M.J. Bale’s Top Tips for Melbourne Cup Day

Ah, the Melbourne Cup. Australian racing's carnival of carnivals. A day the nation stops, punts, cheers, sobs and inevitably wakes up with a hangover that could crush concrete.

Gents, happy days: there is no real official dress code for the Melbourne Cup. As such, this is your time to put some shoulder in and explore your sartorial boundaries. Colour is encouraged, so feel free to go bold.

Go for suits in bright colours (and by bright we mean denim blue, royal blue etc, not yellow or Kermit the frog green). If you've never banged out a pin-stripe at work, today's the day to do it. If you're super confident opt for a light grey suit with a loud check shirt. In other words, this is your day to be an innocent little tailoring fawn in the woods - dig deep, men, and go large on personality (but retain a sense of classicism and modesty) you know what we mean?)

Hats are more so for the ladies, so be careful not to ruin your look with one of those stupid hats, like the cheap, striped fedora that seems to be ubiquitous these days.

The carnival days are for the true believers, those with sympathetic bosses or the subtly unemployed. If you've partied like a professional on Melbourne Cup you've probably done a number on your favourite suit, so make sure you have a good navy suit in reserve.

Best of luck, gentlemen.

Images courtesy of M.J. Bale