summer fashion in melbourne

Breezy Bohemian Summer Style – Style Stakes at Caulfield

Something wonderful happened over the weekend – I won the Style Stakes at the Blue Diamond Stakes Day! The ‘Style Stakes’ was a ‘Fashions on the Field’ event done differently, where fashionistas get snapped by photographers at an assigned photo space and the photos are what the judges deliberate on. Admittedly, I prefer this to the traditional catwalk as I always found it nerve-racking having to sashay down the runway!

The new Style Stakes at Caulfield

There were mixed feelings regarding the new format with the Fashions on the Field when it was introduced last year at the Caulfield Cup Carnival. It turns out that there were far more entries than previously (than when contestants had to walk the catwalk) and race-goers loved getting a professional instant snap of their outfits to take away with them. Having had such a success with it during the Caulfield Cup Carnival, the photographers were brought back for the Blue Diamond Stakes Day.

Personally, I loved the flower wall backdrop but the harsh sunlight was a little too harsh for any great photos to be taken. It would have been much better if there was a roof over the photo area, giving some shad which takes the harsh sunlight and shadows off the faces of those being photographed. Oh well, even with harsh sunlight and shadows over my face – my photos won me the Style Stakes competition! What a lovely surprise that was! (Read my article about how to win the Fashions on the Field)

Relaxed Racing – Dressing for the summer races!

Having woken up that day with a sore throat and lack of sleep from coughing overnight, I nearly pulled the pin on heading out at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had put lots of effort into creating my beautiful headpiece to go with this amazing dress which I bought for the races, I would have gone back to bed. Mustering up some energy, I decided that I would make an appearance for a couple of hours. It was always so much fun catching up with the other fashionable ladies who regularly attended the races and fashion competitions. Where else can you wear such an amazing headpiece like the one I created?

The dress is from a London label, Hope and Ivy, which I purchased off ASOS. The floaty hemline, billowing sleeves, open back and embroidered flowers were just too hard to resist. It’s very bohemian, so a floral crown was the perfect choice of headwear to compliment it. These floral crowns are so beautiful and so popular at the moment. They’re easy and light to wear and you instantly feel pretty, no matter how you woke up feeling! It took quite some time to put together, as I painstakingly crafted the flowers and patent leather leaves from scratch! After wiring and glueing for a few days, I was super happy with the end result. Pale pink shoes with chunky heels and a pale pink clutch was all that was need to finish off my look.

Summer Style

Even if I hadn’t won the Style Stakes, I loved wearing the outfit. Apart from it being a tad windy and having to hold onto our headwear, the day was beautiful and it was lovely to catch up with the girls. The Blue Diamond Stake Day will always hold a special place in my heart, as I had won this same competition eleven years ago! Back then, I walked off with a lifetime trip for two to South Africa to enjoy some safari action and loads of other goodies. It was the one and only time where South African Tourism had put up such a prize and I was so lucky to be the recipient of it. I had come second, in the same competition, to a gentleman the previous year and he walked away with a trip for two to Mauritius! The prizes were nowhere near as good as they were back then, but the feeling of coming out on top was just as I remembered. Back then, I had also created my own millinery.

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Dress: Hope & Ivy, via ASOS

Shoes: Wittner

Clutch: Ruby & Kit

Millinery: My own design