SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - There are two choices at the Miss Utah Pageant. Contestants can choose one or two piece swimwear.
Is one more modest?
Are they just like a costume?
The Miss Utah competition started this week and swimwear is a major part of the competition and the question for pageant contestants is one or two piece.
In Utah the answer used to be one, but now the trend is changed. Bikinis are ruling the stage.
44 girls from every corner of the state are all looking to wear the crown of Miss Utah.
“We just strut our stuff on stage and work it. Its fun,” said Miss Northern Utah County Chelsi Lunkens.
And strut they do, being proud of their talents and physical appearance.
“At first it was very awkward and I felt self conscious up stage but you get more used to it and learn to be more secure with yourself,” Said Lunkens.
They’re secure in all aspects of the competition which includes swimwear and that’s where Lunkens is bucking a new trend this year.
“I tend to be more conservative when it comes to swim wear,” said Lunkens. She's wearing a one piece on stage. Her choice is in the minority and it could be hurting her chances to win.
“There hasn't been a Miss America who has won in a one piece in a long time,” said Miss Utah Pageant Co-Director Renita Revill.
“Is it really worth sacrificing something that makes me not feel myself just to get in the top 10?” asked Lunkens.
Most girls who wear a two piece suit, like Miss Pleasant Grove Lea Wride, don't think it's modesty issue.
“A lot of the girls who wear a two piece on stage, considered a costume, they would still not wear a two piece to a public pool,” said Revill.
Each girl individually decides how they want to show off their physical appearance on stage.
“We respect each other. We understand it is a personal decision. The most important thing is to walk on that stage and be confident with your body and what you chose to wear,” said Wride.
But in the end, whether it’s a one or two piece.
Only one girl will win and go to the Miss America Pageant.
Preliminary competitions continue this week and a new Miss Utah will be crowned at the finals on Saturday night at the Capital Theater in Salt Lake City.
For more information in the
Miss Utah Scholarship Pageant, click here.
