Behind the style at Ladies’ Day

DOTTED among the customary bright colours, the enclosure at this year’s Ladies Day at the Galway Races was peppered with plenty of duck egg blues, pale pinks, mint greens and various shades of nude. Metallics also featured as did lace, the latter in abundance. As well as the dandelion hats that have been emerging in recent years, big structured hats were everywhere and this was reflected in the overall winner.
The crowds may have been down on previous years but, as ever, the ladies were out in style.
Judges at the Anthony Ryan’s Best Dressed Competition always say they are looking for more than just style, they are looking for a story. There were no shortage of stories among this year’s finalists.
Ann Marie Blennerhassett had one of the best. Originally from Kerry but living in Dublin, she wowed judges with her Doris Day inspired ensemble. Her vintage coat was bought from boutique Elsa and Gogo for just €40. It was the first part of her outfit and everything else was bought to fit around it.
“I bought the coat first. I fell in love with it. Then I bought the dress in the Heidi Higgins sale. I loved the neckline because it fitted so perfectly with the coat,” she said.
Her hat was by Kerry milliner Carol Kennelly, the gloves, Dents from Arnotts. Her handbag was owned by a woman reported to be a former love of Prince Philip before his marriage to then Princess Elizabeth, now Queen of England.
“The bag is vintage again. It was owned by Hollywood starlet Cobina Wright Junior. She died last year aged 90 and I bought it from a lady in Canada, who had bought it as part of her estate. I saw it online and just loved it. It is a Borsa Bella train case. I love cases and came across this one and the woman who sold it to me included signed photos of it and its owner,” she explained.
“I love vintage because it gives a unique twist from past to present. I like to give something a new lease of life. Vintage is more affordable than people think and you can bargain with people, and say ‘is that the best you can do?’ My bag was only $60. It was a steal. I couldn’t leave it behind me,” Ann Marie added.
Gort’s Linda Kilroy (pictured on p10), who owns Radiance Beauty Clinic in Quin, was another finalist with a story. Her dress was from Fran and Jane and her jacket from Juniper in Ennis. Her shoes were Nine West and she finished her outfit off with a Penneys bag. However, it was her show-stopping hat that was the real feature of her outfit.
“My hat was made by my brother’s friend, Oliver Blackwell from Somerset. He isn’t a milliner. He was here last year and he said after seeing the hats that he would make me one this year. The hat arrived on Monday, so I had to wait to get that and build my outfit around it,” she explained.
“I have been here before but I have never put this much effort in. The hat is made of cardboard with cutouts of horses and peacock feathers. Some of these small cut-out horses are then put onto the feathers. I painted some of these with white eye liner and nail polish,” she added.
Jill Macken from Slane won the Best Dressed Competition in 2006 wearing raspberry and turquoise. This year she picked from the same palette again.
“I went for the same colours but a very updated look. My hat is Gillian Hughes and my dress I got in Top Shop for €22. The shoes are from Penneys. There has been a lot of change in the last six years. There are lot of younger people here now. It is nicer, I think. It is great to get younger girls out racing. The style is very different now. My outfit from 2006 would look very dated today,” she explained.
The winner of the Anthony Ryan’s Best Dressed Lady Competition was 22-year-old Kelli O’Dell, a student from New South Wales, Australia.
Kelli wore an Anaessia black lace dress, with champagne underlay, matching sash and butterfly brooches. It was accessorised with black patent Tony Bianco Shoes and her grandmother’s black gloves.
Kelli is interning in London and this is her first time at the Galway Races.
“I was walking into the course today and I was completely stunned by the hats and dresses and was just looking around at everyone. Being selected as a finalist was wonderful and being announced as a winner was such a surprise. I am very happy. The Irish have wonderful style and their hats and dresses today really prove that,” she told The Clare Champion.
Sporting a hat of her own design, Aisling Ahern from Knockvickar, Boyle, Roscommon was the winner of the Anthony Ryan’s Best Hat Competition. The winning hat had an almond-shape base with a burnt orange structured bow.
Sinéad Purcell from Barefield, previous winner of the Best Hat accolade at the Galway Races, was again among the finalists for the best dressed competition. “It gets better every year. The competition is amazing today. I am very surprised to be among the finalists.”
Sinéad wore a stunning safari print dress from Black Halo.
“This year I didn’t want to go for a block colour. I love Black Halo. Their dresses really suit my body shape. I found a safari print and I had read somewhere that it is very in at the moment. Then I started accessorising. I got a moss green bamboo bag from Monsoon, teamed it with mustard gloves, which I had from TK Maxx and shoes from Penney’s, which cost €10. My jacket is from Monsoon too and the hat is from Lina Stein.”
