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How to Dress Well for a Day at the Races

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How to dress well for a day at the races in the 21st century, the casual nature of most events doesn’t allow the dapper gentleman to enjoy the opportunity to dress up as often as he would like. Therefore, you must seize every opportunity to dress well when you can. One of the best places to get decked out in your best duds is at the races. Racing has long been associated with men of fashion, making it the perfect place for you to showcase your fashion sense. While some men may go to the races in T-shirts and shorts, you can show them how it’s done by bringing back and old school look to the races. Here is a guide to looking your best so that you can collect your race winnings from the bookmakers in style.

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Think About a Bowtie

One of the best old school fashion elements you can use on your race day attire is a bowtie. In fact, the bowtie is the traditional neckwear for a man at a track. Think about it. For men who are going to close to horses while they are looking them over, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a long necktie that could dangle in front of the horse. Therefore, the bowtie became the traditional neckwear for men going to the track. You can bring back this old school choice to show your horse sense when it comes to fashion at the races. Just don’t cheat with a clip-on bowtie.

Suit Choices

Black suits are not really suitable for the races. You want to wear brown or blue. Even better, it is a great idea to wear an English tweed to showcase your love of old school racing fashion. Also, you can never go wrong with wearing powder blue or white suits to the track. These are traditional summer colors that will show your unique style when you are at the bookies window.

Shoes

You want to wear a sharp pair of shoes at the track, but make sure that they have non-slip soles. When you are at the track, there is lots of slippery areas that you may be walking through. This is especially true if you spend any time down at the paddock inspecting the horses before they race. You want to wear a stylish pair of shoes with good, firm-gripping soles to help you keep your footing while you are at the races.

Hats

Whatever you do, do not wear a ball cap while you are at the track. You are not at the ballpark. However, a hat does make a lot of sense especially if you are going to be in the sun for the bulk of the day. A nice fedora, porkpie, bowler or homburg will look great when you wear it at the track.

Dress Well for a Day at the Races: Accessories

One of the most important accessories you will need at the races is a fashionable pair of sunglasses. Anything by Ray-Ban will look great. Just don’t be that guy who wears Oakleys with his suit. Also, wearing a nice pair of cufflinks you can show off when you collect your winnings at the bookmakers is always a smart move.