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Local Plunder

Your Steeplechase Preparation Manual

It’s all happening again: horses are getting weaves. Jockeys are doing little calisthenics. And girls named Miller and Annabelle are buying upsettingly oversized headpieces. Yes, Steeplechase is almost upon us. So in the interest of keeping tradition alive, you’ll need to look the part as well. This should help...

FOR THE FEET

White Bucks from Sid Mashburn

What: Stark white English buckskins, the prototypical shoes for feet in the immediate vicinity of fast horses.
Why: The jaunt from your hillside tent to your railside cabana includes checking in on your neighboring factions and the occasional bourbon pit stop. You’ll need walking shoes. Correction: gallivanting shoes.

FOR THE LEGS

Seersuckers You Want to Sit In

What: A gentleman’s staple in the form of light red/damn near pink seersuckers. Also known as the Official Pant of the Stallion Battle.
Why: Pastels, floppy hair, animal logos and Carlton-dancing abound here. Embrace this... the chance won’t come around again. Well, not until Memorial Day or the Masters. Or the next Steeplechase.

FOR THE TORSO

A Breathy Blue Jacket from Billy Reid

What: A loose-fitting, double-breasted jacket that Kennedy would’ve sported. If Kennedy were a Southern horse-breeder.
Why: You’re going to need a lucky jacket for any potential hush-hush bet-laying. And generally just to have a lucky jacket.

FOR THE NECK

Picnic-Patterned Collar Art

What: A gentlemanly red-and-white wool bow tie with hand-stitched buttonholes. You can go machine-stitched on Monday.
Why: High tea at the Chairman’s Tent requires an understated yet party-forward bow tie. Mostly because high tea means endless champagne, bunny-hopping with debutantes and... bunny-hopping with debutantes.

FOR THE POCKET

A Flask That Looks Like a Sweater

What: A friendly-looking steel flask with a needlepoint mint julep on the outside and bourbon on the inside.
Why: You’re smoking a Cuban Bolívar. A horse named Mr. Redeye is about to buy you a new boat. And if you don’t toast somebody soon, you stand the risk of exploding. That’s why.