I suppose for “all the single ladies” the prospect of a male to female ratio of upwards of ten to one, is worth the obligatory washing of the hair, shaving of the legs and (heaven forbid) the almost impossible effort of selecting an outfit. I am of course talking about a day out to the races.
Married as I am and approaching my prime (isn’t 40 the new 30?), there was quite a bit less thought and effort on the appearances and quite a bit more on organizing my escape from Alcatraz. “What you didn’t tell me you were going to the races today, whose looking after the kids?”
Well I did escape in the end, and managed to sneak the acquisition of a hat onto my AMEX, “Oh I’ve had this for years – don’t you remember back in 2001 when we did the Oak Bank race thing in Adelaide??” Who knew? The Jedi mind trick actually works on the opposite sex? No wonder Star Wars is such a hit.
I was, however, a bit concerned when we arrived at the exclusive Members’ Enclosure at Royal Randwick Darby Day Races, and stepped into a sea of black and white. This was notwithstanding my efforts to assemble an appropriately autumn like racing ensemble (Khaki Louis Vuitton Hunting jacket, bronze skirt, matching sandals and handbag paired with a long brown feathered black Robin Hood hat with a touch of bling sourced (apparently on the cheap) from Mimco).
“Wow”, I wondered, “Did all of these women actually call each other up? Did they do the ‘ole, hey I’m wearing black and white what are you wearing…?” No in fact, after a number of enquiries I learned very quickly that it was David Jones Black and white day…..Ohhhhhhhhhh that makes sense!!! I must have missed the email.”
It also answered the question of why was it that every time I took a photo and asked the question, so where did you buy your hat, the standard answer was David Jones – of course.
In all honesty, there was a kind of symmetry to the sea of women donned in black on white – or was it white on black? There was however, an extensive spread of looks, with some really thoughtful pairings.
For example, a number of women accessorized with success big buckled, black leather gladiator sandals and biker styled leather black gloves with seemingly traditional cocktail dresses and hats. A very sexy look that said, “I may be a lady – but I like leather….” Lots of netting, black and white flowers, pearls rhinestones, feathers, all added to the drama.
Others went a completely different direction, focusing more on geometric hats produced by Queensland’s own Tracy MacKinnon (refer www.hatsbytracymac.com ) combined with more traditional cocktail attire. We met a group of four women all of whom sang her praises – and with good reason.
Another hat maker worth noting, Wendi Nutt, Milliner and Stylist heralding from Sydney’s own Balmain (www.philadelphiaphilpot.com). More complex designs, though we noted that Wendi herself sported her own cherry red flying saucer design which was a standout in the crowd. Apparently one of her hats had made it to final judging rounds – but we couldn’t hang around to see which made it to the winners circle….I was getting urgent phone calls from the homefront asking important questions like, where we normally kept the vegemite!!
Not all women adhered to the Southern hemispheric season, a number bucked the trend, choosing spring tones – more in keeping with the weather which was decidedly spring like.
I would have probably preferred to blend in - but this was a spontaneous albeit well planned outing for me – and let’s face it - who has time to read emails anyway?
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