Sartorial suggestions for Ladies' Day #AD

Last September I went to the races for the first time in my life. This year, I've been invited to go back to The Great Yarmouth Racecourse Eastern Festival with Intu Chapelfield, and help judge the best dressed competition on Ladies' Day.

In preparation for the event itself, the team at Intu Chapelfield very generously sent me, Laura and Shelley on a girls' day out, for a spot of shopping and some lunch. It has been so long since I went on a proper shopping spree, so naturally we had the best time; what girl wouldn't love trying on clothes all morning, having a three course lunch and then shooting some photos afterwards?

I've popped a few photos of our day into this post, but I mainly wanted to share the details of my chosen outfit with you, and to impart some of my (admittedly amateur) favourite sartorial suggestions if you're heading to the races this year.

First things first, the outfit.

Somehow, despite spending hours checking out absolutely everything Chapelfield had to offer, I've put together an outfit which is comprised almost exclusively of items from ZARA. As soon as I saw the dress, I knew it would be the one. It's a collared off-white shirt dress, with button up and knot detailing but it was the material I fell in love with. It's 66% cotton and 34% polyester if you're interested in the exact composition, but the only way I can describe it is to say it's like a towel. Doesn't sound amazing (I'm not the best at descriptions) but I promise you it's an absolute delight.

Being such a versatile colour, I knew instantly which shoes I wanted to pair with the outfit. Animal print is having such a moment lately, and if you've followed me for a few years you'll know my favourite heels are a pair of leopard print block heels I picked up a few years ago from Topshop. Absolute no brainer. I was tempted to buy a new pair of leopard print heels as they had some gorgeous ones in Office but I thought I'd do myself a favour and save some space in my ever bulging wardrobe. Dune in House of Fraser also had some beautiful leopard print shoes, so if you're on the prowl (geddit?), Chapelfield is definitely a great place to start.

Another perk of the dress being so simple is that I knew I could really go to town on the accessories. Rimmel's Kate Moss 107 lipstick has long been a favourite of mine, so I'll most definitely be wearing that on the day. I think it's actually been re-branded since I first started buying it, and it's now shade #001 from the lasting finish collection. It is the most perfect Autumn shade and you can pick it up from Boots for £5.49; just thank me later...

One of the things I was quite keen to experiment with this year was head wear. I had my first experience of wearing a fascinator at the Royal Norfolk Show earlier this year, and so I wanted to try something a little different. Cue the chain print scarf. From ZARA, clearly. I'm not 100% sure how I'll style it yet so I need to try out a few different options to decide which is my favourite but I am so up for setting myself this challenge and seeing how creative you can get with a head scarf. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, so let's see how it goes...

And finally, the bag. For some reason bags are one of those things I'm a bit fussy about and always something I struggle with when putting together a new outfit. I was really into the trend for basket/wicker bags throughout the summer and so I've been super happy to see that trend continuing into Autumn, meaning I could pick up the cutest little black bag with bamboo handles. I'm such a huge fan, and I know I'll be using it non-stop all season.

So how can you put together a competition winning outfit for the races? As part of the judging process, I'll be teaming up with Laura and Shelley and the team from Chapelfield, so here are some of the things I'll be looking for on the day:

1. Autumnal colours: I am seriously feeling the autumnal vibes of late, so I'll be looking out for mustard shades and various shades of brown. 
2. Animal print: need I say more?
3. Block heels: I always think that block heels are such a good idea when you're going to any event where you'll be walking on grass. At the end of September, there's no saying what the weather will be doing either, so I'll be on the look out for some on fleek footwear. 
4. Scarf print: having read this blog post, it'll come as no surprise that I'm loving scarves at the moment. Scarf print patterns are everywhere on the high street right now, but I think wearing the pattern in your hair, or tying a scarf onto the handles of your bag can also really elevate an outfit without meaning you need to go all out. 

So there we have it, a summary of the outfit I've chosen and some tips for sartorial success this season. Are you going to the races? If you've not already picked your outfit, Chapelfield have some amazing accessories and key pieces to base your outfit around. Why not make a girls' day out of it? You definitely won't regret it. 

This post was written in collaboration with Intu Chapelfield who very kindly gifted me a voucher to spend in their centre, and treated me to lunch. As always, however, all opinions remain my own, and are entirely honest and unbiased.