Fashion on the Field in Ballarat - Ballarat Cup 2015 - Countryracing Victoria

Ladylike in Lace

Even though Maticevski still had a strong presence during the Spring Racing Carnival, a new kid on the block was making his mark. International label, Self Portrait, was definitely a winner around many racetracks all over Australia with their signature trellis lace dresses.

It was not long before other labels jumped on the bandwagon and created similar, more affordable pieces. Some were good and some came nowhere near. The dress which came closest was also the most seen dress at the races. Mossman’s Defiance dress has a very uncanny resemblance to Self Portrait’s Lilianal dress. They did such a great job that it ended up being one of the most popular dress of the Spring Racing Carnival, even out-doing any of Self-portraits dresses.

The lace dresses with gorgeous details and beautiful silhouettes had them walking out the door as soon as they landed in stores, even at $500 – $900 each. Having noticed the Mossman Defiance dress on a couple of ladies at the races, I fell in love with it and was happy to find out that it didn’t come with a hefty price tag! It is probably the prettiest dress which I’ve ever worn!

Ballarat Cup – Fashions on the Field

The races was my first pick of an event to wear the dress to. Having seen the dress on so many different ladies during the Spring Racing Carnival, I was a little reluctant to wear it! So I saved it for another time where there was less of a chance of running into someone wearing it too. It was the Ballarat Cup which saw my dress making it’s debut. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I spotted another fashionable lady sashaying around in the same dress.

I’ve recently regained an interest in entering the Fashions on the Field competition, something which I’ve loved being part of in the past. It’s the love of getting dressed up and finishing off an outfit with some of my own millinery which has me back there. It’s also the challenge of putting together a polished look which attracts the eyes of the judges and maybe get awarded one of those elusive sashes! Mostly, what I love about it is that I’m amongst some really lovely ladies who also share my passion for fashion and it’s all smiles when we meet up regardless if we win or not.

Back to this gorgeous Mossman Defiance dress. It was a last minute decision to wear it to the Ballarat Cup, the reason why I’m wearing the same hat which I wore to the Dunked Cup the previous week where I placed third in the competition. That was a lovely surprise as there were so many beautifully dressed competitors for a country race day! The navy disc hat with a cream trim worked beautifully with the dress and turned out to be perfect for a photoshoot on the grandstand at Ballarat!

With lace dresses, I would normally keep accessories to a minimum. Because it is a racing event, excess is fine and I chose to accessories with a chunky flower necklace, pearl earrings and bracelet. The tan heels are from Jo Mercer and they were complimented by a clutch from Olga Berg. I do like to accessories for special occasions and it’s a good idea to have a stash which compliment many different outfits.

This is the start of my return to the Fashions on the Field competitions. Hopefully I’ll inspire you to dress well and give you ideas on how to dress for these competitions, special events and how to just look fabulous in general. Life’s too short to look ordinary!

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