The 2017 Grand National - Fashion at the races

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Fashion

The Grand National at Aintree Racecourse provides a unique experience for spectators worldwide. The John Smith's Grand National is now worth a record £800,000 and, in 2008, was staged for the 161st time. Two new grandstands, called the Earl of Derby and the Lord Sefton, were opened with great excitement in 2007. Furthermore, a new parade ring and winner's circle, and new weighing room facilities were introduced in 2006. Finally, £35 million was spent on redeveloping the racecourse, so that the Aintree Racecourse now provides world-class facilities.

Ladies Day

The three-day event at Aintree is as famous for its fashion and style as it is for its horse racing, however. Approximately 70,000 people find a unique spectator experience in watching the most up-to-date cutting-edge fashion strut past on the infamous Ladies' Day. This day is the fastest-selling day at the Grand National and is without a doubt the social highlight of the north-west region.

The main event at the 2007 Grand National should have been the winning horse, but instead turned out to be Coleen McLoughlin's dress style on Ladies' Day. The 21-year-old fiancee of Wayne Rooney and her eleven friends strutted into their own private VIP box. Bets, totalling almost £10,000, were placed on what colour hat she would be wearing on the day. But, unfortunately for some of the betters, she actually turned up for Ladies' Day wearing no hat at all! Instead, she wore very fashionable and soft plaits instead.

Modelling Competition

Coleen McLoughlin did, however, wear a floppy Biba hat for presenting the prize to the winner of the modelling competition, the Looking Good Style Contest. The winner, strangely enough, turned out to be Coleen's old school friend, 21-year-old Steven Wang. Stephen is from the Liverpool suburb of West Derby and went to De La Salle School in Croxteth, as Coleen did herself. Wayne Rooney and Stephen Wang were actually in the same year at school.

Stephen Wang was very surprised to win first place, expecting the prize to go to one of the ladies. He wore a satin white suit by Zegna that he purchased in Liverpool, with accessories of a black silk scarf and shoes from Burtons! Steven won himself an amazing new Citroen C4 coupe by Loeb, much to the amazement of onlookers. Steven topped off his cutting-edge fashion with wrap-around sunglasses by Dior which were well-suited to the blazing sunshine on the big day.

Most Stylish Lady Prize

Charlotte Atherton won the most stylish lady prize at the 2007 Grand National, and the most stylish over-40 prize was given to Faith Almond. Faith has become very well-known in the Looking Good Style Contest, as she also won the title in 2006. The year 2007 marked her third appearance in the final.

The Looking Good Style Contest for 2008 was an even grander and more stylish affair. The city's WAGs, of course, led the field on Ladies' Day. And, again, Coleen McLoughlin crowned the fashionable winner. The week before the Grand National, Coleen was actually named best dressed ahead of previous winners Agyness Deyn and Kate Moss, and then appeared as the star of the show in the Grand National event. Coleen wore a beautiful floral Balenciaga dress on the Friday, then a Grecian style white dress, also Balenciaga, on the Saturday. This year's winner was 20-year-old Anna Perez, who wore a stylish floral dress.