As 2025 began, it was finally time to start searching for the two dresses I would wear to this year’s Ladies’ Days. I spent countless hours browsing websites, with most of my time dedicated to searching through AliExpress. I knew I didn’t want a dress from the high street, as there was always the possibility of someone else wearing the same outfit.

Having never ordered from AliExpress before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I carefully researched different sellers, paying close attention to customer reviews and photographs of the items they had received. The dress that caught my eye was unique and had the potential to be customised, allowing me to make it my own.

A few weeks later, my order arrived from China, and I was delighted to find that the dress looked exactly like the photographs and fitted perfectly. I was so pleased with it that I ordered a second dress in a much larger size, intending to use the extra fabric to enhance the original design and create matching accessories.

As I studied the outfit, I began thinking of ways to elevate its appearance and make it stand out. This inspired me to purchase decorative flowers and use the spare fabric to create custom straps. I spent many hours carefully attaching the flowers around the dress to give it the extra detail and impact I felt it needed.

To complete the look, I transformed an old handbag by decorating it with the remaining flowers. I also purchased a second-hand pair of shoes from Vinted and customised them with matching floral details, ensuring every element of the outfit worked together. Once my outfit my complete I took a trip to Doncaster to see the wonderful Karen who owns ‘Karen at Doncaster Fascinators’ having worked with Karen before I knew she would make me an amazing headpiece to wear she really did fulfil the brief, making a spectacular eye-catching fascinator.

When it came to my husband Aaron’s outfit, I wanted us to coordinate so that we would stand out and have a look that was completely our own. This even involved a last-minute dash to Matalan to buy a pink suit after the one we had originally ordered wasn’t suitable. Thankfully, Aaron is always happy to embrace my creative ideas, and he certainly looked the part in the pink suit.

The green waistcoat was sourced from eBay, and finding the perfect shade took some time, as I wanted it to match my dress exactly. To tie the look together, I created a matching tie, pocket square, and lapel pin using fabric from the dress and additional flowers, ensuring our outfits complemented each other perfectly.

I felt the outfit needed a little extra detail, so I decided to make the waistcoat stand out more. I began by cutting pieces from the dress fabric and arranging them into a pattern on the waistcoat. After showing the idea to Aaron and lightly pinning the fabric in place so he could try it on, I could see that it looked fantastic. Confident in the design, I carefully secured the fabric using my trusty glue.

Doncaster was fast approaching and I could finally take some time off work. I knew I wanted to attend, having never been to this racecourse before despite it being my local one. I rounded up a few people who said they would join me for the day and we booked Grandstand tickets. Then, only a few days before the event, Aaron decided he wanted to come too, so we managed to get him booked in at the last minute.

As soon as we walked in, people were coming over to us saying how good we looked and how spectacular our matching outfits were. This made me feel so proud and confident. We both entered the Best Dressed competition individually and were asked if they could take a photo of us together. I remember saying, “Oh, I didn’t think you did couples!” We were told they just wanted a picture because our outfits looked amazing together.

Later that day, Aaron received a phone call saying he had made it through to the final. I was so excited for him and we headed to the meeting point. When we arrived, we were told they actually wanted me and that I was the one in the final, not Aaron. I was completely shocked. Then, while they were on the phone, we were told to wait as they thought there might be space for us to enter as a couple—and luckily, there was.

Everyone in the Best Dressed line-up looked incredible, and I remember saying to Aaron, “We have no chance!” They announced third place, then second place. Just before announcing the winner, they said over the speakers, “When two became one,” and then called out our names.  I was unbelievably shocked and could not stop crying. All I could think was, “Wow, all my hard work has really paid off.” Aaron and I won beautiful flowers, champagne and a £1,000 Meadowhall voucher. We spent the rest of the day on such a high, from winning a few horse bets to winning the Best Dressed competition as a couple. To make it even more special, we later found out that we were the first couple ever to win the Best Dressed completion at Doncaster Racecourse. We decided to use our £1000 Meadowhall voucher at Tui and booked ourselves a week in Palma Nova Majorca for summer 2026.

It was announced all over social media that we had won the Best Dressed competition, and hundreds of people commented on how incredible we looked. While there were lots of positive comments, there were also some negative ones. People criticised our outfits and made hurtful remarks, but what upset me most were the personal comments about my appearance. I didn’t mind people having different opinions about the outfits, as everyone is entitled to their own view. However, the personal comments directed at me were much harder to deal with and were the ones that hurt the most.

Winning at Doncaster Racecourse meant that we had qualified for the Go Racing In Yorkshire Best Dressed competition, where the general public vote for their favourite racecourse finalist. The standard of the competition was incredible, and all of the finalists looked amazing, so we knew it was going to be tough.

We encouraged everyone we knew to vote for us and shared our journey across social media to gain as much support as possible. Finally, the day arrived when the winner was due to be announced, and I kept my phone close by just in case I received a call. Then my phone rang. It was Charlotte from Go Racing In Yorkshire. We had won! I couldn’t believe it. I was absolutely ecstatic and crying tears of happiness. Not only had we won, but we had won as a couple, becoming the first couple ever to win the competition.

For this competition we won a 2 night stay at Country Huts on the Wolds, use of a Range Rover for two days, from Lloyd Land Rover, York and a pair of his and hers Dubarry boots from Parnaby’s. The prizes are just incredible to win and having the title of ‘Best Dressed Yorkshire 2025’ made it even more special.

We arranged to take up the final prize in April 2026 and headed straight to Lloyd Land Rover, York and picked up a Range Rover Sport. The car was incredible to drive, especially compared to my Fiat 500. We then travelled to Malton to visit Parnaby’s, where we were greeted by Francesca and her wonderful team. Aaron and I tried on several pairs of Dubarry boots before deciding on almost matching ankle boots—of course, we had to match!

After spending several hours in Malton, we jumped back into the Range Rover and drove to Country Huts on the Wolds. The views along the way were breathtaking. When we arrived, we were amazed by the stunning scenery, with sheep grazing in the fields and a peaceful silence all around us.  The Shepherds hut was lovely and cosy, with everything we could have wanted both inside and out. We lit the fire, relaxed, and spent the evening playing board games together.

These prizes were truly something special to win, and it made for a weekend that we will never forget.

I really do hope we have inspired others to go all out with their outfits and even coordinate for these special events. Matching outfits can make the day even more memorable, and we hope our journey encourages others to have fun, be creative, and embrace the experience together.