By Taylor Morgan
The Kentucky Derby was quite the event this year, with a boatload of rare occurrences. This year held the first three-horse photo finish in 80 years, with Mystik Dan coming in a close first place. His jockey, Brian Hernandez Jr., was the first person since 2009 to win both the Oakes and the Derby in one single weekend. However, focus was not solely on the horses; this year, they shared their spotlight with the Derby’s unforgettable fashion.
For as long as anyone can remember, the attendees of the Derby have come clad in their most outlandish pieces. With women in bright colored dresses and big hats, and men in respectable suits and fedora, it is safe to say that the Derby is a fashion show in itself.
Since the first Derby race in May 1875, the founder Meriweather Lewis Clark Jr. sought to bring the class and luxury of European horse racing to the states. Therefore, it became the perfect event for late 1800s ladies and gentlemen to sport their best dressed selves. The fashion of the Derby stayed fairly consistent throughout the first 70 years, where it followed the strict guidelines of prewar womens and mens American fashion. However, in the 1960s when Millionaires Row opened, a dining room that provided its guests with a balcony view of the races, Derby fashion acquired a mind of its own. Hats grew in size, colors became brighter, and the sea of outfits was wilder than ever before.
While fashion in 2024 allows for more expression and freedom than ever before, American culture has still held onto the Derby's fashion traditions. For one weekend a year, Americans leave their t-shirts and jeans at home and opt for a modernized 1800s inspired hat, dress, gloves and suit.
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