Last night were the Finals of the 62nd annual Miss USA pageant. The winner was the beautiful 25-year-old 5' 8" tall Erin Brady "Miss Connecticut USA". She beat out 50 other lovely women representing all the United States plus the District of Columbia for the coveted title. Erin is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a degree in Finance and a minor in Criminal Justice and according to her Miss USA bio, she would like to pursue an MBA in the near future.


Also, according to her bio, she is a Financial Accountant, well up until last night. Now, she will spend a year traveling around the country as Miss USA 2013, and calling a NYC apartment home. She will also represent USA in the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which announced last night--will take place in November in Moscow Russia.

As you might have read in my last few postings here on my blog,  it's "Miss USA" time again and that means one thing: Pageant Gowns! The all-important Preliminary Competition occurred this past Wednesday night at PH Live Theater in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas--site of the Finals on Sunday night. In my last post, I discussed my Favorites in Evening Gown (Miss Minnesota USA, Miss Texas USA, and so on) and now it's time to discuss "The Others". Normally, this is the "Oh Dear!" post. However, I have to admit, there weren't that many "Oh Dear's!" this year. This is a good thing and could signify that these pageant girls--and their style handlers--are getting a little more conscious of what defines A MESS. But for some pageant watchers (the catty ones!) it's also a semi-bad thing, since there's not much to wreck, as it were. So, with that in mind, I decided to break down the girls who STILL love a Good Slit, the "Blue Belles" (the color blue was a trend) as well as "Lipstick Ladies" (red gowns) and finally, the Pageant Betty's; contestants whose gowns were a bit of a throw-back to the 1990s. So, let's get to it:
Show Some Leg: (Left to right) Miss Alaska USA, Miss Florida USA, Miss California USA, Miss Nevada USA--these ladies (among others) love a good slit in their gowns. The slit is a very popular detail in Pageant Gowns and has been for years. I also love a good slit and have designed many a NIKOLAKI gown with them. They've even now "invaded" the red carpet with the likes of Angelina Jolie showing what a slit can do! But sometimes, the pageant girls take a slit to new heights (like waaaay up there!). And this is where you might go into "Oh Dear!" territory. The contestants above did just fine, with all their slits, thank you very much. Now, here are two ladies who took the slit to new heights on Wednesday night---First, Miss North Carolina USA Ashley Mills...

This last Wednesday was the Miss USA 2013 Preliminary Competition (Full Video at the end of this post, in case you missed it!). This is the pre-final contest in which a separate set of judges get to pick who the semi-finalists are for Sunday night's final Miss USA 2013 pageant...

The 51 contestants--representing all the 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia--competed in Swimsuit and Evening Gown. Some of the evening gowns the contestants wore were the same as the ones I wrote about when I reviewed the "Miss USA Website Photos", but some were different (as expected). So, let's take a look at my "Nick Top Favorites" of the Preliminary Evening Gown Competition:

In my last SASHES AND TIARAS post, I discussed my Faves from the Miss USA 2013 Website Evening Gown "Portraits" that were released last week prior to the upcoming Preliminaries (this Wednesday!) and Finals on June 16th. Now, as we know (if you are a Beauty Pageant aficionado--or a Missosologist, the term for a "Pageant Follower"), these evening gowns in the Miss USA 2013 Website Portraits may or may not be the actual gowns the contestants wear during the all-important Preliminary Competition as well as the Finals once they get chosen as a Semi-Finalist.


A lot of times, the girls "bust out" with a new "Super Duper" gown that they have secretly held in the back of their closet just for that moment. But, at the same time, many will just wear the same gowns worn in these portraits, whether they should or not...Anyhow, without further ado, here is my Part Two Miss USA 2013 Evening Gown Website Photos Review--

The Miss USA 2013 beauty pageant is happening as I type this blog. The Finals are one week away, on Sunday June 16th and being held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. As always, the Finals will be televised  LIVE on NBC.


As you may know, I LOVE ME a Beauty pageant--and more importantly, beauty pageant gowns; this seems to be a popular subject, especially here on my NICKVERREOS.COM blog. The 51 contestants have been in Las Vegas for the past two weeks and recently, the Miss USA 2013 website photos were released, including the ever-important Evening Gown photos. So, naturally, it's time to review...First up, I want to discuss my favorites of the bunch...