River City Pageant LogoFormal Wear Routine

What to Wear and How to Walk

Formal Wear Outfit Samples Although the event is not timed, each contestant will have approximately 45-60 seconds to model their formal wear using a simple pre-set walking pattern.  There will be X’s marked on the stage letting you know where to go and time to practice at check-in, the Pageant Workshop on Friday, and/or early Saturday morning.

Wardrobe

Ladies and older division girls (Jr. Teen+) should wear full length gowns or formal pantsuits or a short party dress (like for a prom or homecoming dance.) Younger girls can wear either a full-length gown, a shorter homecoming style dress or a nice pantsuit if preferred.

Men and boys should wear suits or nice slacks and button-down shirts with ties.  Tuxedos are welcome too. 

Walking Format

Formal Wear Routine is relaxed and simple. Contestants will line up behind a curtain and will come out when the Emcee announces their name and contestant number. They will walk slowly to a marked location center stage, pause briefly (about 5 seconds) and then head to the front of the stage to do a slow circle turn. They will then pause again (about 7-10 seconds) at the front of the stage to look at the judges while the emcee finishes reading their contestant bio. They will then exit the stage once the Emcee says their name and contestant number for a second time.

Formal Wear routines usually take about 45 seconds to 1 minute per contestant.

Personal Introduction and Question Format

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Natural Makeup Requirements

River City Pageant is a natural system. Please follow these guidelines for competition:

  • Contestants younger than 13 years old are not allowed to wear any noticeable makeup. This means they can wear a little concealer under their eyes for dark circles or a little powder on their noses for shine, and maybe a little lip gloss for chapped lips, but you really should not be able to tell. This goes for all areas of competition including photos submitted for photogenic.

  • Contestants 13 and older may wear makeup, but it must not be too over the top. False eyelashes are okay as long as they are not so long that it is overly noticeable. Think about what might be appropriate to wear to a job interview in an office and that should give you a pretty good idea of what we mean.

  • Wigs like the kind you see in a “glitz” style pageant are not allowed. If someone needs to wear a natural wig, that is fine as are hair extensions that you pin under your own hair.

  • Permanently colored/dyed hair and tattoos are acceptable. Most natural pageants ask that contestants keep hair and skin neutral so as not to be distracting, but we don’t mind. We do, however, require that hair-styles are tidy during competition and any royalty appearances should you win.