Pageant girl, 4, competes in £200 bespoke dresses while her doting mum wears Asda clothes
Filed under: Advice and health
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Pageant princess Millie, four, is doted on by mum Jessica, 24, who has spent thousands of pounds entering her daughter in pageants since April this year.
Millie, from Walsall, West Midlands, wears lavish dresses from gypsy wedding dress maker Anne Taylor.
The little girl's wardrobe is bursting with 20 sparkly frocks, including one with a mermaid's tail, a jubilee-inspired Union Jack dress and costume based on the Only Way Is Essex.
"I love the Big Fat Gypsy Wedding look. We wanted Millie's costumes to be as eye-catching as possible, that's why we went to Anne," said Jessica, who is also mum to Olivia, seven, and Bobby, one,
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I wouldn't dream of letting Millie wear the same outfit twice. As far as I'm concerned, the bigger the better. I've paid £200 just for one dress, but it's worth it to be original.
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"I got the idea from watching American show Toddlers and Tiaras, which is about the world of beauty pageants. Since Anne started making Millie's outfits all the other mothers at the pageants compliment us on her dresses."
Since April, Millie has won two pageants and scooped second, third and fourth in others, and mum Jessica has high hopes that it will help her daughter land a lucrative modeling contract.
Jessica spends up to £400 a month on entrance fees, travel and accommodation for her and Millie
She receives £2000 in benefits for caring for partner Scott Morgan, 34. Six years ago Scott had surgery for a brain tumour. Now he loves to travel to watch Millie perform.
"Competing in pageants is on my mind constantly. I'm always thinking about what Millie's going to wear," said Jessica.
"We watch Toddlers and Tiaras together and I tell Millie she needs to copy their poses. I love that no one else has the same costume as Millie because all of hers are one-offs.
"But there is a constant cost. You pay for one set of dresses, then you've got to pay for the next one. When you start applying diamantes to the outfits, then it gets expensive.
"I buy my clothes from ASDA because most of my money goes on Millie - and we have to buy things for the other two so they don't feel left out. We've had to downsize our summer holiday this year because of how much I've spent. If she can get something out of this for her future, then it will all have been worth it."
More on Parentdish: Pushy pageant mum makes daughters compete against each other
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