To repeat? Or not to repeat? That is the question.

With Spring Carnival coming up next month in Australia, outfit planning is well underway for many racegoers- myself included.I endeavor to attend a good number of racedays over the season which requires many outfits. Something I often get asked is how many outfits I'll prepare and wear over the carnival. The answer is... way too many! The next question is 'will I re-wear my outfits?'For me part of the fun of going to the races is coming up with a new ideas and challenging myself creatively to come up with new concepts and make new clothes and hats. I don't see winning in 'Fashions on the Field' as the be all and end all for a great day at the races. When I am creating my looks I generally wear whatever I am in the mood to wear and when entering competitions I pay no attention to what I think a particular judge will vote for. Instead I focus my energy on looking appropriate for a particular raceday or racetrack. If I am lucky enough to have a major win in FOTF then I'll retire the outfit from competition. If an outfit was unsuccessful in FOTF but I loved it, I do occasionally wear my outfits again or try to work out a way to re-style it a bit. I think that is the attitude of almost all female competitors in FOTF.There are clearly a lot of women like myself that enjoy the art of putting together a new look and spend considerable time, money and effort in creating their racing looks. However, I'm not sure that this is the case when it comes to the Men's competitions in Fashions on the Field. There seems to be more of an attitude of win at all costs. If you looked over the winners from the men's FOTF events over Australia in large and small competitions many of the same faces in the same outfits regularly show up to try and sweep up all the prizes. Do you choose to wear whatever it is that you consider to be your best outfit- even if you have worn it many times before and won significant prizes in it? To me I feel it's against the spirit of the competition, and to repeat a very successful outfit is in poor taste. This seems to be the unwritten rule of the women's FOTF competitions, but not in the men's FOTF competitons. What are your thoughts on this?Another trend in the men's competitions has been for designers or stylists to send in large groups of people dressed up in their looks to dominate and ultimately win the competitions, against the interests of individual competitors. It was especially noticeable at Caulfield and Flemington last year with very little effort to conceal the group and outfit repeat approach. Do you think this diminishes the competitions and the sponsors attitudes towards them? Would love to hear your thoughts!By Angela Menz  

EVENT - The Hat Emporium, London

Unique designs from some of Britain and Ireland’s top young milliners will be offered for sale at The Hat Emporium, a pop-up event to be held in London for the upcoming racing, wedding and event season.The Hat Emporium will take place in the Salon at the May Fair Hotel from Friday, May 22 until Sunday, May 24 and will feature six milliners who will be in attendance on all three days, offering a selection of ready-to-wear pieces for sale and one-to-one appointments for those wanting bespoke designs to suit special requirements.Designers taking part include three milliners from the British Fashion Council’s Headonism initiative, Awon Golding, Emma Yeo, and Lizzie McQuade; Grazia Magazine’s 2012 Hat Factor winner, Sophie Beale; 2013 Milliner of the Year at the Irish Fashion Innovation Awards, Martha Lynn; and multiple Best-Dressed winner at UK and Australian racecourses, Lisa Tan. To complement the selection of innovative headwear, The Hat Emporium will also host exclusive and complimentary workshops during the event to assist and enhance clients’ preparations for special occasions.Channel 4 Racing presenter Gina Harding will be hosting "Racing 101: Track Talk for Novices" on Saturday, May 23 at 12 noon. This workshop will provide expert knowledge to those newly acquainted with the racecourse, and answer any questions you've had about raceday but have been too scared to ask. Gina, who also reports on fashion with Gok Wan during the major racing carnivals, will provide helpful suggestions on how to dress for particular major racedays and racecourses. And for those better versed in the ways of the track, Gina will also be giving us her selections for the trainers, jockeys and horses to follow throughout this summer racing season.Following on at 2:45pm, expert make-up artist Amy Wright will lead a "Make-up Master Class", demonstrating how to achieve two different flawless, glamorous looks for your special occasion. Want to know which lipstick stays on the longest? Or how to keep your foundation looking fresh? Amy will divulge her special tips and tricks during the workshop, and there will be an opportunity to test her product knowledge after the demonstration.If you're still searching for the perfect outfit, South Kensington boutique ICONAU will be on hand to offer their styling advice all day Friday and Saturday, and will also be curating a selection of racing-ready garments which can be purchased at The Hat Emporium. Best of all, they pride themselves on only stocking "hard-to-find, must-have statement pieces" from Australian designers, making ICONAU your new go-to store for something different and highly unique.The Hat Emporium will be open from 11am-7pm on May 22 and 10am-7pm on May 23 and 24. For further information, visit www.thehatemporiumlondon.com and follow them on Instagram for all the action from the event.

Flemington Autumn Fashion Instagram Competition

Recognising that the vast majority of us are Instagram addicts (not me - damn Windows 7 Nokia!), the VRC have introduced an ingenious competition for the Festival of Racing which makes great use of our smart phone-assisted photography habit.The Flemington Autumn Fashion Instagram competition invites anyone* - male or female - with an Instagram account to enter. The steps to do so are simple:1. Dress in your finest autumn racewear (that means no straw hats, ladies! Felt, fabric and leather only).2. Take a full-length snap, and make sure you include both your millinery and your shoes.3. Follow @flemingtonvrc on Instagram.4. Upload your photo to your own Instagram account, tagging @flemingtonvrc and using the hashtag #MyerBGFL.5. Make sure your account is not set to "private".*Please note: as per new VRC rules, commercial designers and milliners, and their immediate families or households are ineligible to enter.Apart from obtaining Instagram glory, reasons why you should enter include the following incredible prizes: a night for two people at the swanky Sofitel Melbourne on Collins; two tickets to the Myer Beautiful Girls Fashion Lunch on March 5, including transfers and a meet and greet with the beautiful Myer ambassadors (think hunky Kris Smith!); and a much-required $500 shopping spree at Myer so you can dress to impress for the occasion!Entries are open right now, and will remain open until 9am on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. For full terms and conditions, click here.Good luck, and we're looking forward to meeting the winner at the Myer Beautiful Girls Fashion Lunch!Photo credits: Flemington Racecourse VRC Facebook page.By Lisa Tan.