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Dress: Anthea Crawford guipure lace
Heels: Wittner satin
Bag: French Connection suede with silver hardware
Bangles: Gift, vintage silver (from India)
Ring: Etsy silver, garnet
Headpiece: La Plume de Fleur faux flowers, foliage
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The jewel in the crown (so to speak) of the Spring Racing Carnival is always the Melbourne Cup, otherwise referred to as "the race that stops a nation." With that in mind, I decided on an outfit that centred around this amazing cold-shoulder guipure lace dress in a shade of "traffic stopping" lipstick red from Anthea Crawford, anchoring the look with a pair of black satin heeled mules from Wittner to elongate my frame & a boxy suede handbag with oversized silver handles from French Connection to carry all the essentials without adding unnecessary bulk. Jewellery was kept minimal - a pair of vintage silver bangles that a dear friend brought back for me from a trip to India & a chunky silver & garnet cocktail ring that I found on Etsy & just couldn't resist adding to my collection - in deference the sublime oversized faux floral crown from La Plume de Fleur, a fellow Brisbanian who makes utterly inspired headpieces for a variety of occasions. For those who are interested, you can find more examples of her work on (you guessed it) Etsy.
The look reminded me of the Art Nouveau works of Czech painter & illustrator Alphonse Mucha, who created many stunning advertising posters for businesses in 1890s Paris & the bulk of whose work - stylised nymphs in flower crowns - remains infinitely recognisable all these years later.
