Race Day Recap

Hi Everyone!

So, Friday was the Ballina Cup - our local horse racing day, and as promised here are some photos of the outfit I wore, including the fascinator I made especially for the occassion:

Please excuse the awkward lack of back-drop for these photos but I got my lovely boyfriend, Jake, to take them while I was at his house and this is the best we could do right then (he is definitely not that keen on taking 376925345 shots of me until I am content I have a nice one, nor is he keen to scout a "nice backdrop" when we are about to leave for dinner and he's hungry!)

and some of my hair, which my lovely sister, Shoni, did for me in the car out the front of the shopping centre where she was about to see a movie:

It was super windy on Friday, and I knew I'd be spending all day holding down my dress, so I opted for an up-do to keep my hair out of my eyes. 

All in all it was a good day which could have been made even better if a) I was able to drink an alcoholic beverage or six, b) it wasn't so windy and c) I could find a bloody booky and place a bet! Oh well, I think the fascinator looked lovely and went with my outfit quite well and next time I know to make sure there are no family affairs I have to drive to afterwards and to wear a tight-fitting dress and bring a cardi! 

Spring Races!

Hi everyone!
For those of us in the southern hemisphere, spring is finally here, and that means racing season! I don't know what it is about horses, but they absolutely enthrall me and that is why I am super  excited to be going to the Ballina Cup on Friday! It will be my first ever race day experience and I am super keen to frock up and sip champagne by the track! (or at least pretend to sip champagne, I am  definitely not the biggest fan!)

It was sort of a last minute decision for me to be going on Friday, so I am just wearing a dress I already had (black, vintage inspired with pink roses and tulle underlay - perfect race day dress, no?) but I did knock up a quick home made fascinator to tizzy it up a little bit :)

Want to see?

Of course you do!

 

The big flower is black nylon lace gathered with a running stitch and the small flower is black cotton eyelet trim gathered with a running stitch. The cotton trim is quite stiff, and I think that helps it to keep the petal-like shape it has taken on. The button in the middle is a vintage one i stole out of mum's sewing box. It looks as though it has been hand beaded! The beads are glass and faux pearl. I added in the organza ribbon "petals" for extra dimension, although they aren't all that easy to see.

 

I originally was going to hand sew the whole thing together, but the weird shapes formed by all the different elements made that kind of hard - in the end I just hot-glued it all together, including the (upside down) alligator clip on the back.

 

 

 

 

 

This last picture is just to give you the idea of how big it ended up. Please excuse my lovely spewed on work shirt and messy hair! I'll do another post on Saturday to show you the complete outfit and tell you all about the races! :)

 

If you're also from the southern hemispere, do you plan on going to the races this spring? If you're not, tell me about race experiences you've had in the past or any fascinators you might have worn or made :)