Katie’s off on the ride of a lifetime

By Di Stanley

Emerald's Katie Penfold has a flair for fashion and now she's off to showcase her style at Brisbane's Eagle Farm racetrack as it plays host to one of country racing's biggest days with the Battle of the Bush final later this month.

Katie captivated the Emerald judges with a vintage dress in autumnal tones of browns, oranges and pops of lilac complimented by a lilac feather pillbox-style hat to take home Best Dressed Female at the regional Fashions from Afar heat recently.

"I saw it on Etsy when I was searching for inspiration and I thought to myself, that's really beautiful," Katie said.

"I just put it in my cart and left it thinking if no-one's bought it in a couple of weeks it was meant to be.

"When I got it, I just fell in love with it."

The stunning embossed jacquard dress from the 1960s was in pristine condition, complete with taffeta lining.

"You shouldn't be dressing for the judges or the competition, you should actually be dressing to make yourself feel good and beautiful.

"That's the approach I take to my outfits.

"The moment I stepped out on to the track I had compliments straight away."

The Marist College Emerald choral director admits she has always been creative and artistic, and her love of raceday fashion came from occasional trips to the track with her mother as a teenager in Mackay.

"I was definitely attracted to the fashions, thinking to myself these ladies are amazing," Katie said.

"They were beautiful, they were immaculate and the details that went into their outfits… I don't think I really got the courage to try it for myself until 2021 at the Emerald 100 where I put an outfit together and went on stage.

"I think it was just part of the journey to loving myself as I’ve always felt I was skinny enough or tall enough or beautiful enough to do these sorts of things.

"I’ve been a bit of a journey over the past few years to just accepting myself."

Katie is working on a new outfit to unveil as her Fashions from Afar finals look on Saturday, 24 June, in Brisbane.

While she's loathe to give away too much, it's an original design from a swathe of imported jacquard fabric in hues of magenta and indigo with a metallic accent thread.

Once again, Katie will team up with Emerald seamstress Judy Crozier on work on the creation which will adhere to the competition's winterwear guidelines.

"I prefer the classic styles and this fabric is a showstopper for me," she said.

"I love the feminine colours and I love the fabric.

"Buying the fabric online from overseas was a little bit of a risk, and I think I just got really lucky with this particular one."

Being a regular on the Central Queensland racing circuit and competing in fashions on the field for the past two years has given the mother-of-two a new social circle.

"I think what I love about it the most is I actually have formed these friendships that I didn't expect to make and now that's one of the best parts about going to the races," she said.

"You can always meet someone through fashions and sit down and have a great day and I think that's one of the most fabulous things about it."