Sinéad rarely strays from the Westport milliner for Galway. “I think it is very simple and elegant. Less is more when you wear a print dress. It is very structured and straight but when you have the detail in the dress, you really don’t need much more. The umbrella is from Anthony Ryan’s.”
The mother of two believes the recession is hitting women but they are still showing their style. “If you have a good dress, one that fits you well, then you can accessorise very reasonably,” she advised.
Edel Fleming from Gorey in Wexford donned Doll by Ruby Rouge. She wore her favourite colour, pink, with a red lace overlay and a hat by Ennis woman Fiona Mangan.
“Be brave because it is the only chance you get to get really dressed up. I would definitely say, ‘be brave not boring’,” she advised.
Oniesa Owens, a Longford resident with Ennis connections, was also a finalist in the best dressed competition. She wore a hat by Galway milliner Edel Ramberg and a dress by Amaya. Her shoes were by Carvela.
“My advice for people is just to go for a simple, understated look. Sometimes it is better than being over the top,” she noted.
Naoise Pelin from Athy recently set up her own millinery business. She made her own hat and matching sash. Her top was by Róisín Linnane and dress from Kalu in Naas. On her feet were borrowed Louboutins.
“I started millinery in the last two years. It is going from strength to strength now that I have found my niche. The hats here today are very strong. Everyone is wearing something I would wear myself. Interest in hats has really increased in the last few years.
“The likes of Kate Middleton, every time you pick up Hello, there she is in a hat. I got into millinery because I couldn’t afford my own hat so I got out the needle and thread and haven’t looked back since,” she commented.
Naoise won the best-dressed competition at Punchestown Races back in April.
Milliner Gillian Hughes described the style on the day as “remarkable”. She too noted the ‘do it yourself’ trend. “It is wonderful to see people chancing making their own hats. A few years ago everyone was buying their hat and going for very expensive pieces but now it is great to see people realising ‘I can do that and very cheaply if I get a bit creative’,” she said.
All finalists in the Best-Dressed Competition at the Anthony Ryan Marquee received a special collection of Lancôme cosmetics compliments of Rochford’s Pharmacy, Ennis.
Judging this year’s competition were three of the best-known names in the Irish fashion industry, former Miss World Rosanna Davison; Bairbre Power, fashion editor of the Irish Independent and executive editor of the Irish Independent Weekend magazine and PJ Gibbons, editor of Social and Personal Magazine.
They were joined by well known faces from the Galway fashion scene Patricia McCrossan, managing director, Galway NOW and Mandy Maher, director, Catwalk Model Agency.
The judges were on the lookout for a Best Dressed Lady with an innate sense of style, who could put together a winning ensemble, appropriate to both the wearer and the occasion.
“Our judges had the unenviable task of picking a winner from the very many stylish ladies present in Ballybrit,” said Anthony Ryan, managing director of Anthony Ryan’s Galway. “There is a fantastic effort put in by the ladies. I would say there are thousands of potential winners here today. It is a very difficult today because of the wind. It is not easy to show your best fashion in these conditions but the style and effort is huge.
“There is definitely a trend towards figure-hugging dresses with a lot of lace and pastel colours here today,” he added. He also complimented the women who attended Ladies Day for “adding so much to the occasion”.
“Those muted duck eggs and peaches are very fashionable. You need to have sallow skin for it to look well on you but there is the heart of fashion, going for what suits you,” he concluded.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, judge Rosanna Davison said she was “very impressed” with the standard of style on show on Thursday.
“People have been very creative and gone for classic colours. The hats are incredible. That is really a stand out for me,” she explained.
“Overall, there has been a focus on elegance. People are dressing appropriately for the weather conditions. Irish people are so stylish and dress really well for their shape and I think that is very important.”
Rosanna was sporting a Marchesa dress and a hat by Edel Ramberg, the designer of last year’s best hat at Galway.
Celia Holman Lee, who recalled spearheading the first ladies day at Galway Races, described the style on Thursday as “knock-out”.
“It is like looking at an old English garden,” she said, commenting on the romantic colours on show, adding that the additional bold bright hues made it “like a kaleidoscope of colour”.
“What I love is that there is no set trend. There is such individuality about everyone’s dress sense. There is nothing uniform. Everyone has gone for their own interpretation of what is the winning outfit,” she concluded.