Spring racing fashion: the dos and don’ts

The spring racing fashion season has officially started.

This may not mean much to you until the first Tuesday in November … unless you live in Melbourne or, like me, have a spring racing themed charity event to attend next week.

This “small” affair for 595 people is an annual event that I help out organising. This year we’re hoping to raise $118,000 to enable the purchase of an prostate biopsy ultrasound for this region’s major public hospital. And Sunrise’s Natalie Barr and Mark Beretta are flying in to help us do just that.

Which is a pretty damn good reason for me to put some time and thought into what I might wear, don’t you think?

I don’t get to the races as much as I used to. In my former life I had the fun job of judging sweet young fillies in Fashions on the Field competitions at the local race track a few times a year.

Let’s just say that there was always a “mixed” field from which to judge. And by “mixed” I mean everything from “oh my I so would love to wear that whole outfit”, to “don’t you think you should lay off the champers until after you have to navigate your way onto and off the stage in the long top short dress”. We may or may not have coined the phrase Tramps at the Track to describe the latter category of entrant.

Should you be planning to be anywhere near a track – or spring racing event – in the next couple of months, don’t leave home without these outfit tips.

My spring racing fashion 10-point checklist:

1. Start with your frock. Apart from Derby Day when it’s tradition to wear black and white, there’s no excuse not to embrace colour when heading for the track this season.

2. Be adventurous in your accessorising. A winning racewear outfit is all about the details.

3. Don’t make your hat an after-thought. Make it a key part of your outfit.

4. Make sure it all works together. Not in a matchy-matchy 1950s way, more in a complementary way.

5. Do choose an outfit that reflects in some way a current trend but don’t be a slave to that trend.

6. If heading trackside in Melbourne, plan an option for your outfit that accommodates a possible cold and wet day. A flimsy summer frock accessorised by goosebumps and frozen nipples does not a stylish look make.

7. Don’t let your outfit down by slack grooming. Hair, a mani, pedi and possibly a light spray tan (depending on your outfit) make all the difference.

8. Please don’t walk out the gates at the end of the day barefoot with your shoes in your hand. Choose shoes you can go the distance in or take fold-up flats to change into. This is where an oversized clutch comes in very handy.

9. Sun+champagne+no sunscreen will result in a nasty combination of sunstroke+hangover+sunburn. Work on a prevention strategy to minimise all three.

10. Please do not attempt to navigate a slip and slide in your strapless dress. Just because your friends have set one up in the carpark does not mean it’s a good idea. This is not a fictitious scenario – post-Derby Day three years ago a poor lass who thought this would be a fun wet race-day activity ended up with her a photo of her escaped bosies on major news sites. Bet her mum was super proud.

Outfit of the week:

1. Antoine & Stanley Lemon Tree ring $19.95 @ The Iconic | 2. Morgan & Taylor headband $74.95 @ Style Tread | 3. George Suma dress $196 @ Eve Boutique | 4. Mimco envelope clutch $229 | 5. Sportsgirl necklace $29.95 | 6. Billini Rique heels $69.95 @ The Iconic

I’ll be back after my spring racing event next week to share with you the outfit I’ve put together. It’s still a work in progress but expect to see some clashtastic bright colours.

Oh, and I had to share this outfit with you because I just love it. It’s of Myer Fashions on the Field Ambassador Alison Saville at the Flemington Spring Fashion Lunch last week. Perfection.

Myer Fashions on the Field Ambassador Alison Saville. Photo: SDPMEDIA

Will you be heading to the races sometime this spring? Or frocking up for a race-themed event? What’s the worst sight you’ve ever seen at the end of a race day?