Fashion gets racy at Derby Day

Telecom Derby Day Races, Ellerslie, Auckland Sunday 1st March 2009

An eight am wake-up on a Sunday morning is a habit I have yet to fall into. In fact it is something I hold a particular personal distaste for, not unlike most people with half a brain I imagine. However I had the feeling this one particular weekend the effort would be worth it; for this very reason: I had tickets to the much talked about, much acclaimed, Derby Day Races. It was to be on Saturday 28 February but rain had postponed the event until the following day.

Now I had heard about these races and I had even seen them on TV, but I had never quite plucked up the courage to spend a day frolicking about in a pretty frock alongside the foals at Ellerslie. The reason was, to put it plainly, I knew there was a lot of protocol and pomp and circumstance that went hand in hand with ‘a day at the races’. So up until now, I had no desire to make a fool of myself by trying to impress. But today was a new day! I decided to live this day by the tried and true old adage fake-it-till-you-make-it. And so I did.

Friend Jane and I arrived in style in my Toyota Yaris (more commonly known as a granny-ride) and parked as close as possible to the entrance so we could minimise walk time in our sky-high heels.

Rookie Mistake Number One: wearing brand new shoes for a day of walking and standing; something we would painfully regret later.

I must say classic glamour is often aspired to at such events and just as frequently never quite obtained, but not in this case. First impressions of Derby Day were sophistication and elegance. There were doormen at every door and champagne flowing in every glass. We were ushered into a marquee known as the Lindauer Powder Room, in which ladies could get their makeup done, have a flute of champagne and relax those tired feet. A lovely lady called Heidi Beachen from Phoenix Cosmetics offered to re-touch my makeup.

Heidi was no rookie, this was her fourth races. She said the Auckland Race Club were offering more now during the day than previously. I chose a good year to come it seems!
“The day hasn’t changed, it’s just more than purely the races now. It’s more of an event, a whole day outing, rather than something just for horse enthusiasts,” Heidi says.
Heidi knew what she was talking about, and she knew what she was doing as she did a fine job of my makeup, keeping tastefully in theme with the vintage style of my dress.

Success Number One: Lindauer Powder Room.

Our next mission was to place a bet on a horse. Now I am not typically a gambling woman, but today was a day for new beginnings, so I thought I would give it a go - I was at the races after all.


Rookie Mistake Number Two:  failing to Google how to place bets on horses before I came.
Once I had figured the system out, decided on the races and horses I would bet on - with names such as ‘Coniston Bluebird’, ‘Down The Road’ and ‘Diamond Glitter’ – I made my bets, with much help and instruction from the betting clerk (as you can see). I was counting on ‘IRobot’ for my big win in the Derby race.

Checking out the local talent was next on the agenda, as I heard the fillies come out in full regalia for the Mercedes Prix de Fashion competition.

Corrinne Rawlinson from Epsom designed and created this ensemble herself, it was also her first time at the races and she said, “I came up with these random ideas and expanded on them” and so formed her fabulous dress.

Penny Chai from the North Shore and Yenyi Lee from the city were a bit lost and, similar to myself, “don’t know how to bet!” Penny (below left) wears a dress from Max and Yenyi wears a cream dress she designed for her graduation and then modified for the races.



Claudia Gomez wears a dress she bough in Mexico, and Nine West shoes. “I just love dressing up, it’s my first time in the fashion show so I’m just having fun,” she says.

St Heliers local Kelly Coe wears her own label Augustine, and the matching bag she got by “pure coincidence from Hong Kong”. She said it would be amazing to win the Mercedes Benz but was more in it for the advertising. “It’s a really good way to promote my label, Augustine, which I started at the end of last year,” she says.

A whole lot of commotion started up behind me and for a moment I was confused, was everyone else as interested as I was in Kelly’s dazzling dress as I was? Apparently not, it turns out a lot of people go to the races to actually watch the races. But I caught the end, just to see number 8 cross the finish line last, my first betting failure for the day.

So I turned back around to focus on something that perhaps I could win. I had been told that it’s really not a day at the races unless you enter in the fashion competition, and I thought, “you can win a Mercedes Benz, what have you got to lose?” So I made Jane dress up and do it to, and we experienced the glitz and glamour of walking up and down the runway.

Jane de Jong, in her vintage shift and hat.


That’s me below, wearing a dress I made.

Rookie Mistake Number Three: signing up for fashion competition on the day without prior thought to outfit. Some of these ladies spent thousands on their ensembles.

We didn’t win the car but Jane was the winner of the day as she bet on Derby race winning horse ‘Coniston Bluebird’ and came out a whopping $45 on top after betting only $5! I on the other hand won $5.40 and spent it on a well-deserved drink.

Who would have known coming to the races would have been such an experience. I would highly recommend it and would say it is absolutely worth getting out of bed on a Sunday morning for.

Words Olivia Boswell, photos Jane de Jong.