What do a fruit bowl, a truck driver and a fashion show have in common? Apparently a lot when it comes to the Wagga Gold Cup Fashions on the Field.
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Creativity flowed freely at this year’s event, seeing flocks of well-dressed locals and out-of-towners put their outfits on the line in front of a panel of discerning judges.
Griffith local Elizabeth Paterson was overwhelmed after winning the esteemed Millinery Award, after basing her entire outfit around her hat, which she fashioned herself from a fruit bowl.
"It was just the colour that grabbed me," Ms Paterson said of her golden-bronze wire headpiece.
"Everyone thought I was crazy putting a fruit bowl on my head, but sometimes you just need to use your imagination to stand out from the crowd."
After years of entering the millinery category, Ms Paterson said she was “thrilled” to have finally won.
“I’m just so ecstatic, I can’t even tell you how excited I am,” she said.
“I have been coming to Wagga for years and years hoping to win this award and it’s so nice to actually get somewhere.”
Chanel Nine presenter and judge Jayne Azzopardi said it was the hat’s originality that saw it take out the gold among so many exceptional entrants.
"We were looking for something interesting, with a focus on autumnal style, and this captured my eye straight away,” she said.
“I'm really attracted to bronze and copper this season, so this hat was everything we were looking for."
Scoring the win for the Man of the Day was Nathan Button, a Nowra truck driver who traded in his truckie cap for a pocket square for the competition.
Dressed predominantly in pale beige and shades of brown, Mr Button said his dapper outfit was inspired by the colours of the season.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated category of the sartorial event was Lady of the Day, awarded to Wagga local Katherine Sly, who had not originally intended to enter the competition.
“I was just here and thought I may as well give it a go,” she said. “I’m completely surprised I won, but so excited and a bit speechless.”
After painstaking hours of searching online, Mrs Sly finally found the perfect dress to inspire the rest of her outfit, which she paired with a bespoke hat by local milliner Delphine Nicholson and vintage-inspired brown leather accessories.
The “die-hard” fashionista said dressing for the event was a thrilling experience. “I love everything about race day fashion,” she said “I love the effort everyone makes to look their best, because that doesn’t usually happen in everyday life.”
