The Miss Universe pageant was held Sunday in Israel. Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu, was crowned the winner. While people debate the very idea of beauty pageants for many reasons, one thing we can agree on is that the most entertaining part of the global pageant is the parade of national costumes. As I see it, they fall into three categories: a nice gown designed to make the contestant look good, an over-the-top Vegas showgirl-style contraption, and a costume that actually tries to convey something about the represented nation. Miss Malta, Jade Cini pictured above, is an example of having to carry a lot of national hardware. Miss Iceland represents the latter category.
I like the costume worn by Miss Iceland, Elisa Groa Steinþorsdottir. The theme is the volcanoes of Iceland, and that's fairly obvious without her having to carry an extraneous structure. In addition to these categories, which sometimes blended into each other, the pageant saw some specific political messages from Miss Ireland and Miss Finland. Miss France channeled Josephine Baker in her costume. There were a few costumes that actually approximated historic dress from their nation's past. And of course, some that make you wonder what they were thinking. See a gallery of all 69 national costumes from the Miss Universe pageant at Buzzfeed.