Nowadays hats - and big ones - are making a raceday comeback.
Jean Shrimpton shocked the world back in 1965 when she turned up at Melbourne's Derby day races without stockings, gloves or a hat and in a mini four inches (10cm) above the knee.
The model would barely raise an eyebrow these days. The stripped-bare look is part of
the Spring Carnival - after all Paris Hilton has been a guest at Flemington - but the stylish racegoer knows there are still some rules to follow.
Make an effort is the main one. Dress up, not down, but you don't have to come over all Queenie with matching accessories. The modern raceway look is body-conscious, but make it youthful by teaming a pretty dress with a cropped jacket and shoes that you can walk in, on grass, all day. Melbourne Cup evening is notorious for the sight of trashed young ladies tumbling from the city's trains with stilettoes in hand.
Hats should be kept firmly anchored on heads, but with ever larger styles coming back into vogue mind you don't spear anyone when you're jumping up and down as your thoroughbred pounds down the track at speeds up to 60km/h.
Men should resist the urge to look like clowns. A slim-fitting light-coloured business suit with a colourful shirt, and maybe a matching tie and handkerchief in the suit pocket, is smart. Belts and shoes should be the best, you don't want to look like a dodgy bookie.
With racing a growing part of the social calendar in Auckland - big races at Ellerslie are Boxing Day and the Auckland Cup Carnival in March - we've looked to Melbourne as a city that specialises in turning a trip to the track into a fashion frenzy.
But we have a long way to go to match the Melburnians. For the last six-week-long Cup Carnival, they bought 50,000 hats, 20,000 frocks and 42,000 pairs of shoes.
* Practise playing dressups at Ellerslie Racecourse's Melbourne Cup day on November 7 and enter the best-dressed woman and best-dressed man competitions. Each wins a $2500 Nuffield Street shopping voucher. Go to www.ellerslie.co.nz
