Derby hats main attraction

The 143rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs running was on May 6. If you follow, you know the winning horse is named Always Dreaming.

But the main attraction was what attendees wore on their heads. When you think of Derby, you think of big hats and fascinators. This year's Derby made headlines with men and women fashion from celebrities and the not-so-famous.

One memorable fashion statement by two Derby-going men dressed their bald heads with a faux hawk of roses, dark sunglasses and a cigar. The gentlemen of the derby wore their roses proudly. Some had horse replicas of their hopeful contenders mounted on the top of their hats. These dimensional pieces were reminiscent of a student school project. The 2017 Derby hats were not shy of detail.

One woman took her rose covered hat to another level by sporting the real deal — a bouquet of live fresh roses and greenery made up her 2017 Derby hat. Town celebrity favorites like Jeff Bridges and his wife, Susan Geston, were dressed in grey. He wearing grey pinstripes to match her medium brim-sized grey hat.

Remember the Doublemint twins? Well, the philanthropist duo, Tricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable, wore matching salmon-colored dresses with huge hats bedazzled with stone jewels and large flowers. For 28 years, the two have opened up their home for the Brownstable Brown Gala the night before the races and have raised more than $11 million for the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Research Center at the University of Kentucky. There were more than 100,000 people in attendance and some of the best hats were adorned mesmerizing colors and super-sized flowers. The bigger the hat the better. There were elegant ones and over-the-top ones.

Three days following the races, on May 9, the Associated Press reported that the Kentucky Derby Museum wanted to continue the momentum by hosting a Derby hat contest. The contest is called "It’s My Derby" fashion exhibit for professionals and amateurs. Contest entries end May 31. For all rules, visit.derbymuseum.org/hatcontest.html

D’Nieka Hartsfield writes for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact her at [email protected] or find her on Instagram and Facebook.