The woman who won Chester Races' best dressed competition bought her dress for £25 on Vinted.
Stephanie Corlett, from Maghull, won a £10,000 prize wearing the colourful bargain. The 36-year-old stood out from the crowd in a maxi dress and a hand-made hat at the Ladies Day event during Chester Races' popular Boodles May Festival.
The racegoer found her winning dress on the reselling app Vinted for £25 last minute. After spotting the old Topshop dress, she decided to book tickets for herself and her husband to enjoy a day out at Chester Races.
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Stephanie, who makes her own hats, created a bespoke headband to match the dress. However, when the dress arrived, she realised the yellow colour of the hat didn't match the dress so she stayed up all night to create a new red hat.
The couple travelled from their home in Maghull to Chester for the races and ended up scooping the £10,000 top prize, reports the Manchester Evening News. Stephanie was over the moon when she found out she'd been shortlisted as a finalist and was even more astonished to be announced as the winner.
The fabulous prize haul included an £8,000 Boodles diamond necklace, a £500 shopping voucher for Cheshire Oaks, a Ted Baker handbag, and Chester Races hospitality tickets. Speaking about her last-minute decision to attend she said: "I only bought the tickets to come on Tuesday night, because the dress still hadn't turned up at that point.
"I'd bought it last week on Vinted and the lady who I bought off said it would definitely arrive in the post by Wednesday so I took a chance and bought the tickets." The victory was even sweeter given the fashion hurdles she faced, she added: "Thankfully the dress did arrive, but it's only when I got it that I realised the yellow hat that I'd made didn't match it, so then I was up all night unpicking the yellow hat I'd made to make it into red. I'm still buzzing to be honest that I won."
Having recently discovered the joys of Vinted, Stephanie has become a fan of hunting down one-of-a-kind pieces: "Vinted is quite new to me, but people have been saying how good it is. I don't sell anything on there I just like to look and pick up a few bargains."
She paired her £25 Vinted find with other thrifty accessories a £9 blue belt from Amazon, a charming yellow bag for £10, and striking red heels for £5 from ASOS. She added: "It's always in your mind if you buy a new dress that's on sale now that there's a chance someone else be wearing it as well, so I always try and find something different to wear as the last thing you want is to see someone else in the same dress.
"I can't believe I managed to find such a bargain outfit, usually I'm the one who is last minute and spending a fortune with a panic buy. Stephanie, who is mum to two stepsons and her five year old daughter with husband Daniel, 49, only started making hats during lockdown but has since turned her passion into a thriving business, Stephanie Elizabeth Millinery.
She credits her success to the power of social media, saying: "I set up an Instagram page and put photos of what I'd made on Facebook, and once I got my first customer, she told someone they knew and then it's just built up from there by word of mouth."
She added: "I had just started a one day course in millinery the week before lockdown, and I was absolutely gutted because I couldn't do my hobby anymore face to face. But I got talking to a lady in Australia who was a milliner and she set up some live zoom classes, so I'd stay up through the night to do these zoom classes with her."
"From then on I was hooked, and millinery kept me focussed through lockdown really. Before that I was working as a PA, but now I've been able to turn my hobby into my own business."
After being crowned the Best Dressed at the event by Cheshire Life editor Joanne Goodwin, Stephanie and her husband Daniel popped open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate in the winner's lounge. Her family and friends are over the moon with her newfound status as a fashion icon.
Stephanie added: "My mum and dad fully believe that I am famous now. My sister is sharing every photo on her Instagram. My mum works for a charity shop so she's been telling all their volunteers about it."
She's been inundated with messages on Instagram about her outfit, with some fans even asking to purchase her Vinted dress. She shared: "I've had some lovely messages from people who have followed me from the start who have messaged me to say well done. A lot of people have been asking where the outfit is from and whether I'd be willing to sell it! It's been really nice, it's just really lifted me it's been great."
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