Ok, so I did live in my activewear (if I bothered to get out of my pyjamas) most days while in lockdown. This wasn’t different from the times before COVID-19. I lived in activewear most days anyhow! There wasn’t any reason to dress any other way during our time in lockdown. Nobody was going anywhere so there was no need to dress up. This time has been a very uninspiring time for the fashionistas who loved too dress up and head to the races for the Fashions on The Field competitions. Outfits had already been planned for many race days in Autumn and Winter and it was looking like those outfits would sit in their wardrobes until next year! Then, somebody came up with the clever idea of making this seasons Fashions on The Field a virtual competition!
Virtual Fashions On The Field Fun
The first virtual competition was the biggest one which spanned over a few weeks. Lots of generous sponsors donated prizes and lots of ladies dressed in their best Autumn fashion entered by sending in photos of themselves wearing their beautiful outfits. The winner, Sally Mallyon, wore a brown modern leather dress with a leopard print chiffon dress underneath. Her headwear was a simple beret with some veiling. Her look was a sophisticated mix of luxury and budget wear. A deserved winner.
Although I didn’t enter that competition (lockdown was all too much for me at that time) I did love watching the glamour of it all. Seeing everyone in their beautiful racewear inspired me to design millinery, get dressed up and model my creations. By the next time a virtual FOTF competition came along, I was ready to join in on the fun. It was a little challenging trying to find different spots around the house for photos but we managed to create some different looks. The virtual FOTF competitions did have the theme of enjoying the races from home.
Although I didn’t get anywhere in the competitions, it really was a great spirit lifter to just glam up each week. It was also great to reconnect with some of my racing fashion friends and chat about fashion! We’re not sure when we’ll be able to wear our beautiful outfits out to an event or the races again so we’ll settle with wearing them around our homes for now. These outfits will just have to be worn again once we’re able to get on the racecourse again!
Fashion Finds At Home
As I wasn’t able to head out to find new outfits, I was faced with having to shop for looks in my very own wardrobe! It’s amazing the amount of fashion which I have hoarded over the years. Some, such as the yellow lace dress I wore for the Warnambool competition, had not even been worn yet! Yep, this beautiful dress had been sitting in my wardrobe for a couple of years as I hadn’t found the occasion to wear it yet. There’s likely to be a few more hidden treasures if I took the time to look! My floral dress was a re-wear with a new headpiece, I created a new jacket/cape and beret from some existing fabric and I caved and acquired two new outfits from Zara. These were the first new items I had purchased all year! I put this down to Covid-19 buying madness. Seems like a lot of people did the same thing! Back on to my ‘buy nothing new’ wagon.
We all could have just chosen to sit around and wait in our leisurewear until this pandemic disappears. Instead, some of us chose to dress up to provide ourselves with a nice distraction from our current situation. It’s about looking on the bright side of life! It’s about taking the time to pick ourselves up and feel good, if only for a moment. I’m so grateful that my love of fashion has helped keep me occupied over the last few months. Fashion has given a lot of us something lovely to focus on during this pandemic.
