The AEGON Classic Ladies Day at the Edgbaston Priory

Yesterday was pretty much my perfect day. It was glorious in the sunshine, filled with delicious food and Pimms by the jug. I spent it with wonderful friends and we watched some really impressive tennis in the sun. And I got to wear a gorgeous dress from Jacques Vert that had been specially gifted for the occasion. Yes, it was the AEGON Classic ladies day, held at the Edgbaston Priory in Birmingham, and it was all just fab!

Ladies Day is always a pretty special occasion, a time to dress up, dig out the fascinator, and basically have a day of being glamorous – a real break from the norm. Last year the weather did not play ball (ahem – tennis reference there) and the day was filled with dark clouds and rain that ensured the covers stayed firmly on the courts. What a contrast to this year, where the rain shone for what seemed like every minute of the day, ensuring a continuous flow of tennis from the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Kimiko Date Krumm and Samantha Stosur.

I attended ladies day with the lovely Emily Jayne, who looked so fabulous in a dress she had made herself (so jealous of her talent). We started the morning with a little look around the village area, including checking out some of the amazing jewellery from our good friend Terry Terry. There was also time for a bit of posing for Harvey Nichols Birmingham and a spot of food before we took our seats on centre court.

The first match we were privileged to see was my new heroine Kimiko Date Krumm’s demolision of last year’s winner Daniela Hantuchova. Kimiko is 43 and yet ran around the court in the midday heat like a teenager. She was totally amazing, and won the match 6-4, 6-0. That said, we all fell in love with Daniela’s fabulous dress in peacock blue! Kimiko proved to be a popular winner, and was very sweet in her post-match interview with BBC’s Dan Lobb.

We also enjoyed another fabulous match between two Australian stars, the powerhouse Samantha Stosur and her fellow countrywoman Casey Dellacqua. Strosur seemed to be in control, she had us literally gasping with serves of over 110mph, but after taking the first set easily, Dellacqua seemed to get the measure of her, and won the next two sets to take the match.

All in all, this was a most amazing day, one which will be hard to forget.

My Jacques Vert dress

I was very lucky to be gifted the perfect dress for this occasion by Jacques Vert.  The floral detail shift dress is a beautiful gown perfect for a special occasion like ladies day, a wedding or a day at the races. The dress is fully lined in a raw silk fabric, with mesh netting on the neckline, and gorgeous applique flower detail that is exquisite.

The dress sits just on the knee, and is fully lined. It was a very hot day, but the dress felt cool to wear – a combination of the fabric and the sleevless design. I chose to team this dress with silver accessories, a bargain headband from New Life that I picked up for just £1, and a pair of strappy silver sandals from New Look. I added just one piece of jewellery – a Butler and Wilson bracelet, since the neckline of the dress is already embellished and therefore need no necklace.

The nature of the fabric means that this dress will crease a little as the day goes on, the bottom picture was taken after I had been wearing the dress for 10 hours, and had been on two train journeys, two taxi rides and spent all day at Edgbaston, and I think it has held up pretty well. This is just a dress that you feel super pretty wearing, and will certainly elicit an awful lot of praise and lovely comments.

With thanks to Charlotte Harper and the Edgbaston Priory Club for the invitation, and to Jacques Vert for the dress.

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