The outfits are incongruous with galloping horses,verdant lawns and daylight,but the Birdcage has become a giant nightclub,complete with DJ decks,champagne bars and suspiciously long bathroom lines.
Dressed in pink Valentino sneakers,an open-necked silk shirt and Bottega Veneta cargo pants,I stand with Edwards and Waterhouse – even though those items arebanned for men in members enclosures by the Victoria Racing Club.
The focus on rules,which the VRC has been valiantly updating – the pantless trend picked by Edwards escaped their notice – complicates issues,rather than providing guidance.
Dated dress codes encourage an idea of racewear that no longer exists. Take a hat off most women at the Cup,and they’re just dressed to the nines at 11am,many with makeup that a drag queen would hesitate to wear in daylight.
The disconnect between the racewear cosplay at Flemington racecourse and truly stylish outfits that create an air of tension by artistically testing taste levels has turned the international event into a circus (the kind that still has animals).
If people dressed to express themselves,rather than meet an ambiguous dress code that should have vanished when British supermodel Jean Shrimpton’s breezy style shocked a frumpy crowd in 1965,we might see more inspiring examples of personal style.