The Galway Races. What can I say? An experience. I was totally unprepared for the madness. From extreme class and style to extreme… well, lack of class and style. It’s a strange thing to see in the early afternoon, young girls, caked in fake tan, drunk beyond belief, 5 inch platform heels in hand stumbling around on broken plastic cups next to extremely wealthy, ladies decked out in the finest designer labels, sipping glasses of champagne at 50euro a pop. I have to say I was a little overwhelmed… Not only was the place thronging with people, but each person there was making a massive effort to stand out from the crowd. It was hard to step back and see who actually looked good. It was all a blur of colours, facinators, feathers  and high heels! Nonetheless, I made my contribution to the style parade. I wore a demure, red and black number (courtesy of my sister, Maria) and put my latest creation to the test; a hat I like to describe as an ‘homage’ to Minnie Mouse.

I was accompanied by another lovely Duggan girl, this time Monica, who looked amazing in her black and white check, vintage dress with matching vintage hat. While all the ‘best dressed’ ladies hovered around the judges, waiting to be spotted, we decided to make the most of the (wet, wild, windy and predictably, unpredictable Irish) day and actually place a few bets and watch the real beauties make their way around the course.

Even though I went unnoticed by the style brigade, didn’t win a single bet or meet a handsome, rich horse breeder, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. To get the opportunity to wear my most statement piece to date was a thrill and something I will definitely be doing again.