I know I say this every year… but, seriously, I think this spring season would have to be my favourite compilation of FOTF outfits ever!!

My fabulous new dressmaker, Mark Blake, created two gorgeous custom-made dresses for me and my third dress, equally as stunning, came from brand, Solace London.

The story behind a race day outfit is just as interesting as the final result. So, I’ve decided to share with you how my three race day looks for 2019 came about with a behind-the-scenes peak into the adventure of each outfit.

This post (Part 1) will tell the story of my Derby Day outfit. In Part 2 and 3, I cover my Melbourne Cup Day and Oaks Day outfits.

My Dress Maker

Last year I was watching the Myer Design Award competition where I spotted a beauuutiful floral full skirt dress on the catwalk.

I instantly fell in love with the design and knew I wanted to have something made by this designer. I found out he was Mark Blake, a design student from RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) in Melbourne.

When it was time to start thinking about my Spring Carnival outfits, I contacted Mark and said I wanted one, or possibly two, dresses for the upcoming carnival. We had a Skype call to discuss designs, prices and time frames.

I am very hands-on when it comes to the creative process. Meeting the dress maker is important to me, to get a better idea of their style and to talk through ideas, making sure they’re in line with my personal style. Around this time, I had already decided I wanted to have some fabric pleated at Specialty Pleaters in Melbourne for an outfit, and decided a trip to Melbourne to kill two birds with one stone was in order. Plus, I had a two-night stay at Sofitel on Collins that I won at Derby Day last year and was about to expire. I promptly booked the hotel and booked my flights.

A couple of weeks later there I was. Mark came to meet me at the hotel. We discussed ideas and fabrics, drew up some sketches and the look I wanted to achieve, as well as taking my measurements.

It was really great meeting Mark as I felt like he was very capable of executing any design and concept and also had fantastic taste of his own- as well as being super friendly and very easy to work with.

The Design

Mark’s floral dress from his Design Award entry was an inspiration. I absolutely loved the structure of the very fitted waist and big volume in the skirt. I wanted to change the top design, so we set off adding different top ideas to our shared Pinterest board (sorry I can’t share it here, it’s top secret hehe).

As the dress was very full at the bottom, I wanted to balance it out by having one shoulder bare. I wanted a cutout on the shoulder to show some skin and lighten the look.

I also wanted a big bow on my shoulder for a fun added feature. I told Mark the back had to be just as fancy as the front, and he came up with an epic cutout for the back too.

The Fabric

In the lead up to my Melbourne trip, I visited all the good fabric shops in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. I was open to options, colours and prints as I really didn’t have anything specific in mind.

My search resulted in one fabric, a leopard print with a lurex sheen through it from The Fabric Store. I don’t know what drew me to it, whether it was the sheen or the print, or because it was on sale for $12 a meter (I love a bargain)!!

Knowing I was going to Melbourne and there would be a better variety of fabrics, I held off.

When I met with my dressmaker, we trammed around Brunswick and walked up and down streets hunting down fabric shops, in the pouring rain of course. Nothing really grabbed my attention though, and panic started to seep in.

The Fabric Store is also in Melbourne, I took Mark in and spotted the leopard fabric again, still on sale for $12 a meter. A sign?

Knowing I needed 8 meters for my dress, and doing some quick math, I calculated it would only cost me $96 for the lot. I really couldn’t go past this!! I quickly purchased and decided it was meant to be! Crazy jungle lady here I come!

One trend I am loving this year is neons. I thought it would be a super fun idea to incorporate the neon trend into my outfit in the form of a neon yellow lining that could be seen as I swooshed around the FOTF stage. I purchased 8 meters of inexpensive neon yellow fabric online. Side note here: Originally, I did not intend to wear this dress on Derby Day, I wanted to wear it on Cup Day.

Making the Dress

As Mark now had my fabrics and the design was decided upon, he set to work and was able to finish it rather quickly. I loved working with Mark. It felt like we were always on the same page with our ideas and thoughts, and it’s like he can do anything!!

Mark sent me a lot of progress photos to check I was happy with how it was going. One thing anyone who works with me knows, is that I need to know what is happening every step along the way.

I tend to be quite fussy with what I wear and I’d rather make changes sooner rather than later. Sorry to my dressmakers and milliners in advance haha! In this case, everything went smoothly and easily, which is very rare as I’m sure most of you will agree as having outfits made can be quite an ordeal.

When it came to the shoulder bow, we played around with different sizes, and lengths of the arms. I wanted the arms to drape down long, like a cape behind me, which would create beautiful movement on stage.

Plus, I wanted the bow to come unattached, so I had the option of wearing it or not wearing it, depending on the event.

Mark had the brilliant idea of adding little loops of thread, which would slide into the clips on the shoulder, to secure it in place when I wanted to wear it. I love all the little problem solving you do in design.

Mark made the dress within a week (what a machine!) and posted it up to me in a huge box. When it arrived, I inspected it thoroughly and I have to give massive appraisal for a very professionally and beautifully made couture garment. The inside was finished spectacularly. He even designed it with an inbuilt corset, to allow for better shape and to help the invisible zip withstand the weight and pressure of the fabric- the last thing you want is to have your zip break the day of a FOTF competition after all!

