Galway Races Throwback to 1999

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With the annual Galway Races Ladies Day just one week away we decided to look back through our wonderful Image archives of Miranda’s Diary and found some retro fashion inspiration in this piece from 1999. It appears that fifteen years ago wide brimmed hats, spaghetti string tops, blazers and sheer black were all the rage for the atteendees of Ladies Day. Hats off to their back-on-trend style. Are you going to be channeling 90’s inspiration for this year’s races?

Meanwhile, the accompanying text wrote:

‘In a part of the world often dogged by wet weather, the thousands of punters attending Ladies’ Day at the Galway Races must have been delighted by the bright sunshine beating down on Ballybrit Racecourse. The setting looked great after months of refurbishment, with the new Milennium Stand drawing as much admiration as the horses in the parade ring. The real focus, however, was on the ladies’ attire, with a sea of hats rivalling the jockey’s silk in the colour stakes; nor was competition limited to the track, as Moons sponsored the Best Dressed Lady and the Most Creative Hat contests, the former won by Sharon Kennedy, wearing Escada Couture. While the touts did a roaring trade, a rarified atmosphere prevailed within the hospitality enclosures and the drone of helicopters was never too far away as the rich and famous were ferried to and from the racecourse. Big pay-outs meant there was even more to smile about- for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern – and the celebrations continued well into the balmy evening.’

Rachel Lavin @RachelLavin