Springtime in Australia is finally here – and that can only mean one thing… It’s Spring Racing season! My absolute favourite time of year. The weather’s turning it on, the Pimms is flowing once again and the fashion and fascinator stakes have never been higher. Ready, set, GO! The annual Spring Racing Carnival season is here.

Spring Racing season was all very new to me when I first arrived in Aussie almost four years ago – the closest thing Britain can compare is probably Royal Ascot in June, which yes, is very glamorous and exciting (did you see Kate Middleton on Ladies Day this year..? Hottie!), but it is only really celebrated by those at Ascot, which is located approx. 19km outside of London. There’s the Grand National every April of course – which is also a very big event across Britain for the few days running up to it, and the few hours on the day of the actual event before it’s all over and everyone goes back to complaining about how goddamn rainy and cold it still is, even through it’s meant to be Springtime. But neither of these events have ever been as celebrated as hard as Spring Racing season is here.

Whilst racing is a year round event in Australia, it tends to take a backseat to footie and cricket for most of the year. The group one Melbourne races are mainly held at Flemington racecourse in Melbourne VIC, and are traditionally placed between the footie and cricket seasons – a little stopgap between the two key sporting seasons where the media instead throws attention on thoroughbred racing – and the focus isn’t just on the racing.

For the past three years I celebrated Melbourne Cup at the ad agency I worked for, as they would double up the event with the company’s birthday celebration – and so the entire day was one we’d all look forward to year round, and suffer for several days after.

Upon leaving the agency to go client side at the start of 2017, I wanted to continue the tradition of dressing up, playing the field in the sunshine, and enjoying all things fashion, racing and champagne. And we did just that at Tipple; Perth’s first race day garden setting – perfectly uniting lawn frivolities with the serious business of racing! We actually went one better and placed our bets on double or nothing, with tickets to both their Derby Day and Melbourne Cup Day celebrations.

Victoria Derby Day is scheduled annually on the first day of the VRC Spring Carnival ahead of Melbourne Cup Carnival, which always falls on the first Tuesday of November. Strictly black and white, the Derby Day traditional dress code is not one to be challenged and us girls all complimented one other perfectly for what turned out to be a damn good giggle of a day. How good was the hammock btw? Shout out to Andrew at Ultimo who took the pics for us… we had a few near misses on that hammock!

But lets face it, the pinnacle in Australia’s racing calendar is without doubt the Emirates Melbourne Cup where there are no rules on fashion other than go hard or go home. It’s the largest outdoor fashion event down under and my favourite time to get dressed up, shimmer in the sunshine and get giggly on champagne at 10.30am without being judged. How cute is my polka dot jumpsuit? Sheike’s finest of course! This gorgeous Sydney brand has been my official go-to for every one of my Melbourne Cup outfits since I arrived here. Love.

Spring Racing Carnival marks the start of the new season in the very best way possible, and this year was no different. I’d say it was up there with one of my favourite years yet! My heart still hasn’t stopped racing… ❤

Image Credit: @shotbythom Insta.