Thrifty fashion pays off for racing recessionista
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Friday July 31 2009
THE Galway race day fashionistas claimed the day and proved you can look a million dollars, on a budget.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan would be proud of Mary Therese McDonnell's thriftiness as her Best Dressed outfit paid off the equivalent of 48-1 when she romped home with €12,000 in prizes for an investment of roughly €250.
Not bad going for the blonde Mayo-born teacher, who paid just €169 for her colourful, eye-catching kimono-style dress which was designed by Brazilians Mimi Frou Frou and bought at Neola boutique in Malahide, Co Dublin.
The sassy shopper won the Anthony Ryan-sponsored Best Dressed competition co-ordinating her dress with clever accessories including an inexpensive clutch bag from high street store, Bay Trading. An 11th hour request to Dalkey, Co Dublin, hairdresser/hat designer Jacqueline Layton to make her a one-off hat for Galway resulted in the home economics teacher borrowing rather than renting, a pink daisy feather hat with silver butterfly motif. "She left it very close to the wire to get a new hat made so I when I saw her dress, I told her to borrow the pink hat," explained Jacqueline of JacqL in Castle Street.
"I was commissioned by about a dozen ladies to revamp old hats for the Galway races this year. Some of them were 25 years old and the challenge was to make the old hats look new, so you see, there are ways of beating this recession," the designer said.
The judges were besieged by show hats, the inevitable OTT exhibition pieces and the flirty showstoppers.
The colourful hats were co-ordinated to within an inch of their life with vintage gloves, rather dramatic eye make up , husbands' ties and brollies.
Inspiration came from everyday items like lipstick and Mary Rose Gormley wore it on her head, on her lips and carried the lipstick 'kiss' motif on to her dress.
Lina Stein designed the winning hat -- a stunning, black lace over cream satin, pleated, fan-shaped creation worn by Sinead Purcell.
The simplicity of Sinead's hat decorated with orchids and her figure-hugging red dress and short, black crocheted gloves had real 1950s glamour, which the judges couldn't ignore.
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- Bairbre Power Fashion editor
