On a day of intermittent showers, forgotten umbrellas, marathon fashion parades and head-turning creations, the annual tradition of Ladies Day unfolded at the RDS yesterday.
Amid the feathers and headpieces, sentimentalists remembered that old Dublin Show tradition of women riding sidesaddle in traditional costume of veil and habit before judges on a Thursday afternoon.
Undaunted by the elements or the time-consuming frenzy of completing an application, posing for a photograph and attending the Boudoir tent, some 400 women queued for a 15-second opportunity to delight judges on stage.
The Best Dressed Lady and Best in Pink competition, which broke all attendance records yesterday, became as fiercely contested as the Aga Khan Challenge Trophy which takes place today.
The head-turning hat of the day, made up of fresh Asian plants, was inspired by the film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and worn by Maureen Gill who held tightly to her bamboo stick, which was the primary accessory to her 4am creation.
Spectators who stopped to ogle her sprawling garden hat were informed that it was not her design or creation, but that of a Galway floral designer, Hank Vanenk.
Joining in the mad hatter party, artist Howard Taylor, donned pink socks, a pearly king hat and bright feathers in an effort to "make people smile and laugh with me, not at me. It's all about making people laugh".
Judge Louis Copeland, who was yesterday coming to terms with his new-found fame as a singer/entertainer following his brief appearance on RTÉ's Celebrity You're a Star, marvelled at what he described as the best fashion contest in his seven years adjudicating. Pink, he surmised, was the winner of the day.
His chosen Best in Pink winner, Niamh Flanagan, described as a "good omen" the breakdown of her watch on Wednesday, after she was awarded a pink Longines watch worth €3,600.
Her friend, Joanne Hepburn, who emerged as the Best Dressed Lady in a specially designed mint-and-cream patterned dress and pink pillbox hat by Tyrell and Brennan, confessed they had promised to buy dinner if they succeeded in winning.
Last night, as that party grew to 20 guests, those earlier promises were being revised.
When the microphones were removed and the fashion entourage moved toward their champagne reception, RDS chief executive Micheal Duffy beamed with pride and relief as yet another Ladies Day drew to a close.
"We are building on great equestrian style but building on it with style and glamour, without the horses," he said.