Sponsored by
Video: Ladies’ Day at the St Leger Festival
RACEGOERS were given a grandstand view of the best in Yorkshire fashion as colourfully-clad women from across the North battled it out for the most coveted of titles.
While some at Doncaster Racecourse were glued to the action on the track, many at the St Leger festival’s Ladies’ Day were eagerly picking out their favourite fascinators and waiting to see who’d be named the Best Dressed Lady in Yorkshire.
Throughout the summer, judges have been choosing the best-dressed woman racegoer at fixtures in Wetherby, Ripon, Redcar, Pontefract, Beverley, Catterick, York and Thirsk.
Then, yesterday, those winners were joined by the newly-crowned Best Dressed Lady in Doncaster to see who would be awarded the top prize.
Judge Ian Filby said members of the panel were looking for “a lovely, co-ordinated outfit from top to bottom.”
Julie Moore, from Redcar, said she was “gobsmacked” to be named Yorkshire’s best-dressed woman, pipping Doncaster’s best-dressed, Leesa Smickersgill, to the winner’s post.
The mother-of-four, who won the best-dressed prize at Thirsk racecourse last Saturday, now wins a luxury “pampering pyjama party” for six at the Best Western Premier Mount Pleasant Hotel in Doncaster.
She said: “It’s absolutely amazing. I wish my husband Daren was here to see this, but he’s working offshore. He’d be absolutely over the moon.
“It’s my mother’s 60th birthday soon, but she hasn’t been well and has had to cancel her party in October. I’m going to be passing my prize on to her.”
Mrs Moore wore a hot pink Kate Fearnley dress from the designer’s boutique in Middlesbrough, which she teamed with a pink and orange hat made by Lynne Young at Chic Hats in Redcar.
“I come to the races with my husband – he likes the races, and I like the fashion”, Mrs Moore said.
“I usually get my dress first, and then Lynne is inspired by the dress and she designs me a hat to go with it. I was second here last year, so I’m ecstatic to win this time.”
In second place was 43-year-old Mrs Smickersgill, who won the title of Doncaster’s best-dressed woman in a black and white chequered ensemble.
She took home an array of prizes including the use of a Mini Cooper convertible for a year and an overnight stay at the Crown Hotel in Bawtry.
“I work from home; myself and my partner make fascinators, and I also make dresses”, the mother-of-three said.
Racegoers who didn’t catch the eye of the judges had the consolation prize of the looming black rainclouds clearing to make way for a hot and sunny afternoon.
Women sipped champagne and Pimms on the lawn, to the strains of a brass band, while others were overcome by the excitement of their favourites romping home.
The favoured styles this year were short and strapless dresses in a variety of bold colours, although some broke the mould with stylish all-in-one jumpsuits, teamed with skyscaper heels.
Large, overstated headwear was the order of the day, with smaller fascinators being overshadowed by vast, colourful works of art.
Many had clearly put a great deal of time and effort into choosing the perfect outfit and had arranged to have hats, dresses and fascinators made to order by their favourite designer.
Mother and daughter duo Alexis and Carol Fawthrop, from Tong in Bradford, stood out from the crowd with their extravagant headgear.
Miss Fawthrop, 26, who wore a green leaf-like hat complete with butterflies and flowers, said: “We’ve been here every year for the last four years and, this year, have been to York and Thirsk as well.
“We had the hats made by Eleda, in Guiseley, and we tend to wear them three or four times a year.”
With the Ladies’ Day of Ladies’ Days now over for another year, those disappointed yesterday have until next May in Wetherby to dream up another extravagant creation, with the hope of being named the Best Dressed Lady in Yorkshire in 2012.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
RedRocket
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 08:02 PMOh what fun to see the Ladies turn into loud mouth Sl@ppers, with breast hanging out on Bennetthorpe after two many glasses of champers. Its Silver Street at the races, nothing more.
PuGlIfE
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 01:03 PMSophie1982 is obviously a friend of the infamous LADY IN RED! Oh dear it must be a hard time to enter a competition and heaven forbid not win! Maybe sore losers should reconsider if they cannot deal with the disappointment of not being placed! And as the others have commented its a PANEL not just one JUDGE. So finger pointing and naming is obviously just bitterness! GET OVER IT LADIES... BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME eh? Well done Julie on being Yorkshires Best dressed! ENJOY! PuGlife x
cheezesof nazarath
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 11:26 AMEverything is personal choice. For the record Liz took a back seat in the judging as she does know Julie but she also knows several of the girls in the final including one finalist who purchased her outfit from Liz's shop. She told the other judges it would be unfair for her to have too much input becasue of this. All the ladies looked lovely and if you do not know the full facts, dont comment!!!
MrRaces
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 10:22 AMI sense a bit of bitterness here. There were a lot of lovely dressed ladies at the meeting yesterday and it would have been very difficult to choose a winner out of all of them. It was a panel of judges that picked Julie not just one and it would have had to be a consensual decision. At the end of the day it boils down to somebody's personal choice. It is also worth noting that only 3 of the ladies involved in the final wore their original winning outfits representing the course that they won at, the lady in red NOT being one of them. And as a final point if the lady in red should have won then why was she not even SECOND or THIRD. Like I said... a PANEL of judges personal opinion. I personally thought Julie looked stunning and was a deserving winner.
sophie1982
Friday, September 9, 2011 at 09:24 AMJulie Moore Best Dressed Lady in Yorkshire - sorry NO! Best Friend of one of the judges (Liz Ackroyd) YES! How fortunate for Ms Moore that Liz just happened to be one of the judges of the competition yesterday and how unfortunate for all the other finalists including the lady in red who really should have won. Does anyone agree?
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.