Central New Yorker’s Secret Weapon In Beauty Pageant

Maybe you've heard about Dominique Miles, who will be representing Elmira in the Southern Tier as she competes in the Miss New York USA beauty pageant and a shot at Miss USA. But you may not be aware of someone behind the scenes, who'll be helping her out.

She's teamed up with a friend who'll play a large part in determining just how far she'll go.

Kali Gonzalez has joined forces with Miles and she's in charge of dressing her up--literally and figuratively. Gonzalez is a dress designer. Some of her latest designs are pictured above.

The shot on the left shows Gonzalez's sister and her friend, both wearing designs Kali came up with for their homecoming. The black dress is one Gonzalez made for a friend's birthday.

She says dress designing was always a passion. She studied interior design at Cazenovia College for a couple of years, but said she took some time off of school and worked in retail, where she rediscovered her passion for designing clothing.

About the same time, she met Miles through family members at church and the professional partnership was born. Gonzalez will be designing at least two items for Miles--an interview outfit and an opening dress. She told us she's already been to New York City to do some fabric shopping.

We'll have our eye on Dominique Miles and on Kali Gonzalez's work. The Miss New York USA pageant takes place January 12-14 in Purchase.

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