MISS PHILIPPINES
Beyond 2000

The Early 1900's : In the Beginning . . .

M
I
S
S

P
H
I
L
I
P
P
I
N
E
S

*

C
A
R
N
I
V
A
L

Q
U
E
E
N

*

R
O
Y
A
L
T
Y

F
I
L
I
P
I
N
A

S
T
Y
L
E

*

Y
E
A
R

1
9
2
6

The early 1900's. The Philippines : A country torn between
the conservative influences of the Spanish era and the more liberal attitudes of the Americans.

A country in transition. People trying to search for their national identity.

THE  EARLY YEARS OF MISS PHILIPPINES

The drama. The look. The image that helped shape the
identity of the finest and the fairest.
Asia's first! Straight from the pages of the history books.

Miss Philippines : Pearl of the Orient Seas

The early  years of the 1920's marked  the beginning of the first Miss Philippines. The Mestiza dress, otherwise known
as the 'Maria Clara' was a staple item in the Filipina beauty queen's  wardrobe. Everything  about the classic  dress was exaggerated, purposely  done to  aggrandize the  wearer and give her the royal look  and appearance of a monarch. Why not? After all, Miss Philippines is the country's queen!

The First Miss Philippines

SHE STARTED IT ALL!

SHE STARTED IT ALL!

MISS PHILIPPINES & THE CLASSIC LOOK OF THE AGES

MUSIC FROZEN IN TIME  

POETRY  PRESERVED IN MEMORY

There she is! The forerunner of today's Miss Philippines! The typical royal look of the period. Beauty queen par excellance, sitted on an intricately carved throne topped with the emblem of queenly majesty. Miss Philippines rules !!!

Y
E
A
R

1
9
2
9

Miss Philippines of 1931
dubbed  as 'Maria I' in the traditional studio shot courtesy of Sun Studios.
No  Miss Universe Pa-
geant to compete in, de-
finitely! Never the less,
Miss Philippines is cho-
sen to represent the peo-
ple's  ideal image of the
woman of the 1900's.
Classic & timeless !

Y
E
A
R

1
9
3
1

Miss
Philippines
of 1931

Miss Carnival
Queen of 1929

Miss Philippines of 1934 in the footsteps of her predecessors.
What's with the funny looking tiara? Who knows? The fashion trend of the decade? Remember, she is also the carnival queen and the  whimsical design of the  crown gives justice to the theme! The Mestiza dress, though as lovely as ever has slowly
started to  mellow in it's  opulence as is evident  in the picture; less adornments and yet the overall look is as powerful as ever!

Y
E
A
R

1
9
3
4

Miss Philippines
of 1934

And...66  years  later, Miss Philippines 2000 Nina Ricci Alagao tests the waters with a bit of  nostalgia and  deja vu with her own version of the Carnival Queen's tiara! Gorgeous  Nina would  have been the talk of the town with this outfit!

Nina Ricci Alagao

Clarita Tan Kiang (left and above left), was Miss Philippines Carnival Queen of 1934. A candidate to be able to participate, must be sponsored by a daily news-paper; and in Clarita's case, it was UP Collegian that backed her up. She was on-
ly 16 years old when she won the title. Contestants during those days were all products of good families, good schools and above all, must have a reputation beyond reproach. Anyone who did not meet these exacting standards were not
nominated or sponsored at all. The gown Clarita wore for the coronation night was designed by the late Miguel Selgado. The  runners-up were all given titles such as Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas and Miss Mindanao.

Clarita Tan Kiang
Carnival Queen
of 1934

Y
E
A
R

1
9
5
6

Miss  Philippines of  1956 and  Nida Blanca look  alike is no stranger to
beauty  pageants. She is  the daughter  of the Carnival  Queen of  1926, whose picture appears at the beginning of this section. Our beauty queen is by no  means ordinary, being the granddaughter of both Gregoria de Jesus, the great muse of the 'Katipunan,' and of Julio Nakpil, the right hand guy of Filipino hero Emilio Aguinaldo. Edith never participated in the Miss Uni-verse  Pageant though, as  she wanted to concentrate  more instead on her studies. Instead, another  representative had to  be chosen, and  the honor
eventually went to Isabel Rodriguez.

Edith Nakpil
Miss Philippines
of 1956

This 'live' page will be updated regularly as the materials
become available. Please check back !

Back
to
the
Home
Page

MORE TO COME !   SOON !!!