Bet on the Trifecta

Today, my office took us out for a day at the races - so of course I had to take advantage of this dress-up opportunity! I've had this dress for a while, and I've been waiting for just the perfect moment to debut it. Racetracks are all about classic fits, fresh colors, and, most importantly, a great hat. While today's normal horserace-goers don't exactly deck themselves out to the extent of My Fair Lady, the girls decided to go all-out on this occasion.

I went with this floral print dress with a high collar and an A-Line skirt. This dress actually hit me below the knees originally, so I had it altered to raise the hemline just slightly. I am in love with the print of this dress - I actually bought it because it reminds of a dress from the movie An Education, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. In it, Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is wooed by an older man, David (Peter Sarsgaard) in a beautiful and tastefully done plotline. The movie presents a thought-provoking commentary about the value of an education as opposed to a life of carefree frivolity. When I saw this dress in the store, it reminded me specifically of the instance when Jenny and David go to Paris, and this dress is, incidentally, in the still chosen as the promotional cover of the film. Here's a visual.

This dress came with a matching belt in the same print, but I decided to go with a classic brown leather belt to let it pop against the colored print of the dress. Finally, I didn't have a hat on me, but I did have this headband with a mini hat delicately sitting atop:

I found this headband in a vintage shop in the shopping district of Amsterdam early last summer. I am obsessed with headbands, so I knew I just had to have it, despite the fact that I didn't foresee any instance in which I could reasonably wear it without looking totally ridiculous. But, the opportunity will always come around sooner or later! This headband and a set of pearls completed my look for a day at the races.

Dress: Talbots | Belt: Hand-me-down | Headband: vintage (found in Amsterdam)