Aintree - Part1Best
AINTREE LADIES DAY 2010
PART 1 - THE BEST DRESSED !!
Friday was the second day of the biggest annual three-day event at the Aintree Race course - this is of course, the Grand National racing event at Aintree, and the second day was of course Ladies Day !! This is traditionally the day when all the ladies get all togged up in their best gear for a marvellous and exciting day out at the races...
First, a little reminder :-
Contrary to the usual conditions set down for this journal, this is one of the rare events where I pick on members of the Public...it should be remembered that these ladies got all dressed up to have a good day out with their friends, and with the specific wish to be seen and photographed by the Press if they were lucky - their own little fifteen minutes of fame if you like - and therefore they must accept that they will be picked up for the bad things as well as the good...
In turn, it should also be remembered by us that these are mere ordinary mortals - not celebrities, actresses or models, and therefore they will not be posing for any cameras, or necessarily giving us their best side...
Now, it must be pointed out that Aintree Ladies Day does have a bit of a reputation for bringing out the worst in these lady race-goers, in terms of both what they were wearing and how they were wearing it - and how drunk they were getting too....so I reckoned it would only be fair to first give them all a chance to show that they are not all bad, and that the majority of the ladies there were most decorous - well dressed with very ladylike manners and behaviour...
( Don't fret, there will certainly be a Part 2 to redress the balance !! )
I do make it a point to look at all the best fashions out on show at this event, as a precursor to Ascot and Chelsea Flower Show - the other two big Spring events that involve beautiful dresses, shoes, bags and of course, hats...these three events are all great opportunities to get some ideas for that wedding you have been invited to later on in the Summer - so come and see what the good ladies of Liverpool wore when they got together for the biggest race-meet of the North...
So how well did the good ladies of the North do in the style stakes then, this weekend ?...
Well, it has to be said that there was a huge amount of really beautiful dresses on show, with a big emphasis on current trends - lengths were either ultra-short or full length, for this year the maxi-dress is a big fashion trend...
As for colours - acid brights were a big favourite, as well as that classic combination of black and white...the other trend that showed up was a whole range of the very palest pastels, including the very current nude shade that I hate so much !!
The other big, big trend at this event was for zany, abstract multi-coloured prints, so many in fact that this whole event could well rival the esteemed House of Emilio Pucci itself !!
Hats and fascinators, of course, were very much on show too - and these were as brightly coloured as the dresses !!
BLACK & WHITE
Black and white is such a classic combination that it will always make up a good proportion of the outfits at any of these events, including the plain versions of both colours...both black and white on their own, are simple and strong in their own right, but putting them together will zest each colour up considerably - so if you were thinking of wearing just plain black or plain white to that wedding, consider pepping the whole effect up with accessories of the opposite colour - black with white, or white with black - it will make such a difference !!
All of these ladies have kept their make-up quite natural here, and where they have gone for a more made-up look, they have tended to go for that 60s style eye-emphasis with pale lips...
Here's a truly good selection of black and white fascinators - these a really excellent alternative to an actual hat, if you are shying away from the idea of the full blown hat-effect !!
I love the fun fringed flapper dress on the left, even if she has ditched her high heels for the flat Matalan flip-flops that were being given away - obviously a popular choice because there were so many girls wearing them by the end of the afternoon !! You could spot them by the rainbow stripe inner sole which matched the Matalan carrier bags...
The dress on the right is really stylish - echoing the fifties with a big skirt and giant white spots on a black background - fab !!
Even Uber-WAG Coleen Rooney went for plain black with her cocktail dress designed by Matthew Williamson...and promptly confounded all the punters who bet on these things, as they all went for a bright colour !! She is noticeably and naturally paler too, so she didn't go for that awful fake tan either - so all you ladies take note !!
PASTELS
The pastel shades were a popular choice for some - pale tints of green, lavender, blue and pink, and of course, that nude shade ...
The best things to accessorize pastels with are giant pearls...obviously not real, but nevertheless the cream colour really goes with almost every pale shade - all the sugar almond colours really like cream...
Black, strangely, can be a good colour with pastels, but it depends on the intensity of the shade - it goes better with what I term strong pastels...the slightly deeper shades of these colours won't get washed out by black !!
