L'Ormarins Best Dressed competition at Glorious Goodwood

After three days of truly Glorious weather at Goodwood racecourse, rain was forecast for Day 4 and the inaugural L'Ormarins Best Dressed competition. With an encouraged dress code of white and blue (in honour of sponsor L'Ormarins' logo), attendees and entrants prayed the weather forecasters had it wrong and slipped into their prettiest summer frocks regardless. Luckily, for the sake of my new all-white Erdem dress, the clouds parted and the sun shone on Glorious Goodwood for another day.The L'Ormarins Best Dressed competition works like the Epsom Downs and Sandown Park events in that, unlike Australian events where you spend all morning being sorted from heats into preliminary finals into a daily final, in the UK you are simply "scouted" by the organisers and invited to enter by way of posing for a photo. Judges select their finalists from the photos and you receive the magic phone call if you make the cut. The main perk of this method is you get to enjoy the full day without being held for judging, but the main con is usually the lack of phone reception in semi-rural places such as these, meaning you spend an inordinate amount of time phone-watching in the latter stages of the day.As I was scouted quite soon after arriving, I had plenty of time to explore the beautiful and picturesque surrounds of Goodwood, which is a racecourse I had always wanted to attend but hadn't until this day. A highlight of the course is undoubtedly the Artemis sculpture by Nic Fiddian-Green - a towering, 30-foot bronze Greek horse head situated in the Richmond Enclosure. Fiddian-Green is also responsible for the majestic Marwari Horse at Water statue near London's Marble Arch.Due to the aforementioned dodgy phone reception, finalists for the L'Ormarins Best Dressed competition were called later than expected. The good news was I was in the line-up! The bad news was I would have to miss out on the complimentary strawberries and cream that would easily rival Wimbledon's famed treat and were served to racegoers every day at 4pm.As it happened, the organisers of the competition had a surprise for the finalists, treating us to a pre-final glass of Veuve Clicquot in beautiful glass-fronted Owners and Trainers' Lounge, which is usually reserved for winning connections and their post-race celebrations.Then it was down to the paddock for the final, where we had a meet and greet with the judges, Justine Picardie, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar, Hanneli Rupert from L'Ormarins and stylish entrepreneur Sian Parry Jones, while they selected their winner.Dressed almost entirely in the same blue tone as the L'Ormarins' logo, Charlie Elmy-Britton was announced as the winner, stealing the major prize of a trip for two to Cape Town for the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate raceday from a sea of blue-and-white contenders, all of whom sported unique and distinct ensembles despite the matching colour code.Charlie, who owns a ladies' clothing boutique in Petworth, wore a powder blue lace dress by Alice by Temperley, classic nude Louboutin pumps, a teal quilted Chanel bag and a feathered sinamay headpiece made by her best friend, Layla Leigh.As the photo posing concluded, the finalists were treated to another surprise by the sponsor: celebratory bubbles and afternoon tea in the exclusive L'Ormarins marquee, which was decorated entirely in - you guessed it - shades of blue and white. While it was wonderful to finally be sampling L'Ormarins products (they make a rather decadent sparkling wine), the most intriguing feature in the marquee had to be the coconut-shaped cocktail vessels, which contained a refreshing mix of gin, elderflower and lavender.It was an indulgent end to my first Glorious Goodwood experience, and one to savour until next year, when I'll definitely return to Goodwood for another hit of glamour, racing and style. Thank you to L'Ormarins and the organisers, JSC Sport, for hosting one of the best Best Dressed events I've ever attended in the UK.Photos from Goodwood Racecourse Facebook page, or snapped by myself.By Lisa Tan

EVENT- Brothers Cairns Cup Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th August

