Fluff your feathers for the Met
2008-01-22 14:00
Cape Town - The taste of strawberries, the glimpse of daring chiffon, dashing tailored tuxedoes and rare whisky gently sipped in the midday sun. Need more clues?
The J&B Met is upon us.
It's the one day that Cape Town, known for its exquisite beauty, is swathed in its most elegant, glorious and risqué.
Horseracing has always attracted the cream of society's wealthy and eccentric and on 26 January 2008 the J&B Met will celebrate its 31st birthday in similarly delicious Met style: lavish suites, picnics, wrapped in millions of rands of designer fabrics.
VIPs will include newly crowned world champion Schalk Burger, Metro FM DJ Thomas and Idols judge Randall Abrahams.
They'll all be struggling to keep their eyes off surfer model Roxy Louw - and from falling down in hysterics at comedian Marc Lottering's jibes.
Connect Couture
The country's hottest designers - including Cape Town favourites Hip Hop - are already sewing furiously to wrap them all in this year's theme, Connect Couture, focusing on plums, patterns and metallics.
Cheryl Arthur of Hip Hop said: "The J&B Met is one of the best times of the year for us. It's all about sexy dressing and standing out.
"We don't do that incredibly short, incredibly naked, showing your bum. We do more of the showstopper thing - women who look confident, gorgeous. But the garments do tend to be quite revealing because it's so hot at that time of the year.
"What's so fun about the J&B Met is that you can take a gorgeous dress and match it with all sorts of accessories," she said.
Marc Gooding of Carducci has dressed everyone from big-hitting Herschelle Gibbs and Top Billing's Michael Mol to straight-talking Nigel Pierce.
Rich jewel colours
This year Carducci will be adorning Danny K, Loyiso Bala, and Metro radio's DJ Thomas.
"We're looking at rich jewel colours, lots of gold, lots of burgundies and emeralds, lots of shiny fabrics," he tempted.
"The guys are getting more and more involved in the Met. In the past the guys took a suit they wear to church, but now they're making an effort!"
Tickets to the J&B Met cost R125 each and are available through selected stores and totes or by calling the Kenilworth Racecourse on 021 700 1600.