BRIGHTS : PURPLES AND BLUES
One of the strongest trends at this event were the plain bright colours - gorgeous hues of purple, cobalt, turquoise, red, orange, pink and yellow were all mingling together as groups of friends walked around the race ground - there were many photos where I have had to seperate the friends because their dresses were all different colours and prints...
All of these dresses are just gorgeous - brilliant cobalt blue was such a popular colour, many of them only just this side of purple...of course, there was plenty of purple in its own right...
I have to admit that this girl looks like she is going to a ball rather than a racing event !! I am in two minds about dresses like this - I think the trend for long dresses is fine as long as they are clearly dressy day-wear - loud floral prints and beautiful rich colours in cottons and slubby silks are perfect, but this dress is a teensy bit too evening-style for my taste - lovely though it is !! Anyway, she still gets to be in my Best Dressed list because she looks a million dollars !!
BRIGHTS : REDS, ORANGES AND YELLOWS
I loved all the brilliant reds and oranges on show here too...and the slightly Spanish influence was evident in the frills and the beautiful embroidery of these two dresses...
I really liked the stylish waterfall panel floating down the back of this dress on the right - the print was exceptionally good too...
Wow - acid colours !!
BRIGHTS : TURQUOISE / AQUA
Surprisingly there weren't that many turquoisey colours, even though it was quite a popular base colour for many of the prints...another celebrity showed up though - Claire Sweeney wore a beautiful turquoise figure-hugging dress with an interesting bow-style arrangement on the body of the dress...I do think she could have benefitted from a bra though, as the day wasn't quite as warm as the sun made out !!.,
This was the other turquoise dress that I rather liked, on the right - the shocking raspberry hair notwithstanding !! The dress itself is interesting and a great colour...I like the fact that she has worn open court shoes as she doesn't have the slimmest legs in the world - but she certainly knows how to make the best of them...and there will be a bit of chit-chat on this point about shoes in the next post !!
PRINTS
The biggest trend by far at Aintree was the amazing range of brilliant prints...abstract, zany, ethnic, zig-zaggy, stripey, flowery, you name it - everything in big bold colours...
These were a few of the quieter prints on show here - black, white, tan, beige, sand and cream all blend well together, and even the orange and yellow one on the right wasn't as bright as the rest...
The two on the left I love - the purple / pink colours are lovely and the butterflies on her shawl are beautiful and very on-trend !! The bright yellow, black, and white print is a matter of taste, but she does look good in it...I certainly would have gone for different shoes with it though - the high ankle straps are cutting in to her ankles and they look too heavy in dark brown for the bright yellow - in fact, her friends shoes would have been so much better - maybe they should swap next time !!
The dress on the left is a marvellous black, white and magenta print which has me intrigued, worn with simple black courts...and the centre one is a beautiful turquoise and silver sari fabric made into a maxi-dress for the summer...beautiful !!
Here are two very interesting prints - I love them both, especially the black, white and lime green, which I think may be from Monsoon a little while back !! Such a strong graphic print suits a slightly larger lady, as she has the build to carry it off well...and she had the good sense to wear a pashmina in the same shade of green...her companion is wearing a dress from East, I think...it certainly reminds me of one of their prints, but I may be mistaken !!
I am however, not mistaken about this :-
This is a tunic dress from Monsoon that costs £95 and is available now, and even if you live in the US you can order from their site I think !! Isn't this butterfly print lovely ?!!
This is an unusual variation on the colourful print theme - this is a turquoise and lime Indian block-print top and trousers combination and I reckon the colourful play-suit will also be a big trend for the Summer !!
Orange, purple and pink was a popular combination and worked very well in the majority of cases...
The strapless dress on the right is from Peacocks, a cut-price chain of clothing shops who produce a fine selection of cheap takes on the current trends, and they prove that you really don't have to spend quantities of cash to look good for an event like this ...I was as surprised as you when I saw this in Peacocks yesterday in West Ealing - in fact, I did a double take !! Having just downloaded this photo in the morning, I recognised it straight away !!
I think this selection of purple, pink and orange prints is my favourite of all the looks here - this dress below is fabulous, and very striking indeed !!
SPECTACULAR HATS
Of course, it will come as no surprise whatsoever that there was a fine selection of hats at this event ...some of them were very wide-brimmed...
