'We are very excited'

A chance encounter at a local fundraiser led to a local bridal shop’s work being put on display in front of the whole state.

Carolina Bridal and Alterations provided a pair of outfits for Shelby native Jailah Pettis as she competes in the 2019 Miss North Carolina pageant in Raleigh this week.

“We are very excited,” said Sasha Beam, who owns Carolina Bridal alongside her mother, Cheryl Young.

“It does mean a lot to us; that’s a lot of trust to put into us. When you compete at the state level, the dress is a huge part of it,” said Beam. “I don’t know the exact point level, but it’s a lot and there’s so many particulars about the dress — it has to have the perfect fit and the perfect hem, the perfect beadwork and sequins and on stage it has to look just right.”

Beam said they began working with Pettis after the shop donated a number of dresses to a fundraising event for a children’s hospital.

“Basically they had a lot of queens there and a bunch of little girls, and they all got to dress up and drink tea together,” said Beam. “Jailah was there and she tried on one of our dresses and just fell in love with it.”

When it came time for Pettis to select a wardrobe for her Miss North Carolina appearance, she ended up visiting six or seven shops around the Carolinas before coming to Carolina Bridal.

After letting Pettis try on a host of dresses and narrowing down her favorites, Beam said she had one more for her to try on.

“I just knew it was the perfect dress for her,” said Beam.

That dress — a rose gold-colored item covered in rhinestones and a cape that flowed over her shoulders — was a perfect fit.

“When she tried that dress on, her eyes just lit up and I knew that was it,” said Charlotte Pettis, Jailah’s mother.

The dress, originally made by designer Shail K, was first purchased by Young last year while at an event in Atlanta.

“It was my favorite dress of the year,” she said. “I saw it in white, and I just knew instantly that it would be a great pageant dress.”

Getting the dress ready for the Miss North Carolina contest took more than 10 hours and three fittings to complete.

“Each of the crystals is hand-sewn on. During alterations, we had to fit the dress exactly to her body, then remove the crystals and sew them back on. Because when you are competing at the state level, everything has to be in exactly the right spot,” said Young.

In addition to working with Pettis on her dress, Carolina Bridal also provided and altered a blue pantsuit for her to wear in this year's contest.

All of the work ended up being worth it, however. Pettis wore the dress during the evening gown portion of the pageant earlier this week.

“It definitely stood out. It was a level up from the other evening gowns with the stones and the way they lit up on the stage was very different from everyone else,” said Pettis on Friday.

The Miss North Carolina pageant has been in progress since Wednesday. The event will air on television today, with the final 15 contestants being announced during the broadcast.

Dustin George can be reached at 704-669-3337 or dustin.george@shelbystar.com. Find him on Twitter @DustinatTheStar.