Caulfield Guineas: Sunshine. Beautiful company, but disappointment on the fashion front (not us, them!). Tasty food options of sweet and savoury. Two food vouchers = one cute, white noodle box filled with crushed meringue, strawberries and cream and one cute, white noodle box filled with custard and chocolate profiteroles. Male company chose two savoury options. To be fair (but unfashionable) noodles and stir fry’s do belong in noodle boxes...
Moonee Valley Tatts Cox Plate: Sunshine! Ivory Thurley dress with Annie Clifforth creation on top, neutral colours today – a clear favourite in the fashion stakes. Plenty of floating food platters. Mini Magnums. Wonderful idea! Test running mushroom-nude Tony Bianco shoes. Great for about 4 hours. Not so great thereafter.
Derby Day: Hot Hot Hot!! So so so hot. Karen Millen black dress. Hugging. Not a wise choice. Early departure, largely due to outfit discomfort. Expected high probability of the presence of drunk, wobbly, lobsters roaming the city later in the day.
Cup Day: Quite pleasing weather really. Nursery is abuzz. Good food, great company. Winners picked. Karen Millen on my feet. Good to me until at least 4pm. Then, welcome flat shoes. A wise and envied move. Well done me! The last race. Today, even the train ride home is special. Leaving later is certainly the key. By then, the dust has settled and the majority of the young and tattered have all kindly removed themselves from the track. And all the way to Spencer Street, a small crowd at the back of the carriage project a joyful-happy-drunk-sung soundtrack of Beatles, Hunters & Collectors, Pearl Jam and other well known anthems. When people sing like that, all you can do is smile. And if you dare, you join in.
Oaks Day: A little bit windy but otherwise pleasant in the weather department. Grey and black Giovanna Scarfo dress today. Repeat Karen Millen shoes (Yes I know, fashion crime. But if you saw them you would understand.). Mother and daughter day for me. Mum is very chic in black with a touch of art deco in a brooch. Kerrie Stanley takes the Millinery Award. A pale pink and black combination wins the hearts of the judges in the fashion stakes (don’t they care about my aversion to this colour combination!?). Pale pink and black would drive off in her brand new red Lexus. Don’t worry, we caught a taxi. A really high-standard Melbourne one. Complete with terribly bad odour and a driver who has no idea where he is or where he is going. Splendid.
So I say “Goodbye for now” to Flemington. No doubt, the fascinators are being, or have been, boxed up or heavily marked down to make critical room for the Christmas decorations…
