Ladies Who Lunch

Yay - it's Melbourne Cup Day.  In true Melbourne Cup spirit the Farm Ladies are frocking up and heading out to lunch.  Farmgirl, my mother-in-law and myself have dusted off our hats and are ready to go to the races.

A country Melbourne Cup lunch is a beautiful thing.  The one we are going to today will tick all the boxes.  It is being held in the type of small town that consists of a wheatbin, a railway siding and an old hall.  Lunch will have been prepared by a team of country ladies and hence will be beyond excellent.  Country ladies can cook.  There will be a fashion parade,  a hat competition and lots of sweeps.  The race will be shown on a big screen and you may or may not be able to hear the commentary.  The absolute best thing about a country Melbourne Cup lunch is that all ages from newborns to retired ladies will be in attendance.

Farmgirl and I have put a lot of thought into our outfits.  Standards will be high and we do not want to let the team down.

Farmgirl is going in this ensemble

She likes lots of pink and flowers are always important.  You may notice she has chosen a fascinator and a hat.  She is of the opinion that you should not restrict yourself to one type of headwear on Cup Day.  She can, and will, frequently swap them over.  This is an excellent fashion option if you are three years old.  Once you hit about seven I wouldn't recommend it.  People will either think a. you have tickets on yourself or b. you need to get out more.

I have gone down the slightly less colourful route.

Now I know that black and white is more suitable for Derby Day but we maintain flexibility here in the country when it comes to racing fashion traditions.  You will note I have restricted myself to one type of headwear.  Unlike Farmgirl I am not a fan of the fascinator.  I always feel quite silly in one.  The concept of bits of feathers sticking off my head brings to mind deranged chooks or indeed alien antennae.  I admire other peoples fascinators but whenever I try one on in the David Jones millinery section I just feel vaguely stupid.

I have chosen the sensible wedge heel option.  Stiletto heels in gravel carparks make elegant walking difficult.  I also haven't put a handbag in the photo.  This is because I would love you all to think I took an elegant little black designer number.  Instead I will take something large to store all the requirements of a day out with Farmgirl.  Numerous muesli bars, juice boxes, spare clothes and suncream don't tend to fit in small elegant handbags.  I know, it's a shame.

We are all planning on having a wonderful day.  It will be just like Flemington, only without the horses.