5 Tips for your Race Day Look
Former Weetwood Fashions on the Field Amanda Herron shares her advice on pulling together a winning race day look.
Race-Day Fashions
Updated Sept’23
1. Decide on your budget
Are you competing in Fashions on the Field or are you attending just for fun? If you’re planning on entering Fashions on the Field, be prepared to commit to spending more on your overall look – in the region of several hundred dollars with your custom-made dress and/or millinery.
2. Start with either the dress, or the millinery
When putting a race day outfit together, I find it easier to start with a dress and have custom millinery made, although I have also purchased an amazing hat and bag combo and then found a suitable dress as well. It can be done! If you are budgeting your look, then I recommend choosing either a dress or the millinery in one solid colour, then choosing the opposite piece to match. Consider complementary or contrasting colours, pattern, print and embellishments. For example, a white headpiece with a turquoise, orange and white print dress.
3. Be modest and dress to flatter your figure
Competitive racewear is fairly modest – hemlines are longer, and necklines are higher. The goal is always to look classy and elegant. Plunge fronts or backless dresses, strapless or even some sleeveless dresses are frowned on by judges and may not fit with the ‘look’ the race club wishes to portray. To gauge your local race day, have a look at winners of the best dressed categories from previous years. Also, never forget, it doesn’t matter how much you spend, or what label you are wearing, if it doesn’t suit or flatter your figure, it won’t score you any points.
4. Aim for two or three colours maximum
When it comes to colours, two or three work best and give a more cohesive look than different colours from head to toe; at the moment, florals are really popular.
5. Add flair and style with accessories
Accessories tie your look together and give it polish. Consider your heels, clutch, gloves, jewellery and nail colour. I have seen very plain dresses work spectacularly well with amazing millinery and a quirky clutch. Invest in a good hairdresser and makeup artist for the day if you aren’t confident doing your own. Most Fashion on the Field entrants will have their hair up and in very elegant styles that suit their look and their headpiece. It’s obvious when someone has put in a little more effort, because they really do stand out from the crowd!
Looking for Inspiration? Take in some of these classy Spring looks from our recent Croquet and Couture Spring Fashion shoot.
Featured @ivydesignercollections, @magnoliatoowoomba, @smokeandmirrors, @sundaymerchant_tbar
