Draper James: The Perfect Choice For TN Steeplechase!

All photos taken by Kris Rae Photography. (@krisrae on Instagram!)

Draper James Knot Shoulder Love Circle Dress (c/o) / Draper James Leather Reversible Tote (c/o)

This year has been flying by, and it’s finally starting to warm up, thank goodness! As much as I love fall and winter, I am so excited to start styling looks for warmer weather, and let’s be honest, all of the best Nashville events happen in the spring and summer! One of my absolute favorite Nashville events, Steeplechase, is right around the corner and I seriously could not be more excited!

If you’re not familiar with Steeplechase, it is an annual horse race benefitting the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and it is seriously one of the best events all year! If you’re going this year, you can plan on tailgating (my favorite part!), food trucks, music, photo booths, and of course horse races! Plus, it’s the best excuse ever to dress up!

When it comes to Steeplechase style, like any kind of derby event, think all things preppy and southern! You’ll see guys in button downs and often even bowties, and women usually opt for sun dresses! When I started thinking about what I was going to wear this year, I wanted something cute, but comfortable and lightweight so that I could wear it all day with no problems and without having to worry about getting too hot! This gorgeous Draper James dress was the perfect fit! I love the Draper James Love Circle style because the a-line shape is extremely flattering on a ton of different body types, and perfect for warmer weather because the skirt doesn’t cling to you and make you hot, which is important because I’m pretty sure the last time I went it got up to about 90 degrees! I paired the dress with a super comfortable pair of wedges, but a lot of people actually tend to wear rain boots to Steeplechase because it has the tendency to get a bit muddy, especially on the off chance that it rains, so I may end up wearing my pink Hunter boots on the actual race day! Whatever shoes you choose, you definitely want them to be comfortable and easy to walk in, because you’ll be walking on grass all day so it’s super easy to trip and roll your ankle, especially if you’re not paying attention. Whatever you do, you DEFINITELY don’t want to wear any kind of pointy heel!

Another huge part of most Steeplechase outfits is a hat or fastener! In fact, they even have a hat contest that you can enter via Instagram! I have never been super big on hats because I don’t usually love the way they look on me, so the jury is still out on whether or not I’ll end up wearing a hat this year or not, but I do think they’re super fun and cute on other people!

Last but not least, I always like to bring a decent sized bag, because I want to be sure I have everything I’ll need for the day! Since it gets super hot, you’ll want to be able to carry things like sunscreen, sunglasses and water bottles (just make sure they’re not glass!), so the bigger the bag the better! This tote from Draper James is perfect because it’s big enough to fit everything I need, and it goes SO well with my dress! It’s also reversible, so it’s basically two bags in one! I love that it’s reversible because I’m not usually super adventurous when it comes to any kind of big purchase (like a nicer bag) and tend to stick to practical colors so that I can use it as much as possible. But with this bag, you get the practical camel colored leather AND the option to flip it inside out for a fun pop of blue if your outfit calls for it!

I hope this post helped you pick out the perfect Steeplechase outfit! If you need more outfit inspo (or tips for your man, since I didn’t really cover that here!) check out this post for more pointers from Steeplechase themselves!

Will I be seeing you at Steeplechase this year?

XOXO

Olivia