What to Wear in Your Ears at Flemington This Spring

Every year in the week before Derby Day, my phone fills up with photos of dresses and the same question underneath them: which earrings? The outfit is usually sorted by then. The earrings get decided at 7am with a hat in one hand.

This year the Carnival opens with Derby Day on Saturday 31 October, followed by Melbourne Cup Day on Tuesday 3 November and Oaks Day on Thursday 5 November. Each day has its own look, and the VRC spells it out on its what-to-wear page, which makes choosing earrings easier than it sounds. I've narrowed it down to two pairs, our Coco Pearl Drop and our Double Take drops. Between them they cover all three days.

Derby Day is black and white. The VRC calls the combination the day's signature style, though it's a tradition rather than a strict rule. It goes back to 1910, when racegoers wore black in mourning for King Edward VII, and the VRC's own history of the day notes that the white accents came from strings of pearls and white flowers. Pearls on Derby Day have been around for more than a century. The day's official flower is the blue cornflower.

So I'd wear one of each: the Coco Pearl Drop on one ear and the Double Take on the other. The Coco starts as a cuff at the top of the ear, which doesn't need a piercing, follows the curve down to your lobe and finishes in a strand of graduating pearls. The Double Take is a diamond-look line of 5A+ CZ that falls 44mm from a stud and ends in a 0.5ct pear cut. Both are long, so the mismatch looks planned.

On Derby Day last year, Dani Shreeve wore a white long-sleeved mini and kept her hair behind one ear, so her earring showed.

Cup Day is the colourful one. The VRC asks racegoers to embrace colour and carnival spirit, with vivid tones, daring prints and statement hats. Even the official flower, the yellow rose, is bright. With that much going on, I keep the earrings clear. A pair of Double Takes won't fight a printed dress or a bright hat, and the 44mm drop is long enough to be seen below a brim.

Red was everywhere at Flemington on Cup Day last year, and Perri Lee was one of the women wearing it. With her hair pulled back off her face, her earrings stayed in view.

Oaks Day is the dressiest day of the week. The VRC describes it as the most glamorous, with soft pastels, florals and lace worn with delicate millinery, and its official flower is the pink rose. This is where pearls belong. I'd wear the Coco Pearl Drop in both ears, because pearls sit beside lilac or blush pink without competing with them.

On Oaks Day last year, Moraya Wilson wore a feathered dress with an oversized fascinator, and Jessie Murphy wore a sheer lilac lace gown with a white pillbox hat.

Here's each day at a glance.

Choose your hat or headpiece first, then the earrings. If the brim dips on one side, put the longer earring on the other side so it isn't hidden.

Get your hair off your ears. A low bun or a sleek ponytail will do it, and so will a headband with your hair tucked behind. Loose waves over the ear will cover a 44mm drop completely.

Keep to one metal across both ears. When the Coco and the Double Take are both in gold, the mismatch reads as a choice. Both also come in a 925 sterling silver option if that's what you're wearing.

If you're buying one pair before Saturday, make it the Coco Pearl Drop. It covers Derby Day and Oaks Day on its own. Add the Double Take if you're going on Cup Day too.

With love, Lucia

Dani Shreeve, Perri Lee, Moraya Wilson and Jessie Murphy are not wearing By Lucia; pieces shown are our recreation of their race day looks. Photos: Getty Images via Nine.