Today I was at an event where I got the best bits of being at the races but without the worst bits - and it was fab!
It was a real treat to be offered champagne at 11.30am (I say offered because I was driving so was on the soft stuff), to watch a fashion show by Harvey Nichols and to have a lovely sit down meal at the new Marco Pierre White restaurant in Birmingham.
This was one of the models who was showing the new A/W '12 collection from Harvey Nichols. There's a strong equestrian trend coming through, as reflected in the Alexander McQueen jacket.
Although not an obvious pairing, I really liked the leopard print Louboutins with the jacket...
...because there is that danger that, in wearing a jacket like this with boots of pretty much any description, you might look as if you were about to leap on your horse -so shoes were a much better option. I am sure that we can rely on Zara to do lots of interpretations of this style of jacket.
This too was a great combination and not an obvious one. White jeans, amazing heeled ankle boots in purple and a Proenza Schouler bag, also in purple, and which cost £1100 - or thereabouts. Wow!
The model in this shot was wearing some amazing Michael Kors snake print trousers which looked great on her. Perhaps hard for the rest of us to wear, but great on her. They weren't a skinny fit so it's possible that they may be slightly easier to get away with for those of us on the, let's say, more mature side. If you get my drift.
The top is a great colour and totally lifts the neutral colours in the trousers.
What can I say about this dress? It looks great on the model but it's one that would be difficult to translate for the rest of us. I suppose a bit of length would help! You seriously wouldn't want to bend over in it would you?
I loved this dress - despite it being a pale colour, which can be hard for some to wear, the sparkles make it less tricky. The overlay is a really lovely feature and stops it from being "just another short dress". The addition of an overlay all of the way round would make this dress accessible to even more shapes and sizes.
So pretty isn't it?
In comparison to the looks above, I look a bit bright! The dress code dictated that we be race appropriate - or something similar.
I hadn't contemplated that women would go the whole hog and wear fascinators etc. To coin a phrase from a lady who left a message on the blog the other day, I personally would have felt a "bugaloo" had I been wearing a fascinator, or hat, sitting in a restaurant in Birmingham on a Thursday afternoon - but good on others for embracing the event head on (excuse the pun).
By the time these were taken, I had been drenched twice. It was soooo wet today. At one point our youngest had asked me to retrieve her hat from inside my handbag to stop her from getting wet. The trouble was that my handbag was stuffed under my coat so that it didn't get wet - so she too had to suffer for the sake of fashion. I reckon it's a good lesson to learn whilst young. (For those concerned, she didn't get that wet).
And as for the betting - I won! I actually won! I decided to bet on a horse called "Reckless Abandon" - because it's so not me! I am the sensible one - not drinking because I am driving, swapping my heels for the school run, dashing via Tesco to get snacks for the children after school. So to be £20 better off for being square - I'm not complaining.
I had a great day out and would like to thank the lovely people who invited me and also the lovely people that I met. I even spoke to Bob Champion who won the Grand National in 1981. When I explained to my friend's son what I had been doing today he looked at me in amazement and said: "Wow, have you been riding horses in races today. And winning? That's so cool." I didn't like to disabuse him of the notion!
What I wore: Reiss dress from Bicester, reduced to £77 from £179, LK Bennett Sledge
