When Olga McCullagh’s aunt first suggested that her niece wear an originally-designed piece to the RDS Dublin Horse Show Ladies’ Day event, the young electrician wasn’t sure what to think.
She had never attended the annual Dublin equestrian event and was intrigued by her New York-based designer aunt’s suggestion but admits she didn’t have much interest in fashion. “She said it to me a few years ago and I thought my aunt had forgotten about it. But then, she got back to me a couple of months ago and said ‘we’re going to make this dress’.”
Dressed head-to-toe in repurposed fabric displaying newsprint from “the canine chronicles”, Ms McCullagh joined the more than 300 women on the RDS Band Lawn on Thursday afternoon who lined up to compete in the 1664 Blanc Best Dressed competition.
The dress took four months to complete and was complemented with Philip Treacy black top hat and lace vintage gloves. “All of it belongs to my aunt,” explained Ms McCullagh, who is from Knocklyon. “Well, all except the Marks and Sparks shoes,” she added, pointing to the black heels peeking out from under her skirt.
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Further down the queue of competitors, Cuban-American yoga instructor Fanny Savickis is taking a selfie of her striking yellow and black head piece. Her vibrant ensemble was created by fashion designer Claire Garvey who attends Ms Savickis’ yoga classes in Clondalkin.
“I happened to mention to Claire that I was getting rid of some old yoga mats and she said ‘don’t throw them away, I want to create a piece with them’. When I tried it on, I felt like a queen. I love her pieces because it’s all about reusing materials and putting good things out in the world.”
Kathy Clarke from Monkstown was also reusing an old piece of couture at Thursday’s competition. “It’s the hat Nora Barnacle wore when she married James Joyce,” she says with a smile. “They married in later life and the only reason they got married was because Joyce was trying to get into Switzerland.”
Ms Clarke, who is a volunteer with the Friends of Joyce Tower Museum in Sandycove, purchased the hat from a museum in Trieste, Italy, 15 years ago. “I wear it all the time. It’s made with natural fabrics and is completely sun resistant.”
Barnacle was “a very interesting woman who lived a frightful life with a frightful husband,” she said. “He was an unsuitable man for any woman; he was irresponsible, he was fond of the drink. But, he was an absolute genius.”
Standing near the owner of this close-to-a-century-old hat, is another competitor wearing a headpiece which is just one week old. Ingrida Proberkaite from the village of Bruckless in Co Donegal had no plans to travel to Dublin until a few days ago, when the opportunity arose to attend the horse show. She quickly ordered the materials for her peacock-feather inspired headpiece, and pieced it together “in a couple of days”.
“To be honest, when I started making the hat, I didn’t know what I’d end up,” said Ms Proberkaite, who runs her own balloon business in Donegal. “But luckily enough everything arrived on time and I thought this suit would work well with the feathers”, she added, motioning towards her green wool suit.
Also dressed in green was Veronica McGrath Alborante, who first entered the best dressed competition 40 years ago. “It was nothing like today, you just walked up a little ramp, the judges looked at you, and then you moved on. I find the process very long now.”
Having lived in Italy for more than four decades, Ms McGrath Alborante is “still very Irish” and visits a few times a year. Her dress was bought for a wedding she never attended and received its first outing on Thursday.
“I told myself, if I win or lose, at least I’ll finally get to wear it.”
Lorraine Ryan Kelly from Galway claimed the €10,000 cash prize for the best dressed participant in Thursday’s competition, while Joice da Silva from São Paulo, Brazil was named runner-up.
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