Fashion and Umbrellas at the Melbourne Cup

I can think of at least four good reasons to stay away from the Melbourne Cup, including crushing crowds, excessive drinking, money gone up in smoke through gambling, and the absolute requirement for women to fasten something on their heads. No doubt there are more.  Ross has been hearing about this event nonstop since his arrival last March, however, so when he received an invitation from a business associate, his immediate inclination was to accept.  I didn't think much about it beyond the worry of what to wear, but the night before the big race, we began to reconsider whether we really wanted to be or ought to be going.  We continued the debate right up to the moment of stepping into the car, but in the end curiosity prevailed, and we went, enduring the crowds and the rain, and snapping lots of pictures along the way.

From the point of leaving our house to being able to taking the picture above required nearly three hours of sitting in traffic, standing in crowds, ducking under cover during the rain showers, and threading our way through thousands of people to a pavilion that did not seem to exist.  We had plenty of time before getting out of our taxi to begin to take in the fashions of those walking, as well as read and re-read the following signs:

We also had time to notice the dozens of helicopters transporting those too important to wait in traffic.

When I first noticed the wearer of these shoes being interviewed for the camera, I didn't fully appreciate the heel attachments.  After forty tortuous minutes trying to make my across the soggy grass on the tips of my toes to the other end of the race course, my respect for the inventor increased immeasurably.

 
 

Getting ready for the Big Race, the one that supposedly shuts down the nation:

The heavens opened minutes before the start:

And they're off and running as the rain let up slightly

Waiting for the outcome:

All I can tell you is that the favorite, So You Think, came in third.  The winner was Americain, owned by a Frenchman.  All of the other details escaped me entirely. Ross just reminded me that the winner received $3.5M...not bad.

My children were close to horrified when they first saw my outfit. They prefer my normal jeans and t-shirt or sweater. I had tried it all on the Thursday night prior when a friend (aka my Melbourne fashion consultant Gillian) stopped by to offer her advice.  She approved the dress, admonished me wear the jacket if necessary but keep it unbuttoned, chose the fascinator over the hat I had picked out from Target, loaned me the earrings as well as six pearl bracelets, was not entirely happy with my shoes but assured me that I did not need to make a trip to Chaddies (Chadstone is our local shopping mall, largest in the southern hemisphere, and not my favorite place) to replace them, and gave me the thumbs down on the clutch I had purchased.  The clutch, she explained, needed to be just large enough for my sunnies and my lippy, must not be entirely black, must not have any silver in it, but instead a touch of cream---not too creamy, though, due to the white in the dress.  Duly advised, I went back to Target and found nothing matching her description.  I tried one more store (that was my limit), and came home with a tiny creamy box that did not turn out to be large enough for my sun glasses after all.  They spent the afternoon in Ross's coat pocket.

My final verdict on the experience:  fascinating, to be sure, but not one I care to repeat any time soon.

Comments

[Kent Keller]

We looked for you on TV in the 30 minutes before the race that we watched until the cup was handed out. Never saw you. As I was reading your blog and looking at the pictures I was afraid you were not going to post a pic of the two of you. You two look great. Thanks for the pics and the detail of the day.

[janetjames]

What an outstanding looking couple ! Your pictures of the fashion parade are quite interesting !

[Karin Smith]

all of those women really do have hats on! amazing. great outfit. it really suits you. i just wish i could have seen your shoes in the picture. i couldn't help laughing over the detailed instructions you were given about what kind of purse to buy. who would have thought it would matter that much?

[Shanda]

LOVE IT!! This was awesome. So glad you went, Christie.