Last night, the Miss World 2009 Finals were held in Johannesburg South Africa and for the first time ever, Miss Gibraltar, won the coveted beauty crown. Her name is Kaiane Aldorino, a leggy brunette who also took home the "Beach Beauty" title. In case you fell asleep in your High School Geography class (I almost threw something at the TV when I watched the "Amazing Race" final episode and the contestants didn't know what country Monte Carlo was in!!!!), Gibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. 
OK, enough of the Geography lesson, now let's get to some of the gowns: The winner wore a white flowy gown featuring embroidered lace applique on top of a nude mesh torso top section. The gown had a hidden (thank God it wasn't SO overtly visible!) high slit and showed her curvy figure at its best. I didn't love the gown, but I didn't hate it either. It was a 5 out of 10, if there was scale. 
The clear Lucite "stripper" heels she wore with it, however, did make me want to SCREAM (why oh why those clear stripper heels, so NOT cute!).It also was strikingly similar to...
this gown worn by Miss Mexico 2008 Elisa Najera at the Miss Universe 2008 Finals held in Vietnam. Her gown was also white, flowy and displayed embroidered lace applique on a nude mesh attached top section. Either coincidence or Miss Gibraltar's designer was "inspired" by Elisa's gown. Who knows.
White is always a popular color for international beauty contestants. It looks fabulous on olive-toned skin and it also gives the suggestion of purity and "I just want to end world hunger with my angelic white wedding-like gown". For the finals, the "hometown girl", Miss South Africa wore a white shirred gown fitted at the torso and waist and full from the hips. Again, not loving it, but not disliking it entirely. Just OK.
The Second Place Winner, Miss Mexico, wore an aqua blue Empire gown which I actually did like. It had beaded trim under the bust and featured layers upon layers of chiffon making it move beautifully and adding lots of drama. The color looked great on her and her almost 6' tall frame carried the gown like a pro!
Miss Panama (another semi-finalist), also chose an Empire-cut gown with beaded under-bust trim and surprised me with the burnt orange color. It was all flowy and all chiffon (a theme here?). Another six-foot tall stunner with olive-toned skin, I think Miss Panama looked fabulous. A 7 out of ten in my "Nick Pageant Gown" book. 
Miss France's gown choice for the Miss World Finals was an interesting one. Very Roberto Cavalli-esque. The chiffon gown was fitted up top, full and flowy from the waist (see, I told you it's a definite theme). The silhouette was fine, I just question the tie-dye like print. It looked kind of like an 8 year old's painting "experiment".
Finally, above is the lovely Miss India, who went the pure all-white route for her final gown. The dress itself was a mess and just looked like something you buy from the Downtown Los Angeles Fashion District: Santee Alley. But, what stood out more for me was her footwear. Pooja Chopra sprained her ankle days before the Finals and was forced to wear a cast up to her knee. Look closely and check out what's peeking out from the hem of her gown: Yep, that's a foot cast! I give her "Atta Girl" Nick Points for "going on with the show" and making it work. For that, she might just take my "Best in Evening Gown" title!See you next time for more Pageant Gown Red Carpet Coverage. More slits and Lucite Heels to come, I am sure!