I
often refer to my pageant friends as my “sash sisters”, we are part of a global
pageant family and although we don’t share the same blood, we share the same
passion for competing and making a difference in our lives and others. All that
changed when my little niece followed in my footsteps to compete in a local
pageant, where she walked away with the crown and like the proud pageant auntie
I had inspired my little niece to take the big leap into a world of sparkles
and worldwide friends. I interviewed a few pageant competitors who had kept the
pageantry in the family, from mothers and daughters, to sons and grandparents! Here
are their stories:
Keziah
and Rachel Excell
For
the regulars on the pageant scene, you cannot miss Rachel and Kez when they
walk into a pageant for rehearsal! They instantly brighten up the room, their
laughs are infectious and they genuinely enjoy competing together! Keziah was the first to compete out of the mother/daughter
duo to build up her confidence after being bullied and wanting to be a model.
After her first pageant she felt very nervous and underprepared, and eventually
asked her mother if she could compete with her and the rest is history!
“After a
few kez still had lots of nerves and she asked if I would do the next with her,
which I did and she was so much more relaxed and it was such fun and it brought
us closer together. If I had to pick one pageant memory that stood out amongst
the rest it had to be a teenie one we did. I wasn't entered but somehow I got
roped into doing it. Kez also brought extra dresses. But then outfit of choice
came along and all I had was the outfit I came in which was a white shorts
playsuit, I used that along with keziahs black boots and a white fluffy head
piece which looked strange but hey it’s all about the fun, I hadn't chosen a
song for me to walk to, I left it to the directors to do and I'm known for
being a joker so I get up to "I like big Butts" So me being me decide
it's a good idea to spend the 90 seconds twerking around the stage, it went
down so well that one of the judges and the compère jumped on the stage and
joined me, Keziahs face was a picture of both horrified and omg that's my mum I
love her look”.
Rachel
also entered her disabled son to enter pageants, “it was one of the most
important days of my life, my son who is now almost 20 has never once stepped
on a stage, he has been at special needs school almost all his life and still
goes there and he refused to do any plays as he couldn't cope with everyone
watching him, so for him to even enter the building was amazing in itself but
even though he only lasted about 30 seconds he did it”. They have raised so
much money and met so many different people on the pageant journey, and they
won’t be stopping anytime soon! This pageant duo will be rocking the Miss
Galaxy finals next year, with Rachel entering the Ms and Keziah competing again
for Scotland.
Laura and
Erin White
Erin followed
in her mother’s footsteps after recently seeing an article about a mother and
daughter competing, and Laura telling her about her glitzy pageant past. Laura,
a past finalist for Miss United Kingdom back in 1989 as well as Mrs England
1992, was thrilled that Erin would be passed down the sparkling tiara and carry
on the pageant tradition in the family. “Erin’s dad who was my boyfriend back
when we married in 1992 when I was competing, so he gets to go through it all
again with his daughter this time! It’s very different and harder work than
when I was competing. There was no involvement in fundraising or making appearances
before a contest, which were just called beauty Contests then! We all had
permed frizzy hair, our bathing suits were hitched up far too high and we all
wore too much blue eyeliner, spray tans hadn’t been invented then!”
Erin
entered pageants for confidence which was also why Laura competed in the 80’s, “I’ve
seen Erin grow from a pretty but gawky teen into a beautiful young woman who
has self-confidence and a belief in doing the right thing. I think it’s better
now pageant wise because the girls are much more involved with the organization
and work really hard before the pageant. It teaches the girls that hard work, commitment
and dedication which are essential life skills for their future”. Erin has competed in both Miss Junior Teen GB
and Miss teen Galaxy Wales, coming second runner up in the 2016 competition as
well as grabbing the Miss Congeniality title which to celebrate Erin bough the
DVD and it now their favorite film (it really is the best pageant DVD out
there!). “Last year Erin raised nearly £1000 for Together for Short Lives and
is hoping to top that this year, she’s a finalist again in Miss Junior Great Britain
again and think’s it’s important to remain loyal to one pageant organizer so
she can give 100 per cent”. Laura is everything a pageant mum should be,
helping her fundraise, taking her to various events and sharing the pageant
journey which has made their bond closer as mother and daughter. Good luck for
the finals Erin!
Laura and
Katie Simpson
Up north
in Scotland we have the dynamic due of Laura and Katie, who entered pageants first
of all as a progression from dancing as Katie is a freestyle dancer who regularly
competes in dance competitions. “I’ve always been behind the scenes as Katie
has done 5 pageants, eventually I got roped into it but I have to say it was a
lot of fun! Winning the sexiest contestant was like what! I had a chuckle! I
won my first pageant of Ms Inverness and Katie came runner up in the junior division,
she also places second in Little Miss British Empire in 2015. Doing this experience has given us a strong
relationship, we do so much together and are always on the road with her dance competitions
so this is something we can do together!”. Katie added, “I was really excited
for my mum, I knew she would go out and smash it. Mama is my biggest supporter
in everything I do and I love her to bits”.
From competing in pageants Katie has signed up to two modeling agencies,
as well as having her pageant mama showing everyone where she got her sass
from!
It wasn’t until Natasha entered her first pageant that
she found out that her grandma was a former Miss England herself! Lyn won the
title back in 1978 back when the swimwear was the crowning attire. Natasha
entered a Miss England heat in Devon and came top 12, as well as competing in
Miss Earth England which she hopes to do again this year! “My best pageant moment was at miss earth England, and learning more
things about being able to spread my eco message and to inspire other girls who
were frightened when they were at the finals. My nan is a great supporter and
thinks it’s great that even though I am in the army I can be myself and compete”.
There are many more Mother/Daughter combos, like Kristy
and Daisy Fletcher who have both graced the Galaxy International stages and Kristy
recently winning the Mrs World UK title (congrats) as well as the dynamic duo
of Misha and Kasha Grimes who have flown to South Africa and Vegas to compete
Internationally. A pageant journey shared is a pageant journey worth
completing! Stay sparkling!
Hannah Golding
Catwalk Perfect Wiltshire
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