...and others were tiny little perch-on-top-of-your-head affairs, like these:-
Some were little more than jewellery pieces, like this diamanté butterfly clip...still a good alternative to a hat though !!
Other still were a little more unorthodox, but still wearable...
Some were brilliant colours...
Some were sculptural and featured amazing flowers and other items...
Some were very original and some were just plain crazy...Carmen Miranda anyone ?!!
I love the simple nature of this hat though - perfectly matched to her outfit, and a truly beautiful shade of rich purple, with simple silk flowers, it ticks all the boxes for a great hat !!
For the last few years, the organisers have been trying to encourage the ladies to really dress up and make this an event to put Ascot in the shade, in the style stakes, by staging a huge Style Competition, with a massive prize of £35,000 worth of luxury goods to win...Racegoers have spent months planning the perfect outfit in the hope they will impress the five strong panel of judges to win the Style 2010 title and be named Aintree's most stylish racegoer. The contest, staged on Thursday and Friday of the meeting, will see Aintree’s most stylish racegoer win an exclusive lifestyle prize, including a starring role in Matalan’s autumn fashion campaign, along with a trip to a top London Studio to be personally styled and directed by Jeff Banks himself... Quite a good prize then...especially if you fancy yourself as a girl with a future in modelling, and as you would expect, the number of entries was staggering !! In fact, this lady got into the final four of that Style Competition, and here they are, on stage, waiting to see who has won...
I am not entirely sure that I agree totally with the judges final choice, but Sophie Fairclough did look lovely in her green dress with black accessories...
In case you're wondering - yes, that is Coleen Rooney presenting the prize - this photo was taken on the Saturday,after the judging took place on the Friday...that's why she's in a different dress !!
So what do you think ? Are the ladies of the North entitled to a bit of praise for their wonderful outfits for this event...there is no doubt that they can look good when they want to, and this event isn't all about looking like a tart and behaving like a chav...
Or is it ?
Come back for Part 2, when all will be revealed...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A big Thank-you to all these photographers for their amazingly candid photos and their wonderful all seeing eyes...
Tom Jenkins – The Guardian
Tim Hales – AP
Adrian Dennis – Getty
Paul Ellis – AFP/Getty
PART 1 - THE BEST DRESSED !!
Friday was the second day of the biggest annual three-day event at the Aintree Race course - this is of course, the Grand National racing event at Aintree, and the second day was of course Ladies Day !! This is traditionally the day when all the ladies get all togged up in their best gear for a marvellous and exciting day out at the races...
First, a little reminder :-
Contrary to the usual conditions set down for this journal, this is one of the rare events where I pick on members of the Public...it should be remembered that these ladies got all dressed up to have a good day out with their friends, and with the specific wish to be seen and photographed by the Press if they were lucky - their own little fifteen minutes of fame if you like - and therefore they must accept that they will be picked up for the bad things as well as the good...
In turn, it should also be remembered by us that these are mere ordinary mortals - not celebrities, actresses or models, and therefore they will not be posing for any cameras, or necessarily giving us their best side...
Now, it must be pointed out that Aintree Ladies Day does have a bit of a reputation for bringing out the worst in these lady race-goers, in terms of both what they were wearing and how they were wearing it - and how drunk they were getting too....so I reckoned it would only be fair to first give them all a chance to show that they are not all bad, and that the majority of the ladies there were most decorous - well dressed with very ladylike manners and behaviour...
( Don't fret, there will certainly be a Part 2 to redress the balance !! )
I do make it a point to look at all the best fashions out on show at this event, as a precursor to Ascot and Chelsea Flower Show - the other two big Spring events that involve beautiful dresses, shoes, bags and of course, hats...these three events are all great opportunities to get some ideas for that wedding you have been invited to later on in the Summer - so come and see what the good ladies of Liverpool wore when they got together for the biggest race-meet of the North...
So how well did the good ladies of the North do in the style stakes then, this weekend ?...
Well, it has to be said that there was a huge amount of really beautiful dresses on show, with a big emphasis on current trends - lengths were either ultra-short or full length, for this year the maxi-dress is a big fashion trend...
As for colours - acid brights were a big favourite, as well as that classic combination of black and white...the other trend that showed up was a whole range of the very palest pastels, including the very current nude shade that I hate so much !!
