she says. "My personal message is to promote STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - so I think it's very well worth it."īermudez says she feels confident about her chances. "You get experience with public relations and getting your message out there," Bermudez says. But even if she doesn't win, she says competing in Miss D.C. judges to give her the crown, she'll win a cash price of about $1,000 and the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss USA next summer. Pageants also helped launch her professional pageant and image consulting company that she runs out of her basement studio. Mohamed says she won a scholarship that helps her pay for graduate school. "You can't get to Miss America or Miss Universe without doing it right, doing it all the way." "But I think, doing it right, I would definitely invest in the coaching, in the fitness trainer, in the makeup, in the outfit," she says. And then there's coaching, which can range from $40 to $300 per hour. That's just the clothes – not even the makeup. Pageant, $200 for an interview outfit, including accessories, shoes that whole thing, and $50 to $300 on a great swimsuit," Mohamed says. "If you're doing it right, you would have to spend at least $500 to $2,000 on a gown for a U.S.A. She says if you want to compete seriously, you need to be prepared. Victory Mohamed, the current Miss Baltimore and third runner up in this year's Miss Maryland America competition, works as a pageant coach. "Then behind that, you do have the designers, makeup artists, trainers, facilitators, possible sponsors." "First of all, you have the event itself, that's what you're looking at," Dunn says. She uses the money she earns working part-time at as a technical project manager at the National Institutes of Health to pay her way through the pageantry world.īermudez also gets sponsored by local businesses in exchange for promoting their products, and she spends a lot of time fundraising.Ĭarl Dunn, CEO of Pageantry magazine, says pageants are big business. ![]() If you thought Bermudez's parents are signing the check, you'd be wrong. The price tag: $3,000.īermudez, 24, won't say how much she paid for the dress she eventually chose, but Deja Vu's evening gowns start at $700. Store manager Derek Ferino pulled out a gown for Bermudez to try on - a floor-length royal blue number with rhinestones on the front. boutique specializing in pageant gowns, the price tags were as dazzling as the dresses. When competitor and graduate student Jessica Bermudez went to Deja Vu, an Alexandria, Va. Twenty-four women are in the running to become the latest Miss District of Columbia USA. From the organizers, designers and coaches, lots of people make money - except the contestants. That organization is just one of more than 15 small circuits, each with its own local, state and national competitions. Ten-thousand women will compete in a Miss USA-sponsored pageant this year. Miss America's walk might look effortless, but her road to success probably cost more than you think.
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