Starters orders for style
TASTE is a funny thing. From Kate Middleton to Katie Price, aesthetic standards are slippery. Fashion, in all its subjective glory, continually manages to challenge, if not flout, the judgment call. One person’s Jason Wu is another’s Juicy Couture. How else can we explain TOWIE?
Passive scrutiny aside, a more spurious culture of style critique reaches fever pitch during summer racing season when women compete for the title of Best Dressed Lady. With prizes worth up to €20,000 for a winning outfit, it’s not just jockeys vying for turf glory. The purse for fashionable fillies is a lucrative one indeed, one which, if played right, can make the right girl odds-onfavourite to win.
Look closely and there appears to be a formula at stake. Certain box-ticking requirements beget entry into the coveted parade ring. Don a hat, frock and pair of heels and you’re half-way there. Think outside the box and your chances of success are halved.
How I long to see a trouser-suited brogue-footed Katharine Hepburn lookalike, or a style maverick like Anne Bullitt, Ireland’s first female thoroughbred trainer and breeder, who used to turn it out on the turf in Lanvin and Hermès colour-blocked in the Kildare native’s navy and white.
Asked to share my viewpoint on Ladies Day in a self-titled RTÉ Two documentary due for broadcast this autumn, my voice was that of dissension. Arguing that such competitions were led more by bet-hedging than individual style, I was issued the ultimate challenge by the programme’s presenter Brendan Courtney — to compete for the Best Dressed title at this year’s Galway Races.
Was I prepared to take a gamble on my own fashion pedigree, or would my own penchant for things obsidian even get a look in? This was something that would be proven only by putting my money where my mouth is.
As a fellow Galwegian and devil for a dare, I was happy to accept the gauntlet and prospective winnings: a onecarat diamond solitaire pendant valued at €8,000, a shopping spree worth €1,500 in Anthony Ryan’s Galway, €1,000 cash, a Lancôme presentation gift hamper worth over €500 and a corporate hospitality package for the Galway Races October bank holiday race meeting. Not bad for simply getting dressed. Even the Best Hat winner would walk away with a €1,500 shopping spree.
Fast forward to Aug 2 at Ballybrit racecourse. It’s a characteristically ‘soft’ day and I planned my trousseau accordingly: a Public Beware black wool capelet, grey wool Sinead Doyle maxi dress, Nine West block heels, Zara clutch, Joanne Hynes crystal collar and my father’s Claddagh ring.
I take the Ascot approach to Ladies Day. Always exhibit deference to propriety, be it age, shape and wonky weather patterns. Drop those hemlines at or below the knee, avoid sheer fabrics, strapless dresses and cover those arms — you’re standing outdoors at 53 degrees north latitude; not the South of France.
Set fire to those fascinators. They deserve to burn in effigy; not be placed atop one’s head. As for hats, look for the right one, not just any one. Head shape is as important as body shape.
If you’re going to dress the aul noggin, don’t lead punters to question whether the Hubble satellite did in fact land - on your head. As for strapping six-inch obelisks to your feet while attempting to walk over muddy stiles, please ensure you have adequate health insurance cover.
Within these parameters, there’s surprisingly plenty of scope to be playful with one’s style without looking fusty or far-fetched. But who would raise the stakes?
As per the entry requirements, ladies-in-waiting were advised to stay in the area of the Champagne tent. That was something I was quite prepared to do.
Glass of bubbly in hand, I was joined by another of the programme’s participants as we hovered with intent. Spotted by PJ Gibbons - Social & Personal editor and the Irish Examiner’s Out & About columnist - and model agent Mandy Maher, my new acquaintance was handed the last golden ticket for the day. She was thereupon taken into a special marquee where the winners were announced; whereas I stood alone in that West of Ireland special - horizontal rain.
This gave me the opportunity to observe. Standing both inside and outside the hallowed tent was a selection of notice-me offerings, outré hats, young designers cleverly advertising
their own labels and those ladies who know how to box clever. The overall winner, 22-year-old Australian student Kelli O’Dell, fell into the latter category in a black lace dress accessorised with a Champagne hat and sash.
It later emerged that O’Dell had won three previous race events - proving the Ladies Day bandwagon is really a case of who plays the game. I knew immediately why I wasn’t picked - I didn’t play ball.
For me, goth glam and things obsidian win out over peplums and frills. My refusal to wear a hat couldn’t have helped matters, not to mention my choice of wintry fabrics in a season branded as ‘summer’, (please see 53 degrees north latitude).
The fact that I work as a fashion journalist and a stylist could easily have been a deterrent, or perhaps my outfit just didn’t fit the brief. What qualifies as stylish on the front rows of London Fashion Week doesn’t necessarily translate as winning Ladies Day material.
Let’s face it. Even philosopher Emanuel Kant was forced to exclude the fickle beast that is fashion from aesthetic discourse. Ultimately, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’; only a body of opinions.
If this is the case, why are we all so keen to judge or more importantly, be judged? Some call it the thrill of showmanship, others an underlying need for validation. I call it a jolly big shopping spree.
¦ Ladies Day is broadcast on RTÉ Two on Tuesday at 9.30pm.
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