While some naysayers have criticised beauty pageants for being sexist, Miss Bermuda Pageant director Milika Trott-Seymour believes just the opposite, that they can be real confidence boosters for young women.“If you can stand on a stage in front of hundreds of people dressed only in your bathing suit, you can pretty much do anything,” said Mrs Trott-Seymour, with a laugh.Mrs Trott-Seymour, 36, owner of bridal shop Blanc Limited, resurrected the Miss Bermuda Pageant more than a year ago, after many years of non-existence.“I think when young women are involved in beauty pageants it has more to do with their brains than anything else,” she said. “They are judged for their outer beauty as well but for the most part if you can’t speak well or hold a conversation or interview well you won’t get far in the beauty pageant even if you are the most gorgeous person in the world. The girls put in a lot of work even when it comes to their physical appearance by watching what they eat and working out. It is not just about being beautiful in your face. It takes a lot of work.”In past years, Miss Bermuda Pageant winners have done very well. In 1979, Miss Bermuda winner Gina Swainson won the Miss World competition and was runner up in the Miss Universe competition the same year. She is so far the only Bermudian to win at this level of international beauty pageant competition. She was featured on a local postage stamp in 1980.“I can remember seeing Gina Swainson on television and in the parade afterward,” said Mrs Trott-Seymour. “My mom said as soon as I found about her I wanted to be her. I dressed up and ran around the house pretending to be a beauty queen. I was always into beauty pageants.”Mrs Trott-Seymour always wanted to be part of a beauty pageant locally, but didn’t get her wish until 2006, when she entered the Miss Big and Beautiful Pageant. She said it was something she did for fun, and was a more casual level of competition. There was no internationally representing the Island involved.“For me it was more of a confidence booster,” she said. “It really helped me with speaking in public. It led me to be more confident, and that helped me with other aspects of my life. I think that is the case with most people who go into beauty pageants. They come out of it feeling totally different about themselves.“Standing on stage wearing a bathing suit is probably the scariest thing. It is the thing that you worry about the most. Once you are in it and you know you have worked hard to get on that stage, the worry fades into the background. You kind of just do it. At that point you have put in so much preparation that you are ready.”Mrs Trott-Seymour won the competition and it sparked her interest further. She judged a few local beauty pageants and then became interested in organising one herself. She thought it would be great for young girls to have the opportunity to compete internationally.“It allows them to see something other than Bermuda and allows them to have the connections you get from travelling and meeting new people,” she said. “I thought it would be a good idea to start the Miss Bermuda Pageant again. I looked into the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants for a few years. Finally, we got the go ahead to send a representative to Miss World last year.”She said the experience has really helped her to empathise with the young women she works with in the Miss Bermuda Pageant. She has been there, and knows exactly what they are going through.Mrs Trott-Seymour said running a beauty pageant is not without its challenges. One of their main challenges is coming up with enough sponsorship and funding during a time of economic hardship. Last year, Miss Bermuda winner Jana Outerbridge did a lot of her own fundraising, and her wardrobe was sponsored by AS Coopers.“Usually, beauty pageants are run in partnership with other businesses,” she said. “This year our challenge is going to be timing. This year the Miss World Pageant is going to be held even earlier on July 4 in Inner Mongolia, China. Last year it was held in November in London.”In November she went with Miss Outerbridge to London and had the chance to experience the pageant first hand. She said it was an awesome experience.“It is one thing to produce a local beauty pageant but when you see it done on an international level it opens your eyes to what is going on in other places outside of Bermuda,” said Mrs Trott-Seymour. “Seeing it actually there and not watching it just on television was an amazing experience.”Mrs Trott-Seymour started out as a wedding and event planner but drifted more into the wedding dress side of things. Her store Blanc Limited has now been open for two years in St David’s.“I opened it because I saw the difficulty that brides were having finding something,” she said. “Many women had to hop on the plane and go away to find a wedding dress. I thought it would be a good business idea to have the store. I started doing that from home at first. Then I opened up a boutique. It is very much like the television programme ‘Say Yes to the Dress’. Buying a wedding dress is a very emotional experience. It is a fun business to be in.”She has been married to Delano Seymour for almost 15 years. They have two daughters, Asia, ten, and Paris, eight.“My daughters love being around the contestants,” said Mrs Trott Seymour. “They really enjoy it.”For more information see the websites www.missbermuda.bm or www.blanc.bm