Dee M Fashion Promotions Model Agency held its annual Miss Teenager and Miss Sweet Sixteen pageants at a packed Guild Theatre for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown on Monday evening.
Dee M Fashion Promotions MD Deryn Vogel said the event was a significant success, with one of the pageant’s biggest audiences yet.
“We’re very excited to bring the pageant back.
“Any girl could enter because the pageant isn’t based on looks or modeling experience.
“The girls went through an interview process that consisted of questions about themselves, rather than questions about the world and social issues,” said Vogel.
Teia van Rensburg from Merrifield College won the Miss Teenager title.
The Miss Sweet Sixteen title went to Lihle Bushet from Clarendon Girls’ High School.
Vogel said the winners ticked all the right boxes as young teenage girls.
They also showed the most personality on stage.
“The two winners are two beautiful girls who were very polite and were very committed from start to finish. This is a very important quality for young girls to have, “ said Vogel.
The girls were judged on their answers during the interview stages, their personalities on stage on the night, and their outfits of choice for the pageant. Each girl had to dress appropriately for their age and show off a teenager’s look.
The girls received prizes worth more than R10,000, including bursaries from Boston College worth R5,000, and vouchers for a weekend stay at Crawford Beach Lodge.
There were also various smaller prizes for the other contestants, such as prizes for the most sold tickets.
Vogel attributed the success of Dee M Fashions Promotions’ two pageants over the years to the competitions not being typical beauty contests.
“We don’t have many rounds so that means we don’t have elimination rounds, which means every girl gets to be on stage and feel like a princess.
“We also judge the girls on themselves and interview them privately, because sometimes the girls get shy on stage.
“It’s just better to be more personal and to get to know the girls more,” said Vogel.
