By Kyra Gillespie
Frocks, fascinators and fedoras vied to grab the attention of judges at the 2018 Inspire Pilates for Women Fashions on the Field at the Pakenham Cup.
Richmond’s Michael McAlpine took out the best male outfit, wearing a vibrant Arthur Galan suit jacket and pants, a Jack London waistcoat, tie from Mickey Blue in Mornington, pocket square made by Ian Parsons, fedora from Head to Toe Camberwell, a tie pin designed by Tatiana Hoffman, and a pair of binoculars as a finishing touch.
“I’ve been doing fashions for ten years now; this has been my eighth win since the Caulfield Cup this year and my 11th placing since October,” Mr McAlpine said proudly.
“I got the jacket last week – I saw it in the shop window on Chapel Street and just knew I had to have it – and designed the outfit around the jacket.
“The key is that you have to look like you’re at the races, you have to aspire to the jockeys’ silks – not copy them, but replicate the popping colours and patterns that they do.”
Ben Carbonaro and Jordan Tichy came second and third place as ‘Best Dressed Man’.
Michelle Robinson took home the ‘Lady of the Day’ title, while Brooke Walter and Kiara Manning came a close second and third.
“I was wrapped to win, it was a very tough field at Pakenham; the ladies really brought their A Game and the judges had a hard time deciding a winner,” Ms Robinson said.
“It started with the dress; I really loved the print when I saw it in Myer and from there I designed and made the hat myself – I’m a hobby milliner. I’ve always loved the races and fashion, which is where my love for making hats started.
“I already had the shoes and clutch in my wardrobe which was a bonus!”
Hailing from Tarneit, Ms Robinson has been attending country racing meetups all her life.
“My first country race was when I was a few months old, so I’ve been going all my life really.”
Michael and Kelly Carty took out the ‘Best Dressed Couple’ category, followed by couples Harvis McGeagh and Chloe Wassycko, and Dean and Maria Stewart.
“I bought the hat two years ago but I didn’t have the right dress to go with it!” Ms Carty said.
“This year I found a lovely dress that matched perfectly; then my husband got his outfit from Roger David and matched it to my colour scheme.
“We’ve been married for 21 years and have had six children together – three boys and two girls. This is a nice thing that we do just the two of us; it brings us together.”
Langwarrin South resident Jenny Beard took out the top honour as ‘Mature Lady of the Day’ for an outfit she admits was a rather last minute one.
“I wasn’t going to go originally; my sister was visiting from Darwin and I hadn’t planned an outfit until that morning. My sister laughed at me winning because she’d watched me running around half an hour before getting ready,” she said with a laugh.
“I had on a beautiful hat by Jill and Jack Millinery; it’s a top hat style with beautiful veiling over the top – it’s gorgeous and I’m absolutely in love with it.
“I was very blown away; everyone in the final looked really beautiful. It was an honour to win it.”
It’s not Ms Beard’s first visit to the Pakenham Cup.
“Pakenham has always been very kind to me over the years – though this was my first time at the new track.”
Anna Campbell and Kelly Carty were the ‘Mature Lady of the Day’ runners up.
