Time for Friends

My dear friend Eva (left) and I sporting our Longines timepieces - mine the prize for winning the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest in 2015, and hers the prize for winning the Longines Most Elegant Woman Contest at the Breeders Cup in 2017. 

The first weekend in May is always an exciting one for me because it means a trip to Louisville, Kentucky for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby. I love this weekend for the horses; the pageantry; the hats; and most importantly, for the people I've met and the friends I've made.

Hats bring people together! It was a shared style aesthetic that led to my friendship with Chicago native Eva (center), and Irish beauty Sharon (right). We connected at the Breeders Cup and have all kept in touch since.

Take my friend, Eva, for example. She started following me on social media after seeing me in the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest in 2015. We met in person last August at the Arlington Million in Illinois, and subsequently spent two days together celebrating the Breeders' Cup in California last November.

The Italian straw, one-of-a-kind chapeau I wore for the second day of the Breeders Cup was made by couture milliner Loreta Corsetti. This hat is one of my favorites and I've worn it to multiple events.

We bonded over a shared aesthetic and love for hats, but a friendship grounded in racing fashion has led to adventures in both her hometown of Chicago and my own Indianapolis.

Eva and I were both finalists in the Longines Most Elegant Woman Contest at the Breeders Cup, and Eva was awarded the grand prize in her stunning striped dress from Asos with coordinating hat and shoes she embellished herself!

This weekend's festivities at Churchill Downs will be yet another opportunity to spend time with Eva and so many other great people we see at the track year after year despite how challenging you might think it would be to find familiar faces in a sea of more than 150,000 people. 

My love of hats is rivaled by my love for shoes, and this crystal studded orange pair with metallic gold heel from Littleboutique is a favorite.They were the perfect complement to my chapeua, also trimmed in crystals and coral.

Of course it's also a fun weekend for fashion. I can't wait to see what my stylish friends will be wearing on the Longines' Kentucky Oaks Pink Carpet. Happy Derby Weekend!!

Fashion is what you buy; Style is what you do with it!

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