WINNING STYLE IS SEW CREATIVE
Award winning outfit a self-made triumph
ATHERTON couple June Sheppard and Lachlan Rogers stood out from the crowd when they won the Open Classic Ladies Wear and the Open Men’s Race Wear category respectively in the Fashions on the Field competition at Cairns Amateurs. The talented seamstress sewed the winning dress herself. “I make all my own clothes so I started with the print and created a design from there,” she said.
GETTING ready for the races is a family affair for June Sheppard and her children.
The Atherton mum and seamstress worked around her and her partner’s five children to sew her own Open Ladies Classic Racewear winning dress.
“My partner and I have five kids between us and I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a designer dress, so it makes me incredibly proud to be able to create something that gets noticed,” she said. “I found the fabric in Spotlight and loved the print. I make all my own clothes so I started with the print and created a design from there.”
Ms Sheppard worked with Maria Benck from With Grace Millinery on her one-of-a-kind hat.
“I showed her the fabric and told her I wanted to have something in a natural cane vibe, so she came up with this design and we paired it together really nicely,” she said. “It always feels lovely to walk away with a win. This win was very surprising and I’m very stoked.”
But she said it wasn’t an easy feat to get a dress sewn while looking after a brood of children.
“I do it (the sewing) mostly while they’re sleeping, but all the girls like sewing too so they get in the sewing room and do their own thing with me,” she said.
With Grace Millinery owner and head designer Ms Benck said it was heartening to know that Fashions on the Field entrants still turned to local dressmakers and milliners to create their winning looks.
“It’s so good that local girls do typically support local milliners,” she said.
“It creates a nice vibe when you come and support your girls up on stage.”
She said there were “no words” to describe how it felt to have an outfit with her millinery win a Fashions on the Field sash.
“It’s so amazing to see the joy in someone, especially when they have worked so hard on their outfit. To be part of their outfit is really amazing,” she said.