Three finalists advanced to Thursday’s grand final on Crown Oaks Day. Striking in all white, Viera Macikova was one of the lucky ones, with a simple Zara suit that she reworked with her dressmaker. “We added hip pads to accentuate the waist and hips, plus flowers, then styled it with ivory accessories and pearls,” she said. Viera has been a Fashions on the Field regular since 2019, but this was her first time in Best Suited. She was grateful the rain had cleared but wary of the mud it left behind. “I need to preserve my suit for Thursday!” she said.
Daisy Armstrong’s look mixed high and low, near and far. Her suit is by Gloria Grady Designs, the label of an 81-year-old Canberra maker, and her headpiece is by her best friend, milliner Kathryn Lee. Her cuffs and collar came from New York, her bag from a Bangkok market, and her earrings are vintage Chanel. Her favourite accessory, though, is a friendship bracelet from her nephew. “More expensive doesn’t make it better,” she said. “It’s about how you wear it and how you feel.”
Peta Bell’s all-black suit drew on the elegance of Derby Day. “I really love a suit that’s well cut, slick, structured and clean,” she said. A cluster of mismatched brooches embellished the jacket lapels, and she finished it with a feather hat and sunglasses, which, in her words, made the look “a little bit mysterious”.
