not to say that kate, i mean catherine should have worn pippa’s dress instead… if she did, all of us would have been sorely disappointed as we expected something exuberant. it’s one of those occassions when i looked forward to being blown away, i inflated my expectations like a party balloon, but instead of bursting into visions of sparkles and confetti, i get deflated with a pfft. i suppose this is because of grace kelly’s wedding gown, that dress to which kate’s has been relentlessly compared. since princess grace’s is my gold standard for lace wedding dresses, anything that looks similar to it is but an imitation in my eyes… obviously, kate’s isn’t as modest, what with grace kelly’s rising up her neck and kate’s plunging down to traces of cleavage, and keeps to a more modern silhouette, both features more fitting for this day and age. like i said, it’s beautiful, it just didn’t take my breath away.

oh, and am i the only one who didn’t like kate’s makeup? i think it made her look old.

going back to pippa…

if you think you’ve seen pippa’s dress on a hollywood red carpet before, that would mean you watched the 2010 golden globes where cameron diaz wore a similar dress in red. only cameron’s didn’t have the lace trim and the v-shaped cut at the waist was inverted in pippa’s, giving it that empire waist look despite it being a column dress.

best wishes to the newlyweds, the new duke and duchess of cambridge!

and good luck to pippa too, england’s new most eligible bachelorette!

my favorite national costume is japan’s and evening gown is korea’s (above).

some of the other remarkable dresses and costumes after the jump.

check out miss unibarse for more updates.

click here for last year’s national costume and evening gown coverage.

video after the jump.

oh, and nick verreos of projecy runway 2 is among the judges this year. according to his blog, he is a good friend of miss universe 1997, brooke lee, who was among last year’s judges (together with chelsi smith, miss universe 1995). she is, i must say, one of my most favorite beauty queens for her answer to the final question:

visit miss unibarse to vote for your favorite dollegates!

you can also click here for the interview with the organizers. as well as here and here for last year’s coverage.

and, of course…

visit the miss unibarse website to cast your vote!

click here and here for last year’s coverage,

and click here for the interview with the organizers.

at the special awards banquet

presenting the final 5!

did you really think the doll directors could get away without an interview portion?

Question: If we agree that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” then why is the U.S. divided in regards to same-sex unions/marriage?

miss korea

Answer:
The current opposition to same-sex marriage is rooted in ignorance and fear. Prejudice is based on ignorance; believing someone is somehow less than anyone else shows an inability to perceive another’s struggles and joys. If we were each able to walk a day on another’s shoes, prejudice would cease to exist, and compassion would prevail. Fear is involved because many people are terrified of what they don’t understand. The fearful allow their morals to be decided by religion or peer pressure, so they can be assured they fit in somewhere. When one can release that fear, acceptance will take its place. The abilities to understand and accept each other–and the desire to do just that–is the epitome of humanity.

miss new zealand

Answer:
This country is no way different from the fact that man made laws are different of that of his Creator. As man made laws were selfishly created to benefit oneself, while the other was unselfishly created in consideration for all.

miss nigeria

Answer:
I believe that the divide stems from our individual conservative upbringings and our fear of the unknown. I think we give too much power to others that we allow them to think and decide what is deemed acceptable and that any deviation from the set ‘standard’ is an abomination. In essence we have lost the ability to think and feel for ourselves and that to me is the tragedy. It is only when we start opening our eyes and our hearts to the things foreign to us that we gain back the power to decide for ourselves what is right from wrong. Let us not live life with bigotry and ignorance rather we should choose to live life with love, compassion and understanding.

miss egypt

Answer:
I think that the divide is from an obsolete document written in a much simpler time handled and transcribed by individuals with a very narrow point of view of our growing society. These are the very same people that wants to preserve the ‘old traditional’ values of marriage while disregarding other unions outside of a man and a woman and that is where the problem lies. We are all unique and beautiful individuals that deserve our individual rights to be protected by the laws that govern us. It should not be about religion and government rather it should be about love, respect and equality.

miss venezuela

Answer:
I do feel that inequality by any means is a crime to humanity. Unfortunately it is caused by imposing certain beliefs to others. Lucky are those who are able to fight it, sad for those who can’t. For those who are free to choose, to believe and express it we should remember that for humanity to move forward we should be able to adapt to changes. We can’t deny other’s to be happy and free.

and the winner is…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlRyB3z2vD0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b]

congratulations and job well done, doll organizers and directors!

for one, f&g photography and global queen beauty management, the brains and talents behind this event, have clearly spared no expense and devoted no little effort in preparing their “dollegates”. looking at the results, you can tell immediately that these are not your average children-at-heart playing with dolls. these are professionals and artists who have taken painstaking care and precision in conceptualizing and preparing each candidate. and two, they involve a panel of judges with industry credibility so serious, this might as well get sponsorship from a few forbes 500 companies (or at least mattel, i honestly think).

previous judges include (from r-l) miss universe '05 natalie glebova, miss earth '07 jessica trisko, and miss international '07 priscila perales.

according to a reliable source, this year the panel includes two celeb judges who, for discretionary reasons, must remain unnamed. it should be enough to note that these two are affiliated with that very famous and often very controversial benefactor of the miss universe organization, mr. d.t. (namesake of a hot-tempered duck in a popular animation syndicate).

moving on to this year’s festivities…

organizers and judges have just concluded the special events of national costume, press presentation (for miss photogenic), swimsuit, evening gown and online voting (for the “people’s choice” award). here are some of my favorite moments:

candidates arrive at the host country.

luncheon with reigning miss unibarse 2008, miss dominican republic.

press presentation to determine the most photogenic candidate.

parade of nations.

backstage at the evening gown competition.

here are my favorite national costumes:

and evening gowns:

thanks to us, obsessive online voters of the philippines, our “dollegate” has fast-tracked her way into the top 25! (we are the same obsessive online voters responsible for ms. philippines winning miss photogenic every year in the real grand slam pageants)

from 80 candidates, now we’re down to the top 25. check them out and the rest of the fast-track winners:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh21O0I4S3E&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b]

visit the miss unibarse website to learn more about the pageant and to keep track of your favorite candidates!