Sustainable Style: The search for Newmarket’s best-dressed is back. . .

Proof that dressing to impress doesn’t have to cost the earth, the sustainable Style Awards return to Newmarket’s July Festival this summer. Velvet, media partner for the planet-friendly fashion competition, reports

Want to win a podium place at this summer’s Style Awards? Enter the best-dressed contest at Newmarket’s July Festival and you won’t only win points for your personal style - they’ll be awarded for your outfit’s green credentials too.

At point of entry on Ladies’ Day, July 11, everyone will be asked to talk through their look, with credit given for items which are vintage, preloved, charity-shopped, car-booted, sourced from planet-friendly labels or worn from your existing wardrobe.

“Alongside the world-class racing that takes place at the July Festival, the sustainable Style Awards are a highlight,” says Sophie Able, Newmarket Racecourses’ international director. With the sustainable take on the best-dressed competition now in its third year, she adds: “It is so important we are all mindful of fashion's carbon footprint, so we encourage racegoers to recycle, borrow, hire, or shop preloved when attending.

"As well as looking at the overall style of the outfit when entering the Sustainable Style Awards, the judges want to see people putting together sustainable looks to help us embody the spirit of the day.”

The awards will once again operate as a single, all-inclusive category, Best Dressed Racegoer, open to everyone on the course. With The Jockey Club dropping formal dress codes across its courses last year, instead encouraging visitors to “dress as you feel most comfortable and confident”, instead of following hard-and-fast rules, Style Awards entrants are encouraged to “put together an outfit that makes them feel as well as look good,” adds Alice Ryan, Velvet editor and long-term Style Awards judge. “More than anything, we want to see people enjoying getting dressed up - enjoying the whole experience!”

As ever, the first, second and third-placed Style Awards winners are set to receive thousands of pounds in prizes, from luxury minibreaks and dining experiences to preloved designer clothes and British-made accessories - for a full rundown, see next month's Velvet.

With an unrivalled racecard and a stunning setting - located in the countryside on the outskirts of Newmarket, the July Course is backed by 200-year-old beech trees and filled with beautiful flowerbeds - “there is something for everyone to enjoy at the July Festival,” adds Sophie, “from fashion to great racing, and of course a brilliant after party. . .”

Tickets are booking now at thejockeyclub.co.uk/newmarket/events-tickets/july-festival