If you’ll remember, my original gown is not the gown I wore at Miss Oklahoma. There was a factory mix up and I called Kaynein a massive panic just a few short weeks before the pageant was to begin. While I’m sure he is cringing right now at the thought of someone coming to him in such a short amount of time and in need of a gown again, he somehow waved a magic wand and created something totally unexpected and perfect for me.
What’s really interesting, is that even in just a few weeks, my gown changed multiple times – though just slightly! Throughout the process, I sent pictures to Selby as updates on the progress being made. The gown originally began as a new dress in Kayne’s collection. Emoly West wore it during one of the prelim nights at Miss O, with the collar and halter. This is what we decided on (it’s actually a blue/purple and incredibly lightweight) when I first called Kayne.
(excuse the ridiculous MySpace pictures during this post – I was trying to get the full view for Selbs!)
The dress had a big collar and halter, but Kayne was going to change the straps to make it fully open (I don’t really like wearing halters). Kayne was trying to order the dress from his factory in a smaller size, but was also prepared to re-make it if it wouldn’t ship in time.
A few days later (and in the meantime, a lot of sweating), Kayne called to say that he would be making the gown from scratch. No problem! While there, we decided to put a lace overlay on top to downplay the shine of the fabric. Of course, I wanted as many rhinestones as we could add between then and the pageant! We kept the same style and navy shade, but changed the fabric. Kayne and his team began working around the clock.
Then, we realized the straps exposing the back would not fit correctly or hold the same, so Kayne created a cross back strap. I must have called to ask the ETA every day…surely he was sick of me by the beginning of Miss O. At one point, I even took it home to rhinestone overnight. If I could have sewn, I would have volunteered to do that as well!
And the gown continued to take shape! The rhinestones were attached to the dark blue lace, which was added after this picture. It fit like a glove! As it was being crafted, I liked the idea of adding more of a mermaid flare at the bottom. Kayne and I met in the middle with just a touch of crinoline. I picked up my gown THE day I left for Miss Oklahoma and could not have been happier with it! This is the finished product:
It’s amazing to think of what kind of obstacles are placed in front of us for a reason, which we are unaware of at the time. I am so very thankful to Kayne, Ky, Vicki and everyone else who put in the hours to create my gown. There has been talk of Kayne joining the Project Runway: All-Stars edition, and we decided that my gown was the ideal practice for the competition. I have no doubt he would dominate every challenge!
Miss South OKC 