It was a case of third time lucky for Nelson’s Angela Miller who won the Best Dressed Female in the Matthews Eyewear Eyecare Fashion in the Field at the Nelson Harness Racing Club’s meeting at Richmond Park on Sunday.
After finishing second in the popular race-day fashion contest in 2011 and again last year, Angela pulled the right rein in this year’s edition when she decided to wear a home made outfit. She spent hours making the horse-patterned, black and white dress and matching black and white hat and all her hard work paid off with the judges agreeing that Angela looked “amazing”.
“I decided I needed to up the ante this year after finishing second twice,” Angela says. “Last year I wore a dress I bought but this year I thought I’d make my own so I could wear something that was one-off.”
However, Angela was almost a late scratching from the contest only lining up in the top class field after she got some encouragement from her friends.
“I was in a real flap this morning and wasn’t going to enter but my girl friends persuaded me to do it. I’m pleased they did it.”
Angela took “a couple of weeks working off and on” to make the dress and hat which one of the judges Leonie Trathen says was “fantastic”.
“She looked immaculate,” says Leonie. “She obviously put a lot of time and effort into her outfit and make-up and we loved the horse pattern on the dress.”
Angela won prizes worth over $1000 from Matthews Eyewear Eyecare, Morrison Square and Oxygen Skincare.
Best Dressed Male winner Jarrod Illingworth also needed some gentle persuasion to enter the contest.
“My partner [Shelley Habib] made me do it,” Jarrod said.”
Jarrod was wearing a suit he purchased in Thailand and a pink shirt from Barker’s.
Although Jarrod was pleased he impressed the judges he was even happier he received top marks from Shelley who gave him a congratulatory kiss and told him he “looked wonderful”.
