1 Don't dress older than you are. The standard race meeting/horse show outfit is a sky blue skirt or shift dress with matching jacket/knee-length coat and accessorised with similar-hued hat, bag and shoes. The outcome: everyone looks as though they had reached their half century, even if they are only half that age.
2 Don't opt for clothes you have never worn before. You won't know how they bear up to a day at the races - does the skirt become a mass of creases after five minutes? Do the shoes quickly start to pinch and leave you limping home with feet covered in blisters?
3 Don't drown yourself in accessories. What are you going to do with those gloves every time you want to use your hands? Do you need to wear both sunglasses and a hat (invariably a mistake - it's one or the other)? And minimise the jewellery.
4 Don't wear anything which makes you feel self-conscious. A hat brim too broad? A skirt too short? A jacket too lowcut? Forget them all, because you will only exude awkwardness instead of radiating assurance.
5 Don't even consider black. It's boring, especially when teamed with white, and shows a pitiful want of imagination. The same is true of certain other so-called classic combinations such as navy and white or pink and gold.
6 Don't forget that these are equestrian events and your dress should reflect this in some fashion. While the full Barbour-and-wellingtons look is not necessary, nor is a frighten-the-horses combination of petticoat slip and spiky heels.
7 Don't overlook the impact which can be made by quiet colours. Do not succumb to the belief that only if you are wearing head-to-toe fluorescent green will you be spotted by the judges (or anyone else). However, the alternative is not to opt for mother-of-the-bride pastels, so that means no baby pink, blue or yellow. Tones of dove grey or moss green are especially smart particularly in silk georgette or crepe de chine.
8 Don't care. Or at least give the impression of not doing so. You can always spot those women who really, really want to win. Indifference, even if only affected, is far more likely to catch the judges' attention.