Spend this weekend wisely as it’s your last chance to get your outfits sorted for the Brothers Cairns Cup. Held next Saturday and Sunday (the 9^th and 10^th of August), Cannon Park with come alive with two great days of racing and fashion. Each day of racing has its own Fashions on the Field competition with some fantastic prizes up for grabs. The golden rule for anyone entering Fashions on the Field at either day of the Brothers Cairns Cup is to remember it is a trans-seasonal winter carnival. What this means if you’re feeling a bit confused is to avoid wearing obvious summer fashion or headwear. I (Angela) am very excited to be representing OTOT on the Fashions on the Field judging panel on Cairns Cup Sunday and I can’t wait to jump on a plane and head up to FNQ! Make sure you keep reading and click on the links to get all the full details for the judging criteria and to register online. In a nutshell here are the details for Fashions on the Field.Saturday 9^th August. Brothers Cairns Cup Myer Ladies DayThere are two categories with the major prize $3000 in Myer Vouchers and a trip for two along the East Coast from Sassi Shoe Boutique. There are also addition prizes from other fashion sponsors for the finalists. The registration desk opens at 11am and closes at 12.15. The competition with be completed by 2pm.Myer Lady of the Day 12.30pmMyer Millinery of the Day 1.00pmFurther details and to pre-register CLICK HERESunday 10^th August. Brothers Cairns Cup SundayThere are three categories with the major prize $4200 from Babinda Electrics, Property Law Solutions, Bragg Real Estate and $1000 in vouchers from Tea Lily on Grafton Street. There are also addition prizes from other fashions sponsors for finalists. The registration desks opens at 12 noon and closes at 1.15pm. The competition will be completed by 2.30pmClassic Ladies Racewear Award 1.30pmUnder 35’s Contemporary Ladies Racewear Award 2.00pmMost Stylish Couple Award- Immediately following the U35’s Contemporary Ladies category.For further details and to pre-register CLICK HEREI am so looking forward to being able to see some great trans-seasonal racewear and leave freezing Melbourne to see the fabulous fashions up north. Having attended the races in Cairns on a number of occasions I know how high the fashion standard is and am excited to experience a winter Carnival in Far North Queensland.If you aren't familiar with the Fashion on the Field in Cairns, I would recommend booking a ticket in the fashion marquee for the best view of all the catwalk action.Myer Fashionable Fillies LunchCairns Cup High TeaI am so looking forward to being able to see some great trans-seasonal racewear and leave freezing Melbourne to see the fabulous fashions up north. Having attended the races in Cairns on a number of occasions I know how high the fashion standard is and am super excited to experience a winter Carnival in Far North Queensland.By Angela Menz

Sandown Park Ladies' Day

England's glorious summer continued at Sandown Park's Ladies' Day, heating the racecourse to a balmy 27-degrees and providing the perfect opportunity to don pretty sundresses once again.There was also an extra reason to sport your best summer frock, with the popular Best Dressed competition attracting many a well-heeled lady, vying for a host of spectacular prizes. Although this particular competition came with a suggested dress code: outfits featuring the colours of the American flag (that's red, white and blue) to celebrate US Independence Day, which just happened to fall on the same day.As Angela had already departed London for the Melbourne winter (unlucky), I called in two of my other race-loving friends, Fiona and Gail, for a true ladies' afternoon at the track. And because we love a good dress code, we all did our best to represent our friends across the Atlantic. This called for some trawling through the archives to dig up an outfit I haven't worn in many years: my 2007 Melbourne Cup Fashions on the Field runner-up jockey-inspired polkadots outfit (or just "Polkadots" for short).The Best Dressed competition was to be judged by a Lady(ies) of London, but an American by birth: the beautiful Noelle Reno, star of the Bravo TV series, fashion entrepreneur, blogger and socialite (that's one lengthy email signature!).Six lucky ladies were chosen as finalists, and we were so excited when Fiona and Gail received the "magic calls" to say their Americana outfits had been nominated as two of the six. They were joined by some pretty pastel retro frocks and elegant, streamlined neutral and black ensembles, creating an eclectic mix of racing looks and making Noelle's job even more difficult.Wearing a breezy white Jonathan Saunders for Debenhams top and skirt, and a sun-smart wide-brimmed hat trimmed with veiling by Stephen Jones for Debenhams, Noelle was assisted in her judging task by milliner Ilda di Vico, who contributed a beautiful couture hat to the prize booty. Other prizes included jewellery from Hot Diamonds, Molton Brown bath products, beautiful flowers and a much-desired magnum of Moët et Chandon - and this was all for the winner!We were delighted, surprised, excited and amazed when Noelle announced Gail as the Best Dressed Lady. Gail, who had never entered a Best Dressed competition before, scooped the winner's prize in an outfit that was pulled together just the night before - proving you don't have to spend weeks of effort and large amounts of money to create a winning look. The outfit featured a bargain print dress from the Peter Pilotto for Target collection, a hat (made by me) which she originally commissioned for Royal Ascot, coral red suede pumps from The Kooples and a black belt and clutch bag.Noelle later said in her blog for Optical Express Magazine that she wanted to choose someone who would "really truly appreciate the prize, another sort of underdog". She was thrilled to discover Gail was a mother who had never won anything in her life before, with the exception of some swimming titles.Later that night, as Fiona and I toasted the end of a glorious summer day at Sandown Park, Gail was swapping her glamorous clothes for a swimsuit to compete in her local swim meet. High on adrenaline from being named Best Dressed, she backed-up her win with another first prize that night in the half-mile race. Style and speed - Gail certainly has the perfect combination for trackside success!Photos courtesy of Sandown Park Racecourse.By Lisa Tan