The other big, big trend at this event was for zany, abstract multi-coloured prints, so many in fact that this whole event could well rival the esteemed House of Emilio Pucci itself !!
Hats and fascinators, of course, were very much on show too - and these were as brightly coloured as the dresses !!
BLACK & WHITE
Black and white is such a classic combination that it will always make up a good proportion of the outfits at any of these events, including the plain versions of both colours...both black and white on their own, are simple and strong in their own right, but putting them together will zest each colour up considerably - so if you were thinking of wearing just plain black or plain white to that wedding, consider pepping the whole effect up with accessories of the opposite colour - black with white, or white with black - it will make such a difference !!
All of these ladies have kept their make-up quite natural here, and where they have gone for a more made-up look, they have tended to go for that 60s style eye-emphasis with pale lips...
Here's a truly good selection of black and white fascinators - these a really excellent alternative to an actual hat, if you are shying away from the idea of the full blown hat-effect !!
I love the fun fringed flapper dress on the left, even if she has ditched her high heels for the flat Matalan flip-flops that were being given away - obviously a popular choice because there were so many girls wearing them by the end of the afternoon !! You could spot them by the rainbow stripe inner sole which matched the Matalan carrier bags...
The dress on the right is really stylish - echoing the fifties with a big skirt and giant white spots on a black background - fab !!
Even Uber-WAG Coleen Rooney went for plain black with her cocktail dress designed by Matthew Williamson...and promptly confounded all the punters who bet on these things, as they all went for a bright colour !! She is noticeably and naturally paler too, so she didn't go for that awful fake tan either - so all you ladies take note !!
PASTELS
The pastel shades were a popular choice for some - pale tints of green, lavender, blue and pink, and of course, that nude shade ...
The best things to accessorize pastels with are giant pearls...obviously not real, but nevertheless the cream colour really goes with almost every pale shade - all the sugar almond colours really like cream...
Black, strangely, can be a good colour with pastels, but it depends on the intensity of the shade - it goes better with what I term strong pastels...the slightly deeper shades of these colours won't get washed out by black !!
BRIGHTS : PURPLES AND BLUES
One of the strongest trends at this event were the plain bright colours - gorgeous hues of purple, cobalt, turquoise, red, orange, pink and yellow were all mingling together as groups of friends walked around the race ground - there were many photos where I have had to seperate the friends because their dresses were all different colours and prints...
All of these dresses are just gorgeous - brilliant cobalt blue was such a popular colour, many of them only just this side of purple...of course, there was plenty of purple in its own right...
I have to admit that this girl looks like she is going to a ball rather than a racing event !! I am in two minds about dresses like this - I think the trend for long dresses is fine as long as they are clearly dressy day-wear - loud floral prints and beautiful rich colours in cottons and slubby silks are perfect, but this dress is a teensy bit too evening-style for my taste - lovely though it is !! Anyway, she still gets to be in my Best Dressed list because she looks a million dollars !!
BRIGHTS : REDS, ORANGES AND YELLOWS
I loved all the brilliant reds and oranges on show here too...and the slightly Spanish influence was evident in the frills and the beautiful embroidery of these two dresses...
I really liked the stylish waterfall panel floating down the back of this dress on the right - the print was exceptionally good too...
Wow - acid colours !!
BRIGHTS : TURQUOISE / AQUA
Surprisingly there weren't that many turquoisey colours, even though it was quite a popular base colour for many of the prints...another celebrity showed up though - Claire Sweeney wore a beautiful turquoise figure-hugging dress with an interesting bow-style arrangement on the body of the dress...I do think she could have benefitted from a bra though, as the day wasn't quite as warm as the sun made out !!.,
This was the other turquoise dress that I rather liked, on the right - the shocking raspberry hair notwithstanding !! The dress itself is interesting and a great colour...I like the fact that she has worn open court shoes as she doesn't have the slimmest legs in the world - but she certainly knows how to make the best of them...and there will be a bit of chit-chat on this point about shoes in the next post !!
PRINTS
The biggest trend by far at Aintree was the amazing range of brilliant prints...abstract, zany, ethnic, zig-zaggy, stripey, flowery, you name it - everything in big bold colours...
These were a few of the quieter prints on show here - black, white, tan, beige, sand and cream all blend well together, and even the orange and yellow one on the right wasn't as bright as the rest...