To finish off my dress, I had ordered a custom belt from Buttonmania. It had a yellow trim on the outside to tie in the lining of my dress.

Trying it On

I was so excited to try on my dress as I had been DYING to see it. I had already decided my Louise Macdonald Dior Brim hat would be my best option to suit it, and if not, I would have a hat made.

No need, it was the perfect match!

The only change I wanted to make to my outfit, was to add a thick strap to the left side to make it a little more conservative.

I had some spare leopard fabric at home and draped it whilst wearing the dress- a rather difficult task to do with no one at home to help! I hand tacked the strap in place, feeling quite pleased with myself.

Accessories

I scouted around for some strappy heels and ended up purchasing four options online from The Iconic and Fashion Nova.

When they arrived, I unpacked them excitedly to find, I did not like the look of any of them!

In fact, one of them I couldn’t even keep my pinky toe inside the strap! Lol!

Luckily on a quick trip to the shops I found exactly what I was looking for in Sheike!

My earrings were a purchase from Zara last year and were the perfect combination of black, pearl and gold.

I ordered a bag from Online Bag Lady and sprayed the handle black as it was originally a chrome colour. I also added a plastic chain strap purchased online from The Daily Edited.

A Strategic Change

I’m not sure if anyone else thinks about strategically planning their Cup week outfits, but this is something I definitely think about. I wanted to wear this outfit for Cup day and had another dress ready for Derby Day.

When entering FOTF on Derby Day, Cup Day and Oaks Day, one thing to keep in mind is that whatever outfit you win in, you wear again in the Victorian final. This means, if you happen to win the Derby Day sash, that outfit is what you wear to compete against the winners of Cup Day and Oaks Day.

In the past 15 years of Myer FOTF history, the Derby Day winner has only gone on to win the National Title two times.

Some say that being in black and white is a disadvantage when competing against the other ladies in their colourful outfits. Others think black and white is very classic and has just as good a chance as any.

In saying this, as Derby Day is the first day of the FOTF carnival, I wanted to showcase my strongest outfit. I believed my leopard creation was better than the Derby Day outfit I had planned, so I had to consider changing the lining to black and wearing it instead.

A few sleepless nights and a quiz to Mark about how easily this could be done, I made the decision.

Of course, for Mark, changing the lining was no problem (he’s an angel) and I sent my dress back to him. He managed to change the lining in a couple of days. I would not see it again until I arrived in Melbourne on Friday, the day before Derby Day.

Mark even went as far as to change the pocket lining to black too! No half ass jobs here!

And of course, he unpicked my makeshift strap and re made it properly, sewing it back on for me. Honestly, what a gem!

I still had a few days left before Derby Day so I quickly sent off some leopard fabric and had a new belt made at Buttonmania, a smaller belt without the yellow lining this time.

When it arrived, Mark put the belt on the dress and sent me a photo. To be honest, you couldn’t see it in the photo!! But in person, it just gave off that extra special little detail that I live for!

‘She’ was now perfectly ready and I couldn’t wait to get her <3 !

An Update from the Day

It was an early start with hair by Jasmina @hairby_jasmina. I always opt for a classic epic bun as I think this balances out my big millinery! I had 3 girls over to the apartment to get their hair done too, which added to the excitement.

Unfortunately, as Melbourne weather would have it, it was a dreary, rainy, grey day!! It wasn’t freezing, but it was wet. On my walk to the train station, I think I had a wet patch on the hem of my dress about 20cm high!! And everywhere I walked I left a wet trail behind me, like a snail.

I stayed in the inner city for the first time this year and caught the train to the track. It was such an easy experience, but they do say that if it’s wet, there can be serious delays- so ALWAYS leave early!

On the train I ran into Sarah and Ainsley, so we all had a little chat en route to Flemington.

It was POURING, but that didn’t stop us all following Wendell around, Pied-Piper-like, to the Pony Bar for a photo opp. He truly is the master of his art and we all LOVE him!!

I’m actually obsessed! How he manages to get me looking like I can pose like this is a miracle.

And would you believe I made it into VOGUE’s Best Street Style looks from Derby Day AHHHH!!!!

I risked getting my Louise Macdonald hat wet in the rain for this shot, and it was WORTH IT, VOGUE AHH!!

I was lucky enough to make it through the FOTF rounds right through to Top Ten!! Derby Day is always such a hard competition, it’s amazing to see how many different ways ladies interpret the black and white theme.

The winner was a beautiful lady in a black and white stripe Maticevski dress and black Louise Macdonald wide brim hat.

First runner up was Rai in a black organza Alex Perry dress with beautiful floaty cape and Rebecca Share Millinery.

Second runner up was Carena West, in a white dress with black accessories including a wide brim hat by Claire Hahn.

 

So, do you think I made the right call to swap out the neon lining for black lining? Or do you think the neon would have looked better? Let me know in the comments below.

If you like hearing the story of how my race day outfits come together, be sure to keep an eye out for my next blog post where I show you how I made my Melbourne Cup Day outfit.

 

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