Smiles key to success
FASHIONS on the field judges have revealed their No.1 tip for ladies and gents who want to take home a coveted winner’s sash today. The secret? A smile. Cairns Amateurs Carnival ambassador Angela Menz said it made a huge difference to the overall appearance of an outfit on the fashions stage.
“We like seeing smiles up on the Fashions on the Field stage,” she said.
“Cairns also does colour like nowhere else.
“With the colour there’s such a sense of joy with the outfits. They’re fun, people look really excited to be here and that really shows in how people dress.”
Fashions on the Field judge Carole Maher said Cairns was leaps and bounds ahead of southern counterparts with fashions on the field standards.
“Down south it’s starting to be about bigger brims and cool spring colours but you’ve already cracked that here, so Cairns might be leading the field,” she said.
“People here are genuinely much more friendly than they are everywhere else. They look good in their fashion because they are really enjoying it.”
Gold Class winner Dian Stewart took out the category for the first time with a tried and tested lilac look.
She said preparation for the event was key.
“I put the outfit together last year and wore it in Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup Carnival,” she said.
“I started with the skirt and I had the top made by my dress maker and my sister is a milliner and she made my hat.”
She said she had an inkling the outfit would be a winner.
“This outfit was too good not to wear it again,” she said.
“It feels great to have won, because I have been competing for lots of years and this is the first time I’ve won the Amateurs.”
Her words of wisdom for today’s competitors were simple.
“Pay attention to detail,” she said.
Fashions on the field continues today at the Cairns Amateurs Cup Day.