It takes a lot of cash to get that sash.
The winner of the upcoming Miss New York USA pageant, who will be crowned next Sunday, will get wardrobe and makeup sponsorships, scholarships, cash prizes and an all-expenses-paid trip to compete for the Miss USA title. According to the organization behind Miss New York USA, the prize package is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But to have shot at winning big — like Serena Bucaj of Suffern who took home the tiara last year — contestants first have to spend big if they want to be truly competitive.
“Everything is how much you put into it,” said Sheena Pradhan, a 28-year-old who spent more than $12,000 preparing for the 2015 Miss New York event but didn’t to make it to the pageant’s second round.
Pradhan took a year to prepare for the competition, working out six days a week and paying more than $1,000 for walking coaches because she had a compression in her spine that made her pelvis tilt forward and her “tummy look bigger.” She also spent $3,600 on a speech coach, $1,600 on a custom-made gown by Gaspar Cruz, and $1.600 on hair and makeup for pageant weekend.
“It was very expensive,” she said.
I thought I’d make at least Top 20, and I was so heartbroken when I didn’t…It’s like letting my family down.
And though Pradhan’s day job as a dietitian covered most of her expenses, she admitted that it wasn’t the most financially responsible move.
“I didn’t save a lot that year,” said the Princeton, NJ, resident.
Rena Kuai, 26, competed alongside Pradhan and also didn’t place. It cost her about $3,000, but she said she shouldn’t have been so thrifty.
“I wish I did spend a little more time tailoring my gown and taking more classes and spent a little more money,” said Kuai, a graphic designer based in Jersey City.
Meanwhile, Katherine Estrada, 26, is still paying off credit-card bills from her unsuccessful bid for the Miss New York USA crown last year. It was her first pageant and she spent more than $4,000. She was able to raise $1,000 with a GoFundMe page, thanks to donations from family and friends, but even that wasn’t enough to cover her $300 registration fee and $1,500 participation fee. Then came the $500 gown and $600 coach.
Estrada, an HR coordinator, took on a second job as a waitress, but she still had to put most of her pageant costs on her credit card.
“I definitely didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” said Estrada, who is now an aspiring model. “I just felt [then] that: I’m pretty, and I’m smart, and I can do it. But once I got into it, it’s a whole different ball game . . . There are so many women competing that you had to do something a little extra for them to notice you.”
Unfortunately, her investments weren’t enough to nab the crown.
“I thought I’d make at least Top 20, and I was so heartbroken when I didn’t,” she said. “It’s like letting my family down.”
Still, those in the industry insist contestants have to shell out for professional training and a quality gown to be successful.
“Some people don’t train, and that’s a mistake,” said Bill Alverson, an Alabama-based pageant coach who trained Miss USA 2012. “It’s like an actor who’s never taken an acting class. They’re never gonna win a Tony.”
And some former contestants insist it’s money well-spent.
“Pageants make you develop skills that you might not develop at school, like communication skills that have helped me do well at job interviews,” said Claudette Gomez, a 26-year-old lawyer based in Jersey City, who competed in Miss New York 2015.
Plus, it’s fun.
“I went to Columbia Law School, [but pageants are a] good sort of outlet to be pretty,” said Gomez. “How many times can you wear a $2,000 gown and put on eyelashes?”