Page 133 - Majestic Vol1
P. 133
F E AT U R E
EVOLUTION Cup carnival in Victoria, Australia, by Milliners were the winners as hats become
OF RACING wearing a mini dress five-inches above a platform for women to express their
FA S H I O N the knee. Not only that but she was hat personality, ranging from the exquisite to
free with no stockings or gloves. the eccentric and occasionally downright
From fascinators ludicrous.
to floral fantasies “The Shrimp” stopped the world in its
in black or white tracks and for the first time since the The races also became a place for
or the brightest inaugural race in 1861, the winning horse designers to make their mark on the
of colours, the was knocked off the front pages of the fashion circuit with high profile names
choice in size and press – in favour of her legs. sponsoring celebrities to sort their latest
style now has no creations.
limits. Clothing has The bold move put the mini-skirt on the
followed a similar map around the globe, sending designers Today, women spare no expense to
path. When a day at the races first become in to a hemline-raising frenzy. Anyone express their individuality in the
popular with women, no one would dare wearing a skirt below the knee on the fashion stakes and men are also judged
attend without wearing gloves, stockings, horse racing circuit the following year in fashions on the field contests. People
a full-length or mid-calf skirt or dress and looked ‘old hat’. around the world see a race meet as a
a hat. celebration of glamour and style and
As racing evolved over the next few they dress for it well.
Then, an English supermodel sparked decades, it brought out the best and worst
a fashion revolution that captured in people and their idea of fashion. Hot And as for the humble hat, its lofty
worldwide attention. In 1965 Jean pants made an appearance in the 1970s, position on race days seems likely to stay,
Shrimpton snubbed the iron-clad followed by bubble skirts and screaming two centuries on.
conventions at the prestigious Melbourne neon frocks.
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