From chocolate dresses to china-plated gowns and oyster bikinis: The most unique national costumes from Miss Universe

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED:16:52 GMT, 26 December 2012| UPDATED:18:18 GMT, 26 December 2012

Women from around the world competed at the 61st annual Miss Universe pageant last week, where each contestant was asked to model an outfit representative of their own nation.
Giving the Victoria's Secret fashion show a run for its money, the beauty queens' oversize costumes were as clever as they were crazy.
From orange oysters to banana bras, coral reef wings and dresses made from chocolate, the 88 beauty queens that competed during the two-hour competition in Las Vegas, showed of the most bizarre 'national' costumes yet.

Miss Venezuela: Irene Sofia Esser Quintero wore a box of chocolate on her head, with her boots, skirt and shoulders all made out of delicious chocolate pieces

Alyssa Cruz Aguero, competing as Miss Guam, used her country's incredibly rare orange oysters to make a skimpy bikini bottom with matching accessories.

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With only a blue train used for modesty, the contest's male MC said: 'I like what I’m seeing, and I’m not seeing much.'
Miss St. Lucia, Tara Edward, followed suit with a banana bra and matching headpiece. Banana leaves on her back and a giant corsage on her hip completed the tropical look.

Miss Israel: Lina Makhuli marked her Jewish identity with an oversized Star of David resting on her cleavage and some interesting gold drapery hanging from her arms

Describable: Miss Nigeria (left) appeared in a colorful yellow and lime number, while Miss Peru (right) vaguely looked to the mountains and forests of her country for inspiration for her regal outfit

Under the sea: Miss Guam (left) used her country's rare orange oysters to make a skimpy bikini bottom, and Miss Denmark (right) chose her country's claim to fame, The Little Mermaid, for her national outfit inspiration

Meanwhile Miss Bolivia, Yessica Mouton, chose her country's national flower as a coverup. Her exotic number was blooming with the patuju, worn as a bikini with an oversize, tentacle-like headpiece.
Following on with the all-natural theme, Jennifer Andrade, Miss Honduras, wore a costume weighing a hefty 50lbs.
The rhinestones, seashells and pearls covering her huge Victoria's Secret-like wings, ceiling-reaching headpiece and push-up bikini, represented the coral reef off the coast of her country.

Miss Canada: Adwoa Yamoah celebrated the multiculturalism of Canada by including flags representing its immigrants, but she forgot to include Canada¿s flag

Miss Mexico: Karina Gonzalez invoked her country¿s Aztec past with massive ancient symbols crafted from peacock feathers, rhinestones, sequins and silver

Red, white and blue: Miss Netherlands (left) showed off Holland's famous windmills with pinwheels on her shoulders, while invoking the colours of the Dutch flag; and Miss USA (right) dressed up as the Statue of Liberty

Similarly elaborate was Miss British Virgin Islands' national outfit.
Abigail Hyndman, who was training to become a nun before she entered the pageant, made an incredibly heavy gown out of seashells, coral, sand dollars and faux lobster.
Miss Peru looked to the mountains and forests of her country for inspiration. Nicole Faveron's regal, and intimidating outfit, with thigh-high boots, feathered crown, and oversize cloak didn't really convey nature, but it was certainly mountainous.

Miss Bolivia: Yessica Mouton created an exotic number that evokes the patuju - her country's national flower

Miss China: Xu Jidan honored the Ching dynasty with its embroidered lotus flowers and dragons

Miss Mexico, Karina Gonzalez, showed a dress that was a lesson in arts and crafts. She invoked her country’s Aztec past with massive ancient symbols crafted from peacock feathers, rhinestones, sequins and silver.
And while 20-year-old Boston University sophomore, Olivia Culpo, brought the crown back to the U.S. for the first time in 15 years when she won the televised contest, her Statue of Liberty costume was probably not the deciding factor.
Miss Culpo walked out in an ethereal gown, which came with a red, white, and blue undercarriage. She had the details down, from the iconic pose to the diadem-shaped crown, and the oversized torch, adding her own dramatic shooting star wings.