It’s all in the detail: Westfield Riccarton
The joy of race day fashion should begin before elegantly shod feet meet verdant turf. The thrill of the chase for the perfect outfit must contain exhilaration swiftly followed by gratification and be stress free.
Westfield Riccarton is destination celebration, where you could assemble your dream outfit within your lunch hour, leaving time to raise a triumphant glass of bubbles, or a flat white to your successful quest. Your outfit, beauty, grooming and picnic shopping list items are assembled under one roof, with free parking at the door. Price points suit a wide range of budgets and there are three in-house stylists if you are seeking advice.
Stylist Stephanie Rumble says the best approach for a totally pulled together look is to choose one item around which your outfit gels. Much of the time it will be a main item of apparel: the dress, jacket, skirt or playsuit, but it can be every bit as effective to use an accessory as your starting point. For example, the black flowered bag (pictured) contains white, red, yellow and green, and Stephanie says any one of these colours could become the focal point of the outfit. The on-trend round sunglasses embellished with pearls (pictured) could offset a classic outfit in creams, whites, pale pink or pale yellow, with pearl jewellery. The little details connect your look, but avoid too matchy-matchy as it can remove the verve from a great outfit in an instant.
Make the most of race days as an opportunity to wear colours that might feel too frivolous or unsuitable for work days, plus a rainbow riot of colour always adds to the party atmosphere. Head to toe black can be too sombre for the pleasures of the day, but can be stunning blended with white – if used in unexpected ways. Stephanie notes that colour combining is a clever way to dress, and usually wins points with both official and unofficial fashion judges. However, if you want to colour combine in unusual ways, you need to understand how to do it or seek advice to make it work.
Key trends are jump suits, often with wide legs and there are many styles and price points at Westfield Riccarton, scarves à la Audrey Hepburn are huge, as are statement sunglasses. Sleeves are still a focal point in puffed, frilled, or exposed cuts, while violets, indigos, and purples dominate the spectrum, and excitingly, shoes are available in any colour you can dream.
Stephanie says race day fashion always follows the doctrine of decorum.
If ‘elegance is refusal’, today is the day to refuse to flash the flesh and consider hem and necklines carefully. Obviously, the stylish don’t end up barefoot, so your shoes need to have ‘legs’ to see you through the day, plus the ability to adapt to the temperature with layers is a sign of the soignée.
Maddie Traditional Fascinator from Forever New, Declan Sandal in pink from Mi Piaci, Miu Miu Pearl Sunglasses from Sunglass Hut, Lila Circle Bag in Monochrome Floral from Forever New.
