FEAST OF FASHION AT LADIES DAY IN LISTOWEL
FASHIONISTAS HIT LISTOWEL IN THEIR TENS OF THOUSANDS AS PENULTIMATE HARVEST DAY GOES DOWN AS RECORD-BREAKER IN TOWN’S RACING ANNALS
SUCH was the giant tidal wave of high fashion that engulfed the Island on Friday that Listowel could have given even Royal Ascot a run for its money in the style stakes.
Ladies’ Day was never more aptly named as this particular part of the seven-day card was only marginally to do with horses. Make no mistake about it, the women were centre stage on Day Six and how they ‘owned’ the spotlight!
Dressed in a level of finery of which even Cleopatra herself would have approved, they made Ladies’ Day 2016 first class in terms of fashion, as well as in terms of the incredible attendance of nearly 30,000.
Duagh’s Margaret O’ Keeffe donned elegant black faux fur and a spectacular head piece that was custom made for the day.
Local lady Eibhlis Moriarty looked striking in a black and white dress, accessorised perfectly by a cerise fascinator and shawl she borrowed from her neighbour Aileen Dillon, who, she says, ‘ has an amazing closet!’
Catherine from Carlow, who wouldn’t disclose her surname for some reason, summed up the style pretty well: “Everybody has a different idea of fashion. Few people have the same outfit and even if you do, they all wear it differently.”
That much was very evident as there were no two outfits the same, in fact it was hard to spot two outfits even vaguely similar.
And it was a native of the Royal County who contributed no end to the Royal Ascot feel of the day - Best Dressed Lady Louise Allen. Wearing a rose embellished dress purchased on e-bay (pictured above) she was crowned the winner of the showpiece McElligott’s Honda Ladies’ Day competition, receiving a cheque valued at €3,000.
Listowel’s Catherine Keane took the runner-up spot, with Killarney’s Jill Duggan also recognised. Killarney’s, Charlene Brosnan claimed the gong for jazziest headpiece while Ashley Spillane, Tralee was deemed most glamorous young racer.
The most stylish selfie competition winner was Tralee’s Kinga Gunau, while, Sharon Heffernan and Anthony McCarthy, Listowel, won the best dressed couple category.
And one poor fashion soul found herself centre of attention by virtue of her killer heels before ever reaching the shelter of the stands. ‘At the Races’ were at hand to capture her wibbly-wobbly dash across the turf as she teetered and fell at the first hurdle.
Thanks to the footage, the unfortunate fall went down as one of the iconic moments of the 2016 Harvest Festival, ratcheting up 100,000s of views on social media.
Fashion was still to the fore on Saturday, with the Up- Cycled Vintage Fashion Day.
Judge Orla Winters was herself looking stunning as ever in what she described as “a black Tina Griffin Designs dress and a black headpiece by milliner,Rebekah Wall - Both Kerry designers”.
She later deemed Margaret Hynes- Cahill of Ardfert the most glamorous of all.
“I’m in shock to be honest. I love ladies day and decided to go to Saturday’s meeting also having heard about the vintage day,” Margaret told
Her fabulous red coat dress was complimented beautifully by a hat from the Issabella Rue boutique in Cork, a vintage Burberry bag and gloves previously owned by her grandmother.