If you didn't hold on tight, well-placed fascinators went flying during Melbourne Cup festivities at Kembla Grange Racecourse on Tuesday.
Thousands of people packed the grounds and betting rings to place bets, but for others it was all about the fashion.
When it comes to style Nowra couple Jason and Sarah Crockett are lengths ahead of the rest.
The couple were not only celebrating their wedding anniversary on Tuesday, there were also crowned best dressed female and male during the heated lunchtime competition.
Mr Crockett strutted the catwalk to loud cheers in a dusty pink checked coat, crisp white shirt and trousers, topped with fedora and sunglasses.
"I love getting dressed up, it's not often us guys get the chance to dress up," he told the Mercury.
"I wore pink because not many guys embrace colour and every time I shop I want to set standards with men's colour."
Competition was tougher for the best dressed woman.
Colour was king, or should we say queen, and many held onto fancy fascinators as winds threatened to blow them away.
Click on the picture below to see more photos from the competition.
It was third time lucky for Mrs Crockett who took out the best dressed category wearing a homemade, ocean theme dress complete with gold shell shaped handbag.
"I'm so excited because there was such tough competition among the ladies," she said.
"I saw this fabric at Spotlight and so I made it."
Her swirly aqua coloured fascinator was designed to match the aqua swirls in her dress.
Millinery Award went to Rae Studdert's purple and white fascinator that featured individually dyed feathers.
"It was made by With Grace Millinery in Queensland," she said. "She's made a couple of mine, I send her a photo of the dress and she creates it."
This is the second win for Gerringong woman Ms Studdert who scored first place in the same category five years ago.
Judge Pamela O'Brien, who is also a milliner, was looking for a hat or fascinator design that showed creativity.
"I was looking for something that might have taken a long time to make, something that stood out from the rest," she said of the millinery category.
Ms O'Brien praised Mrs Crockett's race day outfit and said the original design showcased attention to detail.
The three winners take home more than $7000 in prizes.
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Nadine Morton
Breaking news journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Email: nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Breaking news journalist at the Illawarra Mercury. Email: nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
