Across the universe

The Miss Universe is a not-even-remotely guilty pleasure, especially when it comes to the national costume. Every year, Australians who care about such things wring their hands in fear that we’ll be embarrassed by another shrimp-wielding Crocodile Dundette or overly made-up lifesaver.

Jayson Brunsdon did ours this year and I like it. It’s meant to represent the sand, ocean, outback blah blah, but above all it’s pretty:


There are some pretty spectacular efforts elsewhere. I noted a certain superhero tone to some of the European entries (Miss Czech Republic's just begging for disaster in that cape):



While others opted for a more approachable, ‘I’ll be your entertainment for the evening’ vibe:



Many of the smaller nations clearly had global warming on their mind, with dresses that suggested they were already at least half-submerged:




For some bizarre reason, Miss Dominican Republic is dressed like a baseball player:


And as for for Miss Malaysia, I have no idea why she's wearing a shawl (is she worried about getting cold?) but I do like the fact she's carrying a deadly weapon:


Bound to come in handy at some point.