Starters orders for style

Set fire to those fascinators — Ladies Day fashion needs a complete overhaul, says Annmarie O’Connor. Here’s her guide to style at the races.

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.