What does a plate of sausage and eggs, a lobster, and a bed of roses have in common? They'd all look completely appropriate adorning your head at Vancouver's weekend at the races.
You might think all the action at a horse race is on the track, but at the Deighton Cup, now in its fifth year, there will be some stiff competition in the stands of Hastings Racecourse for most elaborate chapeau.
And that patronage – that foundation of respect for the occasion, that little extra effort in an sport steeped in prestige -– is providing a generation of Vancouverites who are hungry for tradition with the boldness to set the mark higher each year.
After all, it takes more than crisp mint juleps and a good looking stable to join likes of the Royal Ascot (the posh and protocol-rich races in My Fair Lady), Kentucky Derby (the most exciting two minutes in sport) and Melbourne Cup (a public holiday in the Australian city) in the fashion lexicon.
So how do you simultaneously fit in and stand out at the races? Look no further than couture milliner Dominique Hanke.
Hanke, 31, arrives at the Italian Garden near Hastings Racecourse on foot. Hat boxes at arms length and her two adorable children, Bracken and Oscar, in tow, she should be looking flustered as she walks the last block. But perhaps it's the low-profile dusky rose beret sitting atop her asymmetrical, blonde Agyness Deyn crop keeping her cool.
Shes an expert on hats. Not because shes originally from Staffordshire, England. Or because she trained in architecture before teaching herself the art of millinery and starting her company Hive Mind. Or because made a name for herself in a city that prefers ball caps to bowlers. But because shes rarely seen sans hat. To love hats is to wear them. Often.
• "I couldn't not wear one. I dress from head to toe, and for me, that just makes sense. We focus on all of the accessories; well, a hat is on your head so it can make an outfit and pull it all together."
• "Things like the Deighton Cup obviously have huge impact [on local fashion] because people get the opportunity to wear hats and, for a lot of people, the first time you wear a hat, other than a sun hat, is kind of unusual. It takes getting over that first step. To wear some of the more outrageous pieces, it takes a type of person, but its also a lot of fun. Its about dressing up for the day almost like taking on a character. And its about embracing the attention."
• "Vancouver associates itself with being quite practical. I think the younger generations are trying to create events that encourage dressing up and stepping out of that box."
• "Millinery has seen a definite shift and people re-embracing that art. It sort of started off with the little trilby-fedora types. Now people are getting into the poofy fascinators. And then people will want to take it further and further."
• "Stephen Jones has such an eclectic collection. I just love the fact that he doesn't stick to the rules. Philip Treacy [whose muse Isabella Blow is a good place to start for inspiration] talk about architecture within hats. Some of his stuff is so beautifully structured."
• "Be wary for the people around you. Some hats are quite vicious. The ones with the porcupine quills there have been some very nasty accidents with those!"
• "Wide brimmed hats, with the wire running through them for a bit of structure, are definitely in. With men's hats there is a bit more going on. Bowlers, more in Europe than here, had a bit of a resurgence. And the many different styles of fedoras."
• "A smaller face, youre not going to want to go for anything too big because it will oversize you. Oval faces are pretty blessed and can get away with most things. And then anybody with a round faces is not going to want anything too small, because youre going to look like you've got the cherry on top. Length of face will determine how tall the hat can go."
• "If you think of a big poof of feathers and a bit of net and veil, that would be a fascinator. Generally they're on a band. A whimsy is generally on a base. Its a bit bigger. For instance, at the Royal Ascot they changed the rules last year for what a hat was the base has to be more than four inches. They were having a lot of people coming in with just the fascinators and they wanted people wearing hats. There is a certain glamour to wearing a hat, and it was diluting it taking away from something that is an art and making it a little more crafty. Part of it is the celebration of millinery and getting dressed up."
And theres a reason this article is coming out this week; the lead time on getting a custom hat made is conveniently two-three weeks. So apologies to racing fans who were hoping for some advice on which horses to box in their trifecta, but hopefully August 9 through 11, these tip-of-the-hats will see you leaning over the rail, yelling "Cmon Dover! Move yer bloomin arse!" in style.
Enter to win a one-of-a-kind whimsy from Hive Mind Millinery and two tickets to Thoroughbred Day at the Deightton Cup on August 10 here.
