{"id":128048,"date":"2021-06-17T12:17:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T10:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=128048"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:41","slug":"eur-student-is-miss-beauty-of-zuid-holland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/06\/17\/eur-student-is-miss-beauty-of-zuid-holland\/","title":{"rendered":"EUR student is Miss Beauty of Zuid-Holland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Second-year IBCoM student Saartje Langstraat (20) won the Miss Beauty title in Zuid-Holland in May. She learned how important it is to be comfortable about who you are: \u201cDon\u2019t worry about how you fit in, please worry about how you can stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Saartje is wearing the crown and sash that came with the tile Miss Beauty of Zuid-Holland<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmber Leijen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Saartje has a big smile on her face, wearing the crown and sash she received when she was crowned Miss beauty of Zuid-Holland. It took her fourteen months to win the title. The contest started in March 2020 and was supposed to end eight weeks later. Yet, due to the slowly eased corona lockdown measures, it wasn\u2019t until April that Saartje finally got to meet her fellow candidates and join the catwalk training, dancing classes and boxing classes, after which she competed in the finale, which was broadcasted via zoom.<\/p>\n

The unusually long time made the contest fiercer, because \u2018everyone had so much time to work on self-development\u2019, Saartje says openly. The most important part of the contest is the finale performance, consisting of two walks in bikini and a gala dress. Besides the finale, all candidates need to work on gathering money for their good causes (Saartje\u2019s is to raise awareness for eco-friendly activities and sustainability), presenting themselves to the judges during conversations and preparing a speech on their chosen topic (the same one as their chosen causes). The vote from the audience also counts for 10 percent of the final \u2018grade\u2019. \u201cNone of them are decisive. But if you don\u2019t make an effort, you are not likely to have a good result\u201d, Saartje explains.<\/p>\n

Why not give it a go?<\/h2>

In 2020, Saartje was nominated by a previous Miss Teen of Zuid-Holland. \u201cI thought, this my thing. I love girly stuff, why not give it a go?\u201d She didn\u2019t expect the contest to last fourteen months, but she enjoyed her journey. \u201cI and other candidates have been keeping in touch with each other all this time via group chats or Instagram, so I didn\u2019t really feel that I was in this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saartje looks forward to the opportunities that will follow from the contest. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any money involved in winning the contest, although we also do some small stuff for the sponsors. It\u2019s more about the name, and you also might get the chance to participate in Miss Earth. You get to meet all these beautiful women from all over the world. I think every girl in the contest would love to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brain before beauty<\/h2>

The twelve winners representing their provinces do good things together. \u201cWe raise money for a Dutch charity organisation called Linda Foundation, which raises money for poor people in the Netherlands. We all have our own ways to contribute to it. I paint jackets, upcycle old clothes and sell them to raise money\u201d, Saartje notes.<\/p>\n

Saartje believes that her title does not only mean that she looks good, but that it\u2019s also about the ideals she stands for. \u201cAt the beginning, I didn\u2019t really know much about what becoming Miss Beauty means or stands for. But soon I started to realise that how you present yourself, or how you participate in activities to raise money for a good cause, really has a lot of impact on whether you will get the crown. It\u2019s really brain before beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Saartje on campus, with her crown and sash<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmber Leijen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u2018Comfortable, timeless, and fashionable\u2019<\/h2>

Sewing has long been Saartje\u2019s hobby. She makes clothes for herself, her family and her friends, using eco-friendly fabrics. \u201cI\u2019m a bit obsessive or even maniacal when I\u2019m making clothes. I won\u2019t go to sleep until it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clothes I make are inspired by clothing that I wore during my time as a ballet dancer\u201d, Saartje explains, which she has been for almost all her life. \u201cIt\u2019s all really comfortable and you don\u2019t need to wear a bra underneath it, which is perfect\u201d, Saartje says. \u201cThe simpleness and timelessness are what I\u2019m going for. It\u2019s a good example of slow fashion. I once upcycled several old jeans and sewed them into a trench coat. That is my favourite piece of clothing I\u2019ve ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

She became a huge fan of slow fashion, mainly because of the environmental impact of the fast fashion industry. Her idea on being fashionable has also changed. \u201cFast fashion relies on Instagram models who buy a huge amount of clothes very frequently. In the past, I thought that it would be very easy to be fashionable if you have many clothes. But that\u2019s not being truly fashionable in my eyes anymore. I realised that it\u2019s the quality, not the quantity, that matters.\u201d Saartje chuckles: \u201cMy closet has shrunk a lot since then. Most of my clothes are either vintage, self-made, or bought consciously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Confidence is not earned but taken\u2019<\/h2>

The message that Saartje wants to send to all the girls is that \u2018you don\u2019t need any validation from others to feel good about yourself\u2019. \u201cEven though you are a pageant queen, you always have your insecurities. And that\u2019s unnecessary. I used to feel insecure about my smile, but I realised that my smile is pretty nice in photo shoots. Now I\u2019m confident to smile. That didn\u2019t come from anyone but me.\u201d She also encourages girls to feel free to be themselves. In Saartje\u2019s eyes, being comfortable with who you are is all that matters. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about how you fit in, please worry about how you can stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saartje wants to do a master\u2019s in arts or art direction after her bachelor\u2019s in communication and media and get a \u2018normal job\u2019. \u201cI like modelling, but I don\u2019t want to just depend on how I look. I have that brain before beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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