The two on the left I love - the purple / pink colours are lovely and the butterflies on her shawl are beautiful and very on-trend !! The bright yellow, black, and white print is a matter of taste, but she does look good in it...I certainly would have gone for different shoes with it though - the high ankle straps are cutting in to her ankles and they look too heavy in dark brown for the bright yellow - in fact, her friends shoes would have been so much better - maybe they should swap next time !!
The dress on the left is a marvellous black, white and magenta print which has me intrigued, worn with simple black courts...and the centre one is a beautiful turquoise and silver sari fabric made into a maxi-dress for the summer...beautiful !!
Here are two very interesting prints - I love them both, especially the black, white and lime green, which I think may be from Monsoon a little while back !! Such a strong graphic print suits a slightly larger lady, as she has the build to carry it off well...and she had the good sense to wear a pashmina in the same shade of green...her companion is wearing a dress from East, I think...it certainly reminds me of one of their prints, but I may be mistaken !!
I am however, not mistaken about this :-
This is a tunic dress from Monsoon that costs £95 and is available now, and even if you live in the US you can order from their site I think !! Isn't this butterfly print lovely ?!!
This is an unusual variation on the colourful print theme - this is a turquoise and lime Indian block-print top and trousers combination and I reckon the colourful play-suit will also be a big trend for the Summer !!
Orange, purple and pink was a popular combination and worked very well in the majority of cases...
The strapless dress on the right is from Peacocks, a cut-price chain of clothing shops who produce a fine selection of cheap takes on the current trends, and they prove that you really don't have to spend quantities of cash to look good for an event like this ...I was as surprised as you when I saw this in Peacocks yesterday in West Ealing - in fact, I did a double take !! Having just downloaded this photo in the morning, I recognised it straight away !!
I think this selection of purple, pink and orange prints is my favourite of all the looks here - this dress below is fabulous, and very striking indeed !!
SPECTACULAR HATS
Of course, it will come as no surprise whatsoever that there was a fine selection of hats at this event ...some of them were very wide-brimmed...
...and others were tiny little perch-on-top-of-your-head affairs, like these:-
Some were little more than jewellery pieces, like this diamanté butterfly clip...still a good alternative to a hat though !!
Other still were a little more unorthodox, but still wearable...
Some were brilliant colours...
Some were sculptural and featured amazing flowers and other items...
Some were very original and some were just plain crazy...Carmen Miranda anyone ?!!
I love the simple nature of this hat though - perfectly matched to her outfit, and a truly beautiful shade of rich purple, with simple silk flowers, it ticks all the boxes for a great hat !!
For the last few years, the organisers have been trying to encourage the ladies to really dress up and make this an event to put Ascot in the shade, in the style stakes, by staging a huge Style Competition, with a massive prize of £35,000 worth of luxury goods to win...Racegoers have spent months planning the perfect outfit in the hope they will impress the five strong panel of judges to win the Style 2010 title and be named Aintree's most stylish racegoer. The contest, staged on Thursday and Friday of the meeting, will see Aintree’s most stylish racegoer win an exclusive lifestyle prize, including a starring role in Matalan’s autumn fashion campaign, along with a trip to a top London Studio to be personally styled and directed by Jeff Banks himself... Quite a good prize then...especially if you fancy yourself as a girl with a future in modelling, and as you would expect, the number of entries was staggering !! In fact, this lady got into the final four of that Style Competition, and here they are, on stage, waiting to see who has won...
I am not entirely sure that I agree totally with the judges final choice, but Sophie Fairclough did look lovely in her green dress with black accessories...
In case you're wondering - yes, that is Coleen Rooney presenting the prize - this photo was taken on the Saturday,after the judging took place on the Friday...that's why she's in a different dress !!
So what do you think ? Are the ladies of the North entitled to a bit of praise for their wonderful outfits for this event...there is no doubt that they can look good when they want to, and this event isn't all about looking like a tart and behaving like a chav...
Or is it ?
Come back for Part 2, when all will be revealed...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A big Thank-you to all these photographers for their amazingly candid photos and their wonderful all seeing eyes...
Tom Jenkins – The Guardian
Tim Hales – AP
Adrian Dennis – Getty
Paul Ellis – AFP/Getty
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