A Belmont Style Recap with a Few Surprises

We hope you read last week’s article, The Last Leg of the Triple Crown: How to Celebrate, Win or Lose (We place a large emphasis on the last two words). We’re not skeptics here at Equestrian Stylist, but we had to prepare for the chance that California Chrome wouldn’t take the Triple Crown.

Though the favorite was defeated, he still made a splash! Race-goers had fun repping his colors and flooding social media with some serious calchrome hashtags. Some fans really got into the spirit!

We’ll admit, some people went overboard, but after a few Belmont Breezes, who cares?

This year we saw some fabulous fascinators and some dashing derby hats. Check out these pictured below. They’re classy, chic, and sophisticated—perfect for an important race like the Belmont.

Feathers on fascinators are a big trend for derby-goers. The more unique the feather, the better… Bright bold colors and florals are some of Summer’s fresh trends in and out of the raceday stands. A gal can never go wrong with bright bold pink hues on Belmont Day.

Speaking of pink hues…Male fashion was varied this year. We saw both classic and preppy looks represented at the race. Some people really didn’t hold back!

Of course he’s in Vineyard Vines… Classic daytime derby attire calls for boat shoes and bowties in the sunshine. What a great way to get in the spirit with a stick pony trotting in the stands! We love his positive preppy energy with the patchwork koozie ‘n all: it’s game on dude, you strut your stuff mr. stick horse man!

We were pretty surprised to find that a new accessory was in high Belmont fashion: the nasal strip. Hang on a second, did I say the nasal strip?! Okay, let me explain. In a moment of brilliance, GlaxoSmithKline used the controversy over California Chrome’s equine nasal strip to market their human nasal strips. They passed out over 50,000 free nasal strips to spectators. What’s your take on this? (We think it’s silly, but hey if it get’s the fans involved… Why not?!)

The 2014 Belmont was an exciting year for male and female fashion. The outfits worn by many were, well, a little more outgoing than those of the Kentucky Derby. We can pin this to a few factors. First, the Belmont has been the most informal of the three Triple Crown races. And second, California Chrome’s fan power overruled all other fashion precedents. #Chromie fans united with purple and green screaming for attention.

We’ll remember the 2014 Belmont as being a day of highs and lows. Thanks to California Chrome, America had a reason to be on the edge of their seats for the Triple Crown this year. Even though he regretfully didn’t take home the Triple Crown, millions of people came together in the sport around an iconic animal. The year of the Horse continues, and we wish the best of luck to California Chrome at the Breeders’ Cup this year. Stay tuned as we continue to follow him to his homecoming day November 1st.  #TheBestIsYetToCome… Xoxo.