Hello every one and welcome to my new followers.
Today I have decided to give you a little taste of Australian Culture. Whilst you have all been busy with your pumpkins and and witches we have been preparing for one of our biggest and most glamorous sporting events......The Melbourne Spring Racing carnival. There are six major Horse Racing events that make up the carnival. The Caulfeid cup, Cox plate, Derby Day pronounced Dar -bee, The Mebourne Cup, Oaks Day and finally Emirates stakes day.
The last four races are held over one week with Derby Day opening the Melbourne cup week. Derby day is considered to be the most prestigious days of racing in Australasia with four races in the elite group 1 level. The Fashion is almost as important as the Horse racing it's self and black and white is traditionally worn on the day. It is, for a lot of us, all about the out fit and many going to great lengths and expense to coordinate Hats, dresses, handbags and of course shoes. The hat is the central focus of the ensemble often a work of art in it's design. Many of our major corporations position Marques with elaborate furnishings and catering the most prestigious being the Emirates Birdcage with a guest list of Australian and international celebrities. This year our most famous visitor was our own lovely Nichole Kidman dressed in an Audrey Hepburn my fair lady inspired out fit.
Here are a few pictures i have taken from the internet to show you a small sample of the beautiful fashions of the day.
I thought I had better add in some mens fashion but I must say there are no where near the amount of mens fashion images as women's.
Today is Melbourne Cup day and you may have heard we have a holiday to mark the occasion. Yes thats right, a holiday for a horse race! The Melbourne cup is the highest prize money of all the races offering $3,600,000 for first place. Makybe diva being the most successful consecutive winner of the cup three times in a row. Most amazing because she was a mare and still one it with extra weights in the last race.
The fashions for cup day are more vibrant and the general atmosphere is very festive. Oaks day is considered ladies day and the tradition is to wear brightly coloured frocks.
Finally I will leave you with some photos of the Flemington Roses that are a beautiful spectacle and are famous for marking the season. My apologies for some double up on the images and i hope you didn't mind me slotting in a picture of yours truly with my handsome husband.
OOOH La La!!! What a Show, Fi! I think it is Perfect that you included a picture of Your Beautiful Self AND Handsome Husband! (I thought it might be you as I scanned the pics!)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this Cultural exchange!!! I LOVE horses and Fashion too.... over here the only race that gets that treatment is the Kentucky Derby.... so it is certainly a lot of fun to see such Creative Fashions on display! I hope you had a Wonderful Holiday!
Hi Betsy,
DeleteI'm gad you enjoyed my little show! It's nice to know we're not all shorts and T-shirts out here....; )
ML Fi xx
Oh, Fiona! That post super fashion!How are chic your events! You are very beautiful and elegant you and your husband. I've never seen so many roses all togheter. It must be wonderful to take part in such an occasion!
ReplyDeleteHi Blanche,
Deleteit is very chic and i have to admit to paying far more attention to the fashion than the horses!
ML Fi xx
Hello Fi,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post and such great pictures. We dream of going to Australia one day, and I will definetly keepthe races in mind when we plan our trip. What fun, it's like a huge costume party. I love it!
Big hug,
Giac
Hi Giac,
DeleteYou would LOVE it!! If you ever came out to Oz you must go to on event at least and of course if you to come visit you know the first person you must call.....; )
ML Fi xx
Hello Fi,
DeleteThe minute we book our tickets you'll be the first to know, It's a promise. Jo's aunt visited Australia 2 years ago and she just loved it. I know it's high on Jo's vacation list and I would love to visit it...however being a little afraid and uncomfortable in planes the 20 hour flight is not the most appealing thing ever.
Have a wonderful day,
Big hug,
Giac
What great outfits! Looks more like a wedding than a horse race, especially with all those beautiful roses!! Now I did wonder as I was reading whether Madame Fi had made it to the races this year, and there you were mingling with all those other beautiful people!!! Ooooh SUNSHINE!!!! it's dark and cold and frosty and wet here!!
ReplyDeleteMind you, I don't mind, as preparations are well under way now for my favourite time of the year (it's the most wonderful time of the year!) and will be doing some Christmas shopping in London in a few days time, whilst also taking in the Bronze exhibition at the Royal Academy along with Fortnum's Christmas windows! Enjoy the rest of the races, let me know if you win those millions!!! ;o)
Hi Andy!!
DeleteYou know I'm sure some women put in as much effort into there racing out fits as their wedding!! There is such a big build up to it. The weather is so changeable at this time of year you really have to have two outfits prepared for the day. I had a jacket with my dress but didn't take it off all day.
What an exciting time ahead Andy, you know I expect photos of F$M windows!! And of course the famous Dollhouse and Miniatures Christmas Count down!!!
You know Andy I forgot to by a ticket.....grrrrr!! $100 mil went to 4 winners so 25 mill would have been nice!!
ML Fi xx
Great blog post Fi, nice to share our culture with readers! Hope you both had a good day and came out with some winnings xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Jazzi,
DeleteYes it's nice to show that we slip out of our thongs every now and then.....; ) Oh, and thats flipflops for those OS readers!!
ML Fi x
As I was reading your FAB post, I thought to myself,"I wonder what Fi wore to the gala events?" And next thing I knew --there you were, looking simply divine! You are SO LUCKY because glamorous hats and frocks are WAY better than icky, old witches and pumpkins! Is there a 'signature cocktail' for these festive goings-on, I wonder? For the Kentucky Derby over here, it's all about the MINT JULEP! (Which is kind of nasty, unless you have a penchant for sugary, toothpaste-flavored Bourbon Whiskey, but it's served in a SILVER CUP, so that totally makes up for any short-comings). BTW, the ROSES are SPECTACULAR! How I miss mine already but all I have left are the bare, thorny branches ending with red-orange hips...
ReplyDeleteXO,
John
CHAMPAGNE is the signature cocktail my darling and Bollinger was the first glass of the day!!!
DeleteMINT JULEP sounds interesting, I can't say I have ever partaken in any but I have heard it referred to as the preferred cocktail of the south.
You know I should have posted a better photo of my hat, it actually has two huge magnolias on the front mixed in with black and white Ostrich feathers, but that was nothing compared to some others.
I bet your roses are beautiful when they're out, you seem to be sucsessful at anything you put your hand too!
ML Fi xx
My dear - what a super-stylish sensation it all seems. Stuck here in Old Blighty with my withering pumpkin I feel provincially pagan. However, all we have to do is wait for the summer and await the announcement from Rogers and Hammerstein:
ReplyDeleteLadies and Gentlemen
Ev'ry duke and earl and peer is here
Ev'ryone who should be here is here.
What a smashing, positively dashing
Spectacle: the Ascot op'ning day.
I should point out that the closest I've ever got to Ascot is to be the back end of a pantomime horse in a production of The Desert Song. No one would believe the other things I've done...but Ascot, sadly, was not one of them.
I do like all the roses, Fi. It's still odd to me to realise that all those roses are blossoming upside down while we are withering the right way up. Like Andy, though, we're looking forward to the Christmas weather. I shall be accompanying him to Fortnums and plan what to buy when we've won our own millions...
David
Yes Flemington do do a rather good job of upside down roses!!
ReplyDeleteYou know Charles and Camilla payed a visit for Cup Day and of course all the royalists come out in the thousands to catch a glimpse, we all get a bit silly really!!
Good luck on the millions and your visit to F&M's
ML Fi xx
Thanks for a peek into the Aussie's fun tradition! You and hubby look a tad spiffy if I do say so myself! LOL
ReplyDelete