Secrets to Selecting a Winning Gown

How do you know if your gown is a pageant disaster? How can you avoid the most common mistakes when purchasing your gown? How do gown requirements and styles change for different pageants? Renowned prom and pageant evening wear designer, Sherri Hill , answers questions about custom gowns, off-the rack gowns, and the secret to selecting a winning evening gown.

Episode Segments:

Designer Sherri Hill Part One Sherri Hill discusses how she got her start, and how she got into pageant gowns. She also talks about how her construction differs, the process of creating a gown, where she gets her inspiration, and shares her favorite design.
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Designer Sherri Hill Part Two Sherri discusses how designs have changed in the last five years, and what new trends and styles she thinks will become popular in the near future. She also shares dress style advice for contestants with no waists, small busts and wide hips.
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Ask Valerie Valerie answers another round of listener queries, including questions on interviews, etiquette for visiting royalty, dress colors for teen pageants, personal platforms, getting in shape for swimsuits, and more!
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Sherri Hill Sherri Hill is a distinguished and well-known designer of prom and pageant evening wear. Her unparalleled design achievements in the pageant industry include many recent winners and contestants. Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner, Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson and Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry were all crowned in Sherri Hill gowns. MTV Video Jockey and Total Request Live host Susie Castillo also won the Miss USA crown wearing a Sherri Hill designed evening gown. Sherri Hill designs can be found on the red carpet as well, most recently on Miss South Carolina Teen USA Caitlin Upton at the MTV Video Music Awards. Hill studied fashion arts, clothing and textile design at the University of Oklahoma, but developed a passion for evening wear and design growing up in Minco, Oklahoma. Her parents owned a small retail store and spent much time scouting out the fashion markets and embracing the excitement of the fast-paced environment and constantly changing designs and styles. Hill's affection for fashion soon grew into a desire to create gowns of her own. For the last 10 years Sherri Hill has been the chief designer for Jovani, one of the biggest names in the prom industry. She designed prom and pageant gowns for Jovani until May 2007 when she decided to launch a collection of prom, pageant, red carpet and special event dresses under her own name. Hill's devotion to design is evident in her selection of beautiful fabrics and trimmings combined with innovative combinations of cuts to accentuate the best features of each and every woman. Click Here to Visit Her Website.