You have been invited to the annual spring racing carnival, culminating in what is otherwise known as the (horse) race that stops a nation, the Melbourne Cup.
But you won’t see a horse, and you won’t wear a hat. You’ll end up wearing something that might befit a night out at Studio 54, and you’ll end up boogieing on the dance floor to Cyprus Hill. At 4pm in the afternoon.
This is what is becoming more and more commonplace at the races, bright young things seeing it as a social occasion you might encounter on a Saturday night out, just beginning mid morning.
Just when this social phenomenon morphed from adhering to traditional etiquette of race goers is hard to pin, but I wonder whether we can look to Paris Hilton for inspiration when she attended the carnival with her sister in 2003. It wasn’t long after this that Snoop Dogg was an honorary guest.
VRC dress code states strictly no midriff on display for women, and while it’s not absolutely compulsory, a hat is considered a key part of the outfit for female attendees, particularly if you are in the member’s area or Birdcage enclosure.
This year both rules were routinely ignored, Lara Bingle turning up with her midriff on display, complete with jeweled claw dangling from her forehead. Nary a hat in sight.
But Bingle can’t be singled out for breaking tradition with plenty of celebrities attending having flesh on display or minus headwear. Or both. Last time I looked, a necklace worn around your head wasn’t a hat.
But why is this so important?
Well, a couple of reasons come to mind. A media frenzy signals the arrival of each year’s much-hyped international guests, flown in – usually at great expense – to shine a momentary light on sponsors’ brands. Naomi Campbell for example was paid $75 000 to attend the Lexus marquee on Derby Day.
Each branded marquee will exclusively host a ‘celebrity,’ for the day, with media opportunities only being afforded to those granted access by the PR in charge.
Daily and sometimes hourly alerts arrive via text or email telling media what time and where a celebrity will be, the rules of engagement (no pictures of so-and-so talking for example) and always of them standing in front of a media wall.
So these celebrities become brand ambassadors and sales people if you like for the particular brand or marquee’s image for the races, pushed out through media outlets or in this day and age, anyone with an iPhone.
These celebrities are particularly influential as well, which is another reason their race day attire and what they wear bares consideration.
The most pervasive trend I saw this year was the lack of proper headwear, be it a hat or fascinator.
After Kate Bosworth turned up in 2006 wearing a jewelled headpiece completely in keeping with her modern, feminine bohemian look, we’ve seen the trickle down effect. This year there were countless celebrities wearing variations of head jewellery in place of a hat.
So is your personal look or ‘brand’ more important than the occasion I wonder?
Ignoring a dress code, tradition or standard, says, ‘the way I look is more important than the occasion.” And let’s face it, hats are hard to get right and no one wants to end up on the pages of a celebrity mag being lampooned for what you’re wearing.
But if you are being paid to show up, or even if you’re not, the least you can do is look the part.
13 comments
[…] Melbourne stylist Lana Wilkinson was on hand to offer fashion advice, and her prediction was bold, block colour (think mustard yellow and red), clashing prints and low and behold not to be afraid to rock a hat. Your own correspondent has never been afraid to wear hats and in fact has been dismayed in recent years at the trend towards racing ambassadors and celebrities forgoing fancy headwear. Remember this post? […]
[…] all had something to say on whether you should dress for the occasion when I wrote about the lack of tradition seen in the Birdcage at the spring racing carnival. I loved your comments that ranged from total agreeance to one of you accusing me of outright Lara […]
This is a very aggressive response to LM’s considered and not mean spirited piece. I believe the point LM was making is that there IS a dress code for the races. It is one of the incredibly few occasions in which there is tradition and a dress code. And I think the traditions and elegance of the event has been hijacked by people who don’t even make an effort to acknowledge that legacy. Sure, wear a six inch long bandage skirt with a bra as a top! But sorry, that doesn’t mean you are showing your “personality” any more than a person wearing a pencil skirt and a fascinator.
As a milliner myself, I take notice of what everyone wears on their heads. It can be quite disappointing when celebrities turn up to the Melbourne Cup wearing lacklustre attempts at a headpiece when there are so many talented milliners in Melbourne, screaming for work.
In saying that, it’s not really the celebrities fault as almost all of them will be dressed by a stylist and they’re just trying to follow/set trends I suppose.
Lara received lots of media attention in the end, didn’t she?
Was this the intention, I wonder?
I think the perfect example of a stylish celeb was last year (or was it the year before) when Sarah Jessica Parker was the epitome of style and good humour.
This year Dita looked sensational…as did a lot of the guests, but I’m afraid Lara Bingle’s outfit left me cold, in fact she leaves me cold most of the time. Tell me, what is the big deal about her??
I don’t really mind if the “ladies” wear a hat or not…Jean Shrimpton anyone? But I do think it’s a tad tacky if you turn up looking like your ready for bed, the beach or the nightclub….and as for the necklace as hat, well I don’t get it..but hey, that’s just me
This post comes across as a all high and mighty and at the same time, like a big case of sour grapes. So some celebs turned up not wearing a ‘proper’ hat. Quel horreur!!
How can you honestly lambast them yet in your Oaks post you’re wearing a turban. Pot, kettle??
This post has a vein of jealousy running through it. Like your aggrieved that someone like Bingle is getting attention for an outfit that you might consider trashy. It’s not like she’s wearing trackies.
I’d rather people show off their personality when dressing for occasions rather than looking like clones. Fashion and social etiquette is always changing, for good and bad whether we like it or not.
And lastly, some of those jewelled headpieces look far more chic than a hat ever could, especially Kate Waterhouse’s gold headpiece she wore on cup day. Much more sophisticated than wearing a voluminous hat that, more often than not either looks like a flying saucer, or worse, like a flock of birds landed on your head!!
Too much skin and necklaces worn as head pieces at the races are really vexing.
“…a necklace worn around your head wasn’t a hat.” Hear Hear Lady Melbourne *furious clapping of hands*. This year I chose to ignore all the inappropriate outfits (of which I saw many and my list of outfit crimes is long), but instead admire the thousands of girls who took the opportunity to wear a fabulous frock and proper racing headwear, then put their shoulders back, smiled and enjoyed the spectacle that is the Spring Racing Carnival. Now it is all over for another year. Sigh. At least planning next year’s ensemble will cheer me up 🙂
I cannot stand the lack of hats, or indeed of appropriate attire. When I was looking at photos from the event I was underwhelmed by the majority of choices. Of course there were some stand outs: Coco Rocha and Dita’s choices were fabulous, which goes to show there’s absolutely no reason why someone can’t own their look and still meet dress code expectations. Not dressing appropriately is offensive to the hosts who have put in the effort to make whatever you are doing a pleasant occasion… and that applies in any context – whether party, dinner out, performances, etc.
I think there are loads and loads of nice hats and facinator’s… just saying haha
I thought jewelled headpieces would be especially ‘in’ this year given the release of the Great Gatsby earlier. I honestly thought it was a nice variation on the ‘tiny feather clump tucked behind the ear’ look.
I agree! People have swapped class and style for what sells them.