I think Miss India, Miss Kosovo, Miss Thailand, and Miss Vietnam are my favorites.
So was Muriel from Muriel’s Wedding from a bogan family?
Wow, Miss Germany has a gigantic model of the Brandenburg Gate stuck to her head. Miss Australia is positively tame by comparison.
Looking at some of the other photos, it’s clear these aren’t meant to be taken so seriously. Some of the ones from Central American countries are wild.
ETA: heh, beat me to it.
This was Miss Canada from 2009. I think she may have misunderstood her title - Miss Canada - I think she may have thought it was her superhero name. “I’m the Purple Avenger!” 
ETA: I love these costumes SO MUCH!
Ugly as hell, except, as others have said, the swimsuit. She looks wonderful in it, and the aboriginal hand-painted design is neat.
UG-lee. Y’know though, it takes a certain amount of poise to appear calm and collected, and even pleased, while wearing something like that. Miss Australia should win.
It definitely says “Australia” and “high end fashion”. It doesn’t say “elegant” or “sophisticated”. The real test is to show it next to the other countries’ dresses - you can’t really compare say a business outfit with an outfit meant for female wrestlers, so context is key… and looking at the aforementioned Canadian one, well, this is definitely leagues ahead of Canada in every category…
Silly costume, par for the course for beauty contests.
Now, when I read the term “Australian national costume” what immediately came to my mind was a thong microkini. Which would have been MUCH better than what was shown, but would never work in a beauty contest as it would display too much beauty.
The MOL Official Review:
- Miss Albania’s kind of scared me, which made me like it more for some reason.
- I LOVED Miss Bahamas’s costume!
- Dominican Republic rocks my face. Maybe I have something for that wild look, but this does it for me almost as much as Bahamas.
- Miss Finland almost killed me with boredom. Lose the hat, and I’d wear that to go grocery shopping.
- Hell yeah, Miss Great Britain! She looks like a super hero.
- Loved Miss Jamaica.
- Mauritius was just weird enough for me to like.
- I don’t know what the hell is up with Miss Panama’s costume, but I adore it.
- Singapore’s custome was a bit boring, but still lovely.
- Spain: Yes!
- Vietnam, much like Albania, looks like she’s going to murder the audience… which I like.
Some of the dresses were very lovely, but boring. I was curious about Costa Rica and USA, and both let down. Costa Rica’s costume is better than USA’s, but it doesn’t stand out among the other 83.
Yes and no… Granted, a lot of them (from Latin America especially) are flamboyant and over-the-top, but in all of those cases, the designers seem to have picked one theme and stuck with it. And many others look like something one might actually wear to a dance or a formal dinner, and several of the European ones (not Germany, of course) do indeed look like something you might wear to go out shopping.
Take off the furry vest and the uggs and I like it. It’s just so weird and over the top.
Interesting to hear all these people saying “Australia Doesn’t Have A National Costume”… I always thought the “National Costume” was an Akubra hat, Drizabone jacket, jeans, and a shirt & pair of boots from R.M. Williams.
Didgeridon’t
Miss China looked like what might have happened if Princess Leia hadn’t been adopted out.
It doesn’t show enough cleavage.
I have a strong urge to go down under.
This is exactly what I thought. None of those are in the same class as the Australia one. It’s not just costumy–it’s the next level up.
That’s the “Man from Snowy River” look, except it’s bone moleskins, not blue denim.
Miss Netherlands had a windmill stuck on her back while Miss New Zealand looked like they slaughtered 10,000 kiwis to create her dress.