Angela's Top 5 Ladies Style and Racing Moments for 2013

5. Failing The Members Fashion Test.In the past week there have a been a couple of articles in the news (link & link) about women being asked to leave the members area at the race track for not adhering to the members dress codes. In both instances the women were spoken to due to complaints from fellow race goers. This makes the list because I think this is a problem that we will be seeing much more of in the coming months.Members dress codes and fashion haven't kept up to date with each other. With women being encouraged to dress in the latest fashions by race clubs, fashion magazines and retail outlets it doesn't make sense to me that members dress regulations currently don't allow many of the latest fashions to be worn. Celebrities flouting the dress codes are celebrated for their impeccable style, yet members who pay their fees each year have been left red-faced for wearing outfits that are far more modest. I also find it a little sad that there are members who are so offended that they can actually be bothered to have another member ejected from their line of view. Watch this space...4. Zara PhillipsThe Olympic silver medallist and member of the Royal family was appointed the Magic Millions Racing Women Ambassador for 2013. She attended the carnival early this year and it was announced in late October that she will continue in this role until 2018 (link). All very exciting news, but what pushed Zara Phillips on this list is her outfit from Ladies Day at Glorious Goodwood. Whilst sporting a baby bump she nailed racing style looking modern, feminine and appropriate for a day out at the races. This is how you do maternity racewear.3. Black CaviarFormer Vogue covergirl and owner of a large round rump, Black Caviar raced her way into the history books by getting 25 consecutive wins at the track- including 15 group 1 races. She also managed to collect the title of Australian Racehorse of the Year for the third time in 2013 and was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Enjoy your retirement Nelly, you've earned it!2. Myer Fashions on the Field National CompetitionWithout a doubt this is the ultimate and most prestigious competition in the world of fashions on the field. Winners from each state and an online people's choice award winner came together in the national final on Oaks Day at Flemington. Model, Chloe Moo from Sydney walked away with the sash and keys to her new car. With the competition starting all over again in a couple of weeks contestants will have a tough time trying to top this years victor.1. Gai WaterhouseOne of the most stylish ladies at the track, 2013 was Gai's year. After a rocky start to 2013 with public spats in the press, things turned around when her horse Fiorente went into the Melbourne Cup as one of the favourites. Having never won a Melbourne Cup race in her impressive career it came down to a nail biting finish! In the 3200 meter 'race that stops a nation' Fiorente, trained by Gai took the win by three quarters of a length from Red Cadeaux. Gai is the first Australian female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup. I hope this is the first of many for her.By Angela Menz

