Bruckless woman Ingrid Proberkaite was crowned the Best Dressed at Ladies’ Day at the Sligo Races this week.
Ingrid plucked the inspiration for her outfit from the countryside – literally!
Her hat was handmade with wild heather from the hills of Donegal, which Ingrid picked the day before the races.
“I was driving to Letterkenny and all I could see was heather bloom everywhere, so the next morning I went out and cut it.”
Ingrid is the founder of Ingrid’s Balloons and is a dab hand with the glue gun. Her flower-arranging skills and fashion sense were the perfect recipe for creating her showstopping hat.
Ingrid’s Wild Heather Hat
She stepped out in style with her friends from the Fintra Bay Dippers on Thursday, as all the ladies swapped their dry robes for fabulous outfits for the occasion.
A great day was had by all and the crowning moment was Ingrid’s emotional win.
The Fintra Bay Dippers looking fabulous on Ladies Day
“I nearly fainted,” Ingrid tells Donegal Daily. “Tears were running down my face. All the finalists looked amazing, I thought I had no chance.”
Ingrid’s burgundy dress is from Nomad Boutique in Donegal Town and the base of her hat was just €5 in a charity shop.
Ingrid was the proud winner of a €500 Sligo Racecourse voucher, a cutlery canteen from Newbridge Silverware, a gift voucher for Róisín Linnane and a membership and flying lesson at Sligo Aeronautical Club.
Ingrid Proberkaite