Getting old fashioned at Miss Vintage pageant
It’s not in every fashion pageant that you’d find a contestant wearing an old bedspread.
Then again, Miss Vintage Australasia isn’t your typical pageant, says contestant Jo Tweedie.
Tweedie, who goes by performer name Stella Moon, is the only Kiwi finalist for Miss Vintage Australasia 2024.
She’s going for a “small town girl in a big city” theme for her outfits and that’s a bit how she feels.
“I was raised in a small town, Raglan, so going over to Australia and being the only Kiwi competing feels a bit like being a small fish in a big pond,” Tweedie said.
At 25, Tweedie is a bit of an old soul. Growing up in Raglan taught her a sense of sustainability, so she makes all her own clothes.
She started sewing when she was seven, and studied fashion at Victoria University.
She collects vintage blankets, loves old movies, and looks up to Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.
But her love of old things is not the main reason she immerses herself in New Zealand’s vintage community.
The love and acceptance she finds in the community is what keeps her coming back.
“Vintage pageants aren’t about being beautiful. Beauty pageants can be quite restrictive and dependant on how you look,” Tweedie said.
“Vintage pageants are about how well you put together your outfit, and how you do your hair and makeup. It’s a lot more community-based and supportive.”
The level of body positivity in the community is another plus, Tweedie said.
“I would probably be one of the smaller girls in the group and they’re super open and wanting to have curvy women represent the community. It’s really cool to see. What they often say in the community is, ‘vintage looks, but not vintage values’.”
Tweedie has been going to vintage pageants for about a year.
She’s already won Miss Southern Belle, the main pageant in the South Island, and Miss Frankton Thunder in Kirikiriroa, which she won over the summer.
For Miss Australasia, she’ll need a day wear outfit, a beach wear outfit, and evening wear. There’s also a talent section.
“My first dress is going to be made out of a bedspread, and that will be sort of, country girl going to a big city, with a suitcase.
“My beachwear is made out of 80s fabric, so it’s been sitting in someone’s cupboard since the 1980s and I’ve finally got my hands on it to make my little swimsuit,” she said.
“In the talent section I’ll be playing the flute, which I’ve been playing since I was 15. I’ve only just picked it up again which is nice. I’ll be basing that one on an Audrey Hepburn sort of vibe.
“And then the evening wear will be a big gold gown, sort of old Hollywood inspired.”
Miss Vintage Australasia 2024 will be held in Ballarat on May 26.