Melbourne Cup Day Wrap

The festivities of Melbourne Cup Day actually started the night before for OTOT and a few of the Myer Fashions on the Field state finalists (namely NSW, Tasmania and Queensland), at the Pre-Melbourne Cup Cocktail Function at the Stamford Plaza, hosted by Sharon Lenton Events.Kelli Odell, Alex Hecker and Crystal Kimber made a dramatic entrance not in their Myer Fashions on the Field-winning outfits but rather in Judith Penak Couture and hats by Sonlia Millinery and OTOT's Lisa Tan Millinery. Guests sipped on bubbles and nibbled bites from Harry's Restaurant, while partaking in a lively phantom call sweepstake of the Melbourne Cup.Waking up to a gloriously sunny Melbourne Cup morning, we made the trek to Flemington separately as Angela was dressing the lovely Baylee in her wares for the invite-only Design Award.But first, it was the non-professionals' turn in the Women's Racewear category in Myer Fashions on the Field. If you've seen our live blogging on the day's fashion events, you'll know that the winner was model and student Chloe Moo, from Sydney (originally Darwin), wearing an outfit sourced from Northern Territory-based designers Raw Cloth and Monsoon Millinery.As it transpired, Chloe had more than a little help from her mother, stylist and designer Jo Moo, in creating the outfit. Originally, Chloe told the Northern Territory News her mother "designed her dress and had it sewn at Darwin store Raw Cloth." Though two days later, after winning the Victorian and then National Myer Fashions on the Field finals, she told the Northern Territory News a slightly different story, explaining, "I always get my race clothes from Raw Cloth and when I walked in and saw it on the rack I just had to have it. Then they told me the story about where it came from and the work Marita did on it and I wanted it even more so, to be able to win this for them is amazing.''Regardless of how her outfit came about, Chloe was a popular winner in the Myer Fashions on the Field Melbourne Cup Day final and deserved her spot in the Victorian state final.Next up was the Designer Award, which always promises so much but, in reality, never quite delivers the high-end innovative couture we all hope for. Forty-six designers lined up for the chance to win a trip for two to Paris and a shiny Lexus to zip around in for a year, including our own Angela Menz, and OTOT's wonderfully fashionable friend, Anthony Capon.While Angela made the first cut with her signature bold prints and clashing colour combinations, her outfit unfortunately didn't make the final. However, Anthony's regal gold lace and sequinned design was announced in the top 10, and we sat silently, crossing our fingers firmly as a star-studded panel including Burlesque star Dita Von Teese and International Style Guest Coco Rocha chose their favourites.Unfortunately a win wasn't on the cards for Anthony, with Oscar Calvo taking the crown with his tri-coloured laser-cut neoprene sheath and millinery by the fab Kerrie Stanley. But what we all weren't aware of at the time was one of the judges loved Anthony's design so much, she was plotting how to beg/borrow/steal it for Oaks Day. Cue a call from the VRC on Melbourne Cup night, telling Anthony he had a high-profile fan in Coco Rocha, and 24 hours later he was fitting the same look on Ms Rocha herself, while discussing their talents for Irish dancing! Coco wore the beautiful gold lace peplum jacket with a white camisole and a white skirt by Aurelio Costarella on Oaks Day to judge the National Myer Fashions on the Field final.After all the excitement of the fashion action, we realised 3 o'clock was fast approaching and so sprinted into the Birdcage (smaller queues) to place our all-important Cup bets, and back out to the second tier of the Myer Fashions on the Field enclosure, which arguably provided some of the best views of the course (for those who wanted to see horses and not just clothes horses). OTOT was supporting Gai Waterhouse's charge, Fiorente, as we had been generously invited to her post-Cup party (or "commisseration dinner" as one owner revealed he'd been negatively calling it before the race) at The French Brasserie that evening. As the horses flashed down the straight for the second time, we watched anxiously as Fiorente burst into the clear and began charging down the outside, his giant strides gobbling up the ground and the opposition as he hit the front and ran away with the Melbourne Cup!Excited by the once-in-a-lifetime prospect of attending a Melbourne Cup winner's celebrations, we were in the mood to party and the perfect place to capitalise on said feelings was without a doubt the Myer Marquee.Retaining its reputation as the Party Marquee from last year's event, the Myer Marquee is usually quite refined up until about 4:30-5:00pm... and then the music kicks in. Everyone grabs their mojitos and makes tracks to the dance floor, where you can shimmy shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of the Face of Myer, Jennifer Hawkins, and the department store's CEO, Bernie Brookes (and Bernie does not hold back on the floor!). As the other marquees wind down, Myer kicks on until around 7pm, when the music stops abruptly and guests are given their cue to leave - but not with out a parting gift of a bag of delicious cookies, which are sure to tide you over until you reach your dinner reservation.A short train-ride later, we were back in the CBD and trying to navigate our way to The French Brasserie when we came upon another group of lost racegoers, who we realised were trying to locate the same restaurant when we noticed a miniature version of the Melbourne Cup in one of their hands. A moment later we rounded the corner of Malthouse Lane with Fiorente's strapper and saw the hordes of photographers and cameramen, waiting for a glimpse of the main players in the Fiorente story (Gai Waterhouse had not yet arrived). Entering the surreal surroundings with looks of astonishment and bewilderment on our faces, we spotted THE Cup amongst the 200 excited connections of Fiorente, and also artist Laura Douglas, who has been down in Melbourne painting ponies for the VRC and Myer, and also some special commissions. The Cup began to make the rounds and landed in our yearning and ungloved hands; for someone who's only vaguely dreamed of holding the Melbourne Cup, this was definitely a moment to savour and capture, in case it never happens again!While we waited for the arrival of the lady of honour, we snacked upon some seriously delightful canapés, including rich mushroom-filled vol-au-vents, which made me curious about the rest of their menu (for the record, they offer four courses for $79, including some traditional variations of beef, confit duck cassoulet and a bouillabaisse - yum!). Sometime after eight o'clock Gai Waterhouse entered, positively giddy with joy and looking impossibly chic in a printed silk shirt, trousers and loafers. The media clamoured around her, jockey Damien Oliver, and key owners brandishing the Cup, snapping pics and shooting video as she couldn't contain her excitement and literally began kicking up her heels. Usually so demure and controlled, this was Gai letting loose - a moment I'll never forget. And, surely, one she'll never forget either, for the one that had eluded her for so long was finally and firmly in her grasp. Congratulations, Gai!Photo credits: www.theage.com.au, www.thegloss.com, www.theaustralian.com.au.By Lisa Tan and Angela Menz