Crafting the Perfect Outfit for the Races- For Women

We all know that while horse racing tips and track conditions and odds and bets are all common elements of horse racing in Australia, the most exciting aspect (apart from winning, of course) for us girls is deciding on an outfit. Race-day fashion has become such a lynchpin of racing culture in Australia that it has spurned an entire industry.

Photo: avlxyz

Myer’s ‘Fashion on the Field’ events at the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the presence of race-day photos in major fashion magazines throughout spring shows that there is indeed a big market for fashion at the races. With the spotlight shining so brightly on what we wear to the races, the pressure’s certainly on to get it right! Here is your guide to creating the perfect race-day fashion statement.

Start With the Dress, Not the Hat

Although fancy hats and fascinators are synonymous with horse racing, try to choose a hat to suit your dress, and not the other way around. While everyone wants to make a statement with the perfect hat, it’s a common mistake to choose a hat and then cobble together the rest of the outfit to suit it. This always ends up looking less chic than when a hat is cleverly chosen to highlight a beautifully fitting dress, for the simple reason that women’s heads are much more uniform in size and shape than their bodies. Therefore more effort should be put into finding something to suit your body than your head, as you will feel and look more comfortable this way—and after all, that’s half of the battle!

Enhance, Don’t Overpower

Once you’ve got your killer dress, you can start to think about headwear. There are three main rules for choosing the right headwear for a racing event. The first rule is to consider it in relation to your dress. We’re not simply talking colour and fabric here either, but the style and personality of your dress. Is it whimsy, flirty, fun, bold, edgy or sexy? The hat should be in line with the image you’re trying to put out, not at odds with it.

The second rule is to consider the formality of the race and the dress code. For example, some racecourses have stricter dress codes than others, and either over-dressing or under-dressing could make you feel uncomfortable.

The third, final and most important rule, is to choose a hat or fascinator you can wear comfortably!! Regardless of whether you look like the incarnation of Grace Kelly in it, if you can’t see, can’t move or can’t keep it on, it’s not the right hat for you.

Of course, once all this is decided you still need to find shoes (comfortable, please!), a makeup scheme (day-wear) and jewellery for the occasion, not to mention seek out some good racing tips so that you can pick a winner! While it’s a lot of work to get ready, it’s more than worth it when you arrive feeling confident, comfortable and dressed to kill.

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