Racing Attire in Non-Racy Bushwick

All from Forever New. Maisie Metallic Lace Co-ord Skirt and Bralet; Belle Clutch; Nina Heel; Hollie Floral Crown, Vest: Lantern Sense via Asoni Haus
Photos by XSSAT Photography
Let me admit something: I've never actually been to the races before. I know it's such a quintessentially Australian thing to do, that the fact I'm dressing up for it for no race in particular (besides maybe a drag race on the street), in the middle of stark (but beautiful) Bushwick, where a stiletto and a bared midriff is not welcome (unless you're happy to deal with 120% more cat calls than when you're wearing sweatpants, which is still an inordinately high number)...the irony isn't lost on me.
As a kid, I always saw women who wore fascinators and pretty cocktail dresses to go watch a bunch of horses race was enormously confusing. What were they celebrating? How do you walk on the grass in heels? How does that half a hat stay on their head? At the age of 21, I've yet to attend my first race, but I'm totally happy to wear a pretty lace set and deck myself out in blue as three older men ask what kind of model I am as I awkwardly side-step piles of trash on the streets of Bushwick.