On a day when an Irish challenge took the main prize on-course, competition off-course saw the hat returned to the fore in the fashion stakes.
Derby Day's reputation for being synonymous with fashion lived on yesterday, while the battle of the feathers, headpieces and formal hats provided a subplot to the ensuing fashion drama which prevailed along the Curragh racecourse.
The headpiece may have been the most popular, but it was a borrowed hat that won the day.
One man famed for trademark hats of a different variety, John P Magnier, in attempting to describe the performance of his jockey, spoke not of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, after whom he named his winning horse, or any Irish Derby precedents, but of Ireland's missed opportunities at the World Cup.
Before a crowd of some 30,000 people, Mr Magnier declared that if Ireland had qualified for the World Cup, winning jockey Kieran Fallon would be the best placed person to execute the fifth and final penalty in a shoot-out.
It became literally a case of hats off at the 141st Irish Derby.
Prior to the big race of the day, Ali Beere from Wexford stepped up to the throne of "fashion accessories style icon" after winning the best accessorised outfit competition in a classic 50s style outfit which she modestly described as a "last-minute job".
Having purchased a dress in the distant shopping streets of Los Angeles last week on the assumption that she had secured a unique fashion item, frantic negotiations began when her friend unveiled a similar purchase obtained in Dublin.
Following a hurried visit to Coast on Saturday afternoon and the initiation of a policy of begging and borrowing for the shoes, corsage, hat and bag, Ms Greene was yesterday crowned the supremely accessorised race lady - thanks to accessories from the wardrobe belonging to her mother's friend.
Asked how she might spend the €6,000 voucher for exclusive leather goods manufacturer Chesneau, Ms Greene replied "bags, lots of bags".
In the aftermath of morning rain showers, stories of outfit changes and feathers plucked out of headpieces to better suit alternative rain-friendly attire abounded.
While some told of buying their outfits abroad, including runner up Mary Cathy from Navan, Co Meath, who purchased her two-piece white outfit while on holiday in Florence, others including Claire Phelan from Naas stuck to the local shopping marathon route, hoping they could claim home advantage.