With the Australian General Election over, we can turn our attentions to some other important matters of life, the Spring Racing Carnival…I have set my fashions on the field palaver amidst photos of some of the beautiful women I met in India last year.

As some of you may know we have a part itsy – bitsy share (like a tail) of a racehorse…

We have had two previous horses and neither saw me galloping flat out around the shops in an absolute tizzy trying to work out what to wear…

The first horse was in the UK where British weather dictates a smart coat (or more likely a raincoat) will suffice…

The second was an Aussie horse, but let’s just say we were never remotely near the winners enclosure and leave it at that…

So this weekend I’ve been pondering frocks, hats and the rest.

Fashions on the Field is a big part of a day at the Aussie races, even for those not remotely interested in entering the famous competitions.

They say that over 26 million dollars was spent on hats, dresses and accessories for the Spring Racing Carnival in 2012

It is quite an industry, the stakes are high. You can win big, but even for a regular race goer like myself it’s a bit of a palaver…

For a start weather in Melbourne is entirely unpredictable and so the old adage

‘Melbourne – four seasons in one day‘ means it’s is hard to plan ahead

It is likely that the weather will be hot,

Requiring some work to be done before legs can be bared and toes can be peeping…

It used to be great that you could just plonk on a hat and forget about hair,

but now hats are so last year and the fascinators or hatinators replacements require a hairdo.

Then not only do we have the horse entered for a rather big race in October

but a few weeks earlier we’ve scored an invite from the Chairman of the Victorian Racing Club

for Luncheon and Afternoon Tea in the Committee Room, Flemington

(For those not in the know, the invite comes with details of appropriate attire, it’s Posh, with a capital P)

I’ve got some pretty race dresses from ten years ago and I have an orange hat and a black hat (somewhere)

I am excited to read that vintage is big this year – does wearing ten year old clothes from the back of your wardrobe count as vintage, or is this just plain sad? (I’ll let you know)

Apparently I also need to have a different look for Spring racing than our previous outings in the Autumn

(Which is good because when Our Little Miss Hussy won in the autumn we didn’t make the winners enclosure, we’d already headed off to the Owners Bar.
No worries about being photographed in the same outfit twice!!!)

The quest to fit into clothes from 2003 is a long term project and won’t be achieved overnight (without surgery)

Things I need to consider…

First and foremost frocking up, and not too skimpy (Moi, skimpy?!)
A head to toe look ( does shabby-chic count?)
Making a statement, don’t be afraid to be bold with colours (good news for the orange hat)
Open toes or strappy sandals styles (panicking now)
Different race days have different codes – Derby Day is black and white (OMG – are they serious I need to have more than one outfit – mega palaver)
Colour is in – even neon (who hoo orange hat it IS your big day out)
No need for hosiery just a good tan (more work needed)
Hat needs to work with shoes and bag (Bag!! Forgotten about the bag!)
Attention to detail with accessories (get out the best jewels)
Understanding and interpretation of the current fashion trends (Whaaat? I’ll do my best)
Grooming and deportment (forget it)
Smile and remember to have fun (Are you kidding? Alright I’ll try)

So I hope you have enjoyed a little insight into the joys of fashions on the field – bring back the days of the Barbour coat and the Hunter green wellies I say.

I have set my fashions on the field palaver amidst photos of some of the beautiful women I met in India last year.
They all look like they effortlessly meet the criteria above.

Originally I was thinking how easy it would be to wear a sari and how much less fuss. But when you start to look closely at the women there is often just as much palaver going on and all of these women were photographed on the street, they were having an everyday day, not trying to be fancy…