Elegant in terno

Here are four Misses Philippines (of the ’50s and ’60s) clad in elegant terno, wearing beauty crowns and flashing their sweetest smile for the camera.

First is Bessie Ocampo (1954), the first Filipina to make it to the Miss Universe semi-finals. She belongs to the prominent Ocampo clan, married to the scion of the equally distinguished Buencamino family.

Second is Cristina Matias (1959), a star dancer of the famous Bayanihan of the Philippine Women’s University. The conservative Miss Matias opted not to compete in the Miss Universe beauty pageant and instead concentrated on being a career lady. She never married.

Third is Edita Vital (1960) who was a semi-finalist in the Miss International contest won by Stella Marquez of Colombia. Edita appeared as Maria Clara in Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, classics directed by Gerry de Leon. She married a businessman.

Fourth is Cynthia Ugalde (1962) who also competed in the Miss International contest. Cynthia resided for many years in the US,  married to a doctor. She made several movies.

Then it was a must for beauty queens to wear terno made by the country’s top designers as Bessie, Cristina, Edita and Cynthia did. Terno at its most elegant. – RKC