<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Before the patented wave and the &amp;quot;Here she comes...&amp;quot; and the Vaseline-shellacked smile and Oscar-worthy tears that all come with crowning the next Miss America (congratulations, Katie Stam!) we get...the swimsuit competition. But seriously, after I watched this weekend&amp;#x27;s show, I was left scratching my head to wonder... Why are there only, like, five swimsuit choices for 50-something contestants? Seriously, if we&amp;#x27;re in the business of showing off our swimwear here, can&amp;#x27;t we get a little more creative? I&amp;#x27;m thinking a chic strapless maillot by Malia Mills, a Michael Kors monokini in a blinding shade of white, an itty bitty Dolce &amp;amp; Gabbana bikini with some serious hardware holding it together, or a tropical punch print from the master of vacation fashion, Matthew Williamson. What gives, Miss America? Why do we need to see a seemingly endless parade of (albeit gorgeous) bodies clad in frighteningly, boringly similar black swimsuits? Let&amp;#x27;s take a look, shall we? Miss New Jersey (GO JERSEY!) and Miss Washington, both wearing a halter-style black bikini with bright colored trim. Snooze. Miss Nebraska and Miss Delaware, both looking alarmingly well-prepared for a body building competition in their gold lame-accented suits. I mean, wow. I say next year, when Miss Indiana gets ready to retire her crown, we lobby to revamp the swimsuit competition so it looks more like Beach Blanket Bingo or a Roberto Cavalli photo shoot than an amateur fitness competition held in the conference room of a Holiday Inn. Show me raffia wedges and floppy straw hats, printed sarongs and oversize shell necklaces and sporty little striped shirts and Nicole Richie-style headscarves and sunglasses. This is Miss America! Bring on the glamour! Let&amp;#x27;s show some individuality! And finally--please--can we agree that the only people on planet earth who wear high heels with their swimsuits are a.) Heidi Montag and b.) strippers!? What do you guys think? Did you watch Miss America this weekend? And are you with me on the all-important master plan to breathe new life into the swimsuit competition? Photos: Courtesy of the Miss America Organization"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2009/01/are-there-really-only-five-swi>