The Most Epic Hats from Del Mar's Opening Day

Early indicator of a great Opening Day: When we went in to get our credentials, we found Social Diary Magazine editor Margo Schwab rocking a feathered extravaganza she’d gotten online from a London-based purveyor. “It’s like a spaceship,” she says, noting that, unlike the wide-brimmed styles of years past, it won’t get in the way. “It’s great, functioning-wise, for when I’m taking pictures of people—and it’s fun and flirty.” Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast

Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast

Early indicator of a great Opening Day: When we went in to get our credentials, we found Social Diary Magazine editor Margo Schwab rocking a feathered extravaganza she’d gotten online from a London-based purveyor. “It’s like a spaceship,” she says, noting that, unlike the wide-brimmed styles of years past, it won’t get in the way. “It’s great, functioning-wise, for when I’m taking pictures of people—and it’s fun and flirty.” Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Her good-luck bag is by S.D.’s Lizz Russell, and features a crystal horseshoe one one side, and a green dollar sign on the other. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
We chased down San Diego artist Sarah Garcia (far right) to learn that she'd made her own fascinator with skyscraping pheasant feathers and meticulous beadwork. Her equestrian-inspired purse similarly thrilled us. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
Lizzy, left, started with her BCBG dress (which has a white print full of teensy white horses) and worked her way up to the hat, which she got at Target and which bears a ribbon she added herself. Natalie (center) and Paulina (right) went the vintage route for their ensembles. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Exuberant plumes and natty fedoras added a bit of dignity to the interminable wait for the ladies' room. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
Hot-pink and platter-shaped, this is a hat after our own hearts. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
Another botanical chapeau, worn by Emilee Wilson, an actor from Temecula. The live flowers include stargazer lilies, sunflowers, and a circus rose. Wilson won second prize in the 'Best Flowers' category. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Interestingly, three of our favorite looks of the day leaned heavily on DIY. “I got mine at Michael’s — it was supposed to be a necklace but I pinned it on my head,” says Amanda (left) of finding her headpiece at a craft store. Jennifer (center) made her own hat and the hat worn by friend Kelle, right, from supplies sourced in the L.A. Fashion District. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
The winners' circle, right before the madness began. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
An hour before the first post, there was already hat gridlock outside the ticket booths. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
"I don't have to wear sunglasses, and I can hit [my friends] with it," quips Brittany Catton (center) of her uber-brimmed sunhat by San Diego Hat Company, which she won at an auction and that vibed with a yellow Nanette Lepore dress she says she'd had for ages. Leilani (left) is wearing her grandmother's hat, and Evelyn (right) was aiming for "a European look" when she got her Scala hat from the Village Hat Shop. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Besides the royal wedding, last year's 'Alice in Wonderland' remake brought hats — top hats on women, in particular — to the fore. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
Even the security guards were sporting wide-brimmed straw fedoras. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Kimberly, an Oceanside resident, made this fascinator herself, to go with her '50s vintage dress that she got from Vintage Sanctuary. "I just knew I wanted to wear a veil," she says of her strategy. "The hat took four days to make — I used pheasant feathers that were dyed red, as well as ostrich, peacock, and guinea hen feathers." Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Maggie picked her hat first (found at TJ Maxx) and found a vintage-inspired necklace at Nordstrom, but she got some help in selecting her sapphire-hued dress. "I put on a black dress but he" — she gestures at her significant other — "said he likes the blue." Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
For ultra-procrastinators, there are fashionable hats for sale at the racetrack gift shop for as low as $25. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
The hat-topped masses, inside the raceway's Plaza de Mexico. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
Vicki, a Dallas-area native, didn't want to take a huge hat on the plane, and found this fascinator at the gift shop, which just happened to be a perfect match to her dress. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
As much as we love being artfully mismatched, for the races we're onboard with the ferociously ladylike vibe that comes with starkly matching hats and shoes. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
“I started with the tie,” says Chris White (center) on how he put together his outfit. “I’m a hat person — I have an entire collection of them. A hat just pulls things together.”
Before the bets were placed, vintage-inspired florals and cat-eye sunglasses mingled with more contemporary sun-hats. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
If you've got a 'been there, done that' feeling about the flower hats, this would be your next logical alternative. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
A smartly dressed couple we snagged en route to the first race. She's in a '70s-inflected wide-brim from Goorin Brothers and is toting a coordinating Tory Burch purse.
And just when we were thinking we weren't seeing enough guys in hats, these gents popped up. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Ashley (left) and Kimberlie went the "statement on top, wearable on the bottom" route for Opening Day. "I saw this hat in an ad," says Ashley, who found her straw swinger at Sara's Boutique in La Mesa. The fashionable romper from Bloomingdale's came out of her desire for something "comfortable but cute."
A detail shot of one of our favorite hats of the day. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Mark, down from L.A. for the races, was deciding between a Panama hat and this fedora by Bailey of Hollywood that he'd gotten in Venice Beach. The latter topper won out, thanks to the "festive" patterning, he says. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Assertive platforms prop up Sarah's fresh take on black-and-white dressing. The sweet, wide-brim boater (from Loehmann's!) keeps it youthful. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Left,On-trend stripes are set off by a cyclamen pink frock, and right, icy animal print joins with the formality of a top hat. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Above: Julie Sarno, the judge and founder of the day’s hat contest. (Official name: The One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest.) Sarno says that last year's winner Faye Meitz "stunned the judges because it was a tribute hat to previous grand prize winners of the contest. She had three of four previous winning hats in miniature that she had created over the course of six months." Who won this year? Keep reading to find out. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Hat contest hopefuls pose for onlookers. Photo: Chantal Gordon/The Feast
Yes, this sandcastle-inspired hat worn by Mike Guthrie (above) contains actual sand. It took Guthrie six months to make it, and it's also an homage to Imperial Beach's famed sandcastle contest. Guthrie took home honors in the 'Most Outrageous' category. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast
In this case, the hat is one gigantic flower...
...as demonstrated here.
Talk about dedication. This entry in the race-inspired hat category, worn by S.D.'s Katy Stockinger, bears the weight of an actual surfboard and plastic carousel horse painted in the track's signature turquoise/yellow colorway. The wait (and the weight) paid off because Stockinger won in her category and also took home the grand prize. Photo: Ryan Benoit/The Feast

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The hat fashion show and reason to call in sick that is Opening Day at the Del Mar Races took place this week — and not only did it not disappoint, it impressed. We elbowed through the crowds to accost and interrogate our favorite boaters, bowlers, fedoras, fascinators, top hats, and swingers, and to ask their owners how they'd pulled together their looks. (And because we couldn't resist, we also included a few of the over-the-top entries of the annual hat contest.)

Above, find shots of hats of all stripes — from designer to vintage to DIY — from one bangingly fabulous Opening Day.

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