Pageant girls know that packing for a pageant is no simple task. There are so many things you have to remember! In this episode, I’m going to break down the 7 steps of packing like a professional for your pageant, and I’ll give a few pro tips to make it even easier. Every time we make a decision, we have to use a little piece of energy and willpower. The more decisions we make, the more energy we lose.
You may have already heard episode 22: The Girl with the Most Energy Wins when everyone’s beautiful and professional, winning comes down to stamina.
During your pageant week, you cannot afford to give up unnecessary energy on choosing which earrings to put with which shoes for which outfit. Or bothering with which outfit you meant for Thursday’s adventure vs. the Friday’s outing after interview. Too many decisions. But this stuff is important, you just need to take care of it before you leave for pageant week.
Here’s how…
1. Map out the number and style of outfits you’ll need for the week.
Like, how many cocktail dresses, gowns, rehearsal clothes do you actually need.
For example, maybe Monday evening is orientation so you’ll just need an arrival outfit and orientation outfit. Tuesday in the daytime you’ll do an appearance at a children’s hospital then that afternoon you’ll have rehearsal and that evening you’ll have a cocktail party – thats 3 outfits right there. Bring at least 1 extra cocktail dress, 1 extra rehearsal/appearance outfit, and 1 extra competition gown……these are only to be used as backup, not as options. Remember, the goal of this is to lessen our options.
2. Physically lay out the clothing and accessories you’ll need for each day.
My preference is to not re-wear accessories except for shoes try to re-wear those, but not all week, cuz your feet will be angry. But earrings and belts and stuff try to have a new one for each outfit. I’ll explain why later.
3. Try it all on.
Yes, I’m serious. I don’t want you to surprisingly forget that you need white underwear for those white shorts or something. Ok…try it all on – bras, jewelry, belts, shoes – everything – and update what you need to so that each outfit is fuss-free. If you have a fussy outfit that you have to always tuck in the hanger tags or keep pulling down the skirt or hick up the neckline don’t wear it. It will distract you and take up too much energy and focus away from your job.
4. Label your stuff.
You don’t want to mix up your Jonathan Kayne’s with someone else’s. And, for you to remember what you’re wearing for what. I would make a notecard for every outfit and describe what Im wearing for that day. Then, I’d put a return address label on every zip bag in case I took it to rehearsal to change or something.
5. Create zip bags for your outfits and accessories.
Pack in outfits a zip bag of jewelry, zip of shoes, zip of clothes —- my fav outfits are ones made of jersey material because they don’t wrinkle. Thats what I take when I travel to the east coast for a quick trip, I only take clothes that don’t need steamed so I don’t have to worry about it.
6. Hang everything together.
When you arrive, steam everything so its done and you aren’t rushed for time later. I like to keep my shoes and jewelry in the zipper bag labeled with the day of the week Im wearing it and the description of the outfit.
7. Hang worn clothes back up just in case.
You may have a snafu and have to re-wear the cocktail you wore at rehearsal on Monday to the dinner reception on Thursday or something. Or, the cocktail dress from Wednesday to sign autographs the day after you win…I’m just saying: stay organized!
The idea behind this packing protocol and the pro tips I’m about to share is to keep you efficient so you are able to make less decisions in the moment and reserve your energy for your pageant win.
Here are a few more tips from the Pros:
- Sew foam inserts into any clothing that will need them. Dont try to mess with sticky boobs they are fussy and don’t work that well. You can get foam inserts at Jo-Ann Fabrics for about $5.
- Have a roller suitcase you can take to rehearsal and the pageant so you don’t have to carry 8-million bags
- Have one excellent and large shoulder bag for day trips that will fit your crown and sash, shoes, emergency pack, etc.
- Wear wedges or sandals to walk around during site seeing tours and amusement parks of course make sure your shoes are broken in before you go walking 5 miles around Jacksonville.
- Have Slippers and a robe for backstage to get ready in and throw on quickly no matter what state your hair and make up are in.
I recommend printing this page so you have this check-list for when you pack for your pageant.
The less you have to remember, the more energy you’ll retain.
And, that, my dear, is how you win a pageant.
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