Hat’ll do nicely as ladies walk red carpet in style

A LITTLE piece of Hollywood glamour came to the RDS yesterday as the competition took to the red carpet for the much anticipated Evian Ladies Day.

From the saucy to the sublime to the simply outrageous, the women took centre stage in a collection of eye-catching dresses and exotic hats, some of which were so elaborate they may have required planning permission.

After careful consideration the winner of the best dressed lady — complete with a €10,000 prize, including a trip for two to the Ritz Hotel in Paris, was presented to Joanne Hepburn, a veterinary nurse from Laurel Wood, Kilcullen, Co Kildare. She wore a €800 green dress, which had been made for a wedding.

The winning design was strikingly similar to the ensemble that won best dressed lady at Galway Races last week for Meath woman Jill Macken, who had bought the gown for her debs ball.

The dresses — both created by Dublin designers Tyrell and Brennan — feature very similar cuts and both were teamed with chiffon wraps and cerise hats, bags and shoes.

The inaugural Best in Pink prize — a €3,600 pink Longines ladies chronograph watch studded with diamonds — was won by Niamh Flanagan from Rathangan, Co Kildare.

Maureen Gill, Grattan Park, Galway, took the prize for the best hat and Stephen Burke, Mullinahone, Co Tipperary, won a Louis Copeland suit for being best dressed man.

Rosanna Davidson, the former Miss World, who judged the competition, along with Copeland and designer Synan O’Mahony said she was impressed with the standard of the fashion on view.

“Each of the entrants brought an individual style, creativity and their own personal flair to the outfits. We chose the winners based on those different traits,” she said.

There were nearly 400 entrants for the competition, with each having the experience of walking down the red carpet to be photographed.