Nikki Parkinson’s a self-confessed beauty and fashion addict so don’t leave home without checking out her tips and tricks for looking good – no matter what the occasion. The Style File writer will keep you up to date with what’s happening locally as well as on the national fashion scene.

Weather sparks a fashion crisis

November 7 | Nikki Parkinson

The temperature reading in my car said 18 degrees … and it was 11am … in November … in Queensland.

If this wasn’t clear confirmation that global warming was wreaking havoc with our weather, I don’t know what is.

It was Melbourne Cup Day, for goodness sake.

A day where we switch on the telly to watch various celebs shiver their scantily clad butts off at Flemington racecourse while we try and apply our race-day makeup in 99% humidity before slathering on half a bottle of 30+.

Yes, that’s right. It’s usually very, very hot.

No need for optional cold weather outfits like our southern counterparts … a little summer frock is usually a sure thing … a much safer bet than picking a winner in the main race.

But not this year.

No, this year, Coast women went into fashion crisis mode on Monday night after Channel 7’s Livio Regano kindly informed us that we’d be heading for a maximum of 22 – and a very wet track.

Now, of course, I’m not talking about the track on which the horses were to run. (Thanks to the equine flu virus, the jockeys ran without their mounts down the straight at Corbould Park.)

I’m talking about the track which we women had to negotiate in order to make it into the barrier for the first pre-race bubbles.

Let’s just say I’m glad I left the good shoes at home.

Mud, wet grass and damp earth combined to make it extremely difficult to walk from A to B without aerating the turf with your heel and performing a slight stumble with every step.

Not quite the graceful look I was aiming for when I headed out to Matthew Flinders’ back oval dressed in my finest (courtesy of The Lily Room, Mooloolaba) to judge fashions on the field for the school’s annual Flemington on Flinders garden party.

Like the rest of us, the organisers had planned for a super hot day, down to extra shade and hand-held fans for guests.

The fans were stashed away for next year but the extra shade doubled as useful rain cover.

As for my shoes, well, I’ve dusted off the grass and mud and put them out to pasture … permanently.

See full coverage of the Coast's Cup Day celebratons, plus photo gallery and videos.