Fashions on the Field event at Black Opal Stakes Day rewards looks that 'jump out of the box'

"Something that jumped out of the box," judge Lee Campbell said of the criteria for the ladies' best dressed award at Black Opal Stakes Day.

Contestants in the best dressed category were judged on six criteria, with requisites including authenticity, appropriate headwear and a timeless look.

Mr Campbell and the judging team found that unique look in Emma Scodellaro.

She glittered in gold, and adorned the look with a top hat fashioned from lace and wiring.

"I just go with what I love," Ms Scodellaro, from Melbourne, said of how she built the outfit.

"I started with the dress, which is Dolce & Gabbana, and then I got the shoes which are also Dolce & Gabbana, then I took them to my milliner Jill Humphries."

Ms Humphries travelled to Sydney to complete a course in order to refine her top-hat crafting.

"There's a lot of friendly people here," Ms Scodellaro, who has never entered the Fashions on the Field event in Canberra before, said.

"A lot of familiar faces that I've met from all around Australia, so I'm really thrilled to be here today.

"And to take out the win is absolutely amazing."

Fellow judge, Jackie Murray, pointed to the attention to detail incorporated into Ms Scodellaro's outfit.

"If you have a look at the buttons," she said, indicating the floral embellishments adorning Ms Scodellaro's dress.

"Just that little bit of detail that stands out.

"And the millinery, it's done really well and beautifully with the lace and the wiring," she said.

And the secret to success in fashions on the field? It's about individuality, Ms Murray said.

"You do see a lot of people wear the 'in thing' and they wear the same thing quite regularly, but somebody that thinks outside of the box is the answer."

Best dressed runner-up Aimee Abraham, from Bega, echoed those sentiments when asked what the most exciting part of the event was for her.

"I think the diversity, absolutely, between all the contestants," she said.

"It's great to see everybody else's perception on fashion.

"And it's just an exciting day."

Ms Abraham wore a dress by Leo Lim, with millinery by Locopa Designs.

"I think it's a little bit intuitive, so normally I find the dress first and then everything else ties with it," she said.

"Locopa Designs does an amazing job with matching millinery to whatever you're wearing.

"So normally it's the dress that is the first pick."

Meanwhile, in the millinery category, Canberra local Viviana Croker took out the top award, wearing Canberra-based milliner Cynthia Jones-Bryson.

Ms Croker was recognised for the unique aesthetic of the black feathered piece, cascading over her face.

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