Glamour and the Dust – Reflection of WA Country Cups Pinjarra Race Meet

February 15, 2017

Glamour and the Dust – Reflection of WA Country Cups Pinjarra Race Meet – 11th February 2017

The flawless Stacey Reynolds

What a wonderful weekend that past us – perhaps not so much in the

weather stakes. As a friend of mine, (none other than the stunning Stacey Reynolds) pointed out – this blog should be titled “Glamour and the Mud” to more accurately describe the track side weather conditions on Saturday at Pinjarra.

The grass may have been boggy and many a heel protector donned but the rain managed to stay away for the day – it was the gusty winds that were more of a nuisance at times and made it difficult for some to keep their gorgeous millinery in place.

Pinjarra Magic Millions Ladies Day did not disappoint in the fashions stakes and provided me with my very first fashions on the field judging experience. Being on the other side of the fence has its advantages, however conversely it sure does come with its own set of pressures, especially with the extremely high standard of fashion seen on the day.

Another added bonus to the day was meeting up with what now feels like age-old friends. The three day WA Country Cups final in Perth last year brought together ladies from all over our great state who obviously had one major commonality, that being their passion for fashion. What I didn’t expect was an ongoing and strengthen bond which has created meaningful friendships that I know will continue well after the days of FOTF competing are over and we have all retired our millinery and stilettos J

The Sex and the City Crew... L-R: Hayley Scott, Stacey Reynolds, Sarah McEwan, Ainslie Jackson

The female racing fashion community in my opinion is not only going from strength to strength in terms of standards in the fashion stakes but also in its ability to connect women from all around WA and interstate over our shared fashion interest.

Top 10 Ladies with Hayley Thompson from WA Weekender

Through the 'Milano Imai Fashions on the Field' blog I was lucky enough to be able to meet more lovely women who had driven quite the distance to attend Pinjarra on Saturday and bond over outfit selection, their creative inspiration for their outfits and their plans following the race day. Without fashions on the field, without the social media platform and without such an amazingly attractive prize pool so generously sponsored by WA Country Cups this opportunity would not be possible.

My new racing friends from Mingenew

Through genuine chats and interest in each other it further proves how very small our state is. Who would have thought that racing fashion would connect friends and family in such a powerful way?

WA Weekender Interview with Hayley Thompson

Charlotte Mills being interviewed with Hayley Thompson

Additional to my judging duties on Saturday, I also had the opportunity to be interviewed by Hayley Thompson for the WA Weekender (which actually happens to be a favourite show of mine, given my other major passion in life being travel).

I love watching the show as it keeps me up to date with exciting things going on around WA.

I was also interviewed by the lovely MC for the day’s

proceedings Ashleigh Riley. I was able to talk about my exciting win from last year and provide some advice on how to put together a winning look for this year’s competition.

My message really is simple; be bold, be courageous, take risks, find that statement piece that brings your look to life – it doesn’t have to be expensive but I believe elegance and sophistication has to be at the core of any look.

Winning such a competition isn’t easy, so finding an outfit that you adore and wearing it with supreme confidence is my biggest tip. The overall winner for the day might not be to everyone’s taste which is what I love about fashion, its art, and for it to set trends and stimulate interest it is often controversial. That’s the beauty of it.

There were soooooo many ladies who were worthy winners on Saturday and sooooo many looks that I personally loved, I wish there were a prize for the whole top ten.

L-R: Philippa Kupsch, Hague Jackson, Emilia Hyvarinen, Hayley Scott

Top 3: L-R Emilia Hyvarinen, Philippa Kupsch, Hayley Scott

Pinjarra WA Country Cups Winner: Philippa Kupsch

Entering fashions on the field is often stimulated by the prize factor but I guess in reflection of my time throughout last year I got more than a $25K prize, I got to focus my feminine energy and my creative side of my brain on areas other than my day to day work, which is a lovely beneficial balance for me. I often work in high stress environments making many important decisions for people on a daily basis. So to have a meaningful creative outlet is important to balance me.

I have met some amazing women, who are not only creative in the fashion sense but are highly intelligent, grounded leaders in their respective fields who also happen to love combining their creativity in the fashion world with their daily lives.

Racing fashion connects women, gives them a reason to tap into their creative feminine energies, and creates opportunity for friendship development and personal growth in an elegant and sophisticated manner.

It is so much more than sash chasing, to me the more valuable aspect of the prize from my WA Country Cups experience is the intangible ones as mentioned above.

May we all keep this in mind when we are about to step up on the stage, baring our vulnerability by putting ourselves and our personal fashion tastes on display... lets views this not as a critique of each other but more importantly let’s celebrate femininity, elegance, sophistication, friendship, fun and women in leadership.

The next 3 months see’s my husband and I on an adventure in Bangkok City – I write this blog two days into to our adventure with many more to come. So unfortunately I will be unable to judge fashions on the field at Bunbury Ladies Day (which I am disappointed about) however I plan to attend at least one race meet over here in Bangkok and blog about the atmosphere as well as cover all things encountered on this whirl wind adventure... I will be back in Australia to kick off more fashions on the field judging in none other than my town of Port Hedland on the 23rd of July 2017.

In the meantime, stay tuned as I take Glamour and the Dust on an international road show...

3 months in Bangkok, followed by a month taking in Denmark, Greenland and Iceland J

Our "chicken dance" movement is growing... :)

My FOTF Inspiration for my outfit for Pinjarra:
Following my recent trip to Hong Kong and the Chinese New Year I wanted to play on an interpretation of a Chinese theme to my outfit)

Dress: Asilio Cotton Candy Dress (I had the sleeves removed to play up the off the shoulder neckline and to make it more "weather appropriate" thinking that is was going to be super hot)
Millinery: I re-featured a Red Flower with vintage netting fascinator by Amanda Smith - Local Port Hedland Milliner's Gloria Pearl Collection)
Earrings: Purchased online - playing on the current dominant tassel trend
Brooch: Embellished rooster - playing on the Chinese New Year being the year of the Rooster
Shoes: Nine West - Nude pumps (for comfort rather than style) I did have some amazing red heels as my preferred option but I did not want to debut them in the mud
Clutch: Nude and gold art deco themed clutch to enhance the gold accents in the earrings
Hair: Pink pastel colour - by Supernatural Hair Port Hedland (my faves) Up do - by Janelle Brown from Bunbury (again I was channeling a rooster with my messy up style)
Make Up: Self - Foundation Smitten cosmetics in Tan and Lip colour Viva Glam by M.A.C.
Nails: Siam Nailz - Eve from Port Hedland (Eve is so talented she hand painted a feature nail onto each ring finger from a picture of my dress - I got lots of compliments about my nails throughout the day)

I love to support Australian fashion labels where possible, and most importantly small local businesses for hair, make up and nails where I can. It is just another way that racing fashion supports our local economy.