Breton (hat)

After British model Jean Shrimpton caused a scandal at the Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia in 1965 by attending Derby Day hatless, bare legged and in a short summer frock, she returned three days later to the Melbourne Cup in a sober tailored suit with a large ice-blue straw Breton hastily created by local milliner Adele Chapeaux of South Yarra.

[5] In 1968, a neat straw version was worn right on the back of the head by Mia Farrow in the horror film Rosemary's Baby.

[6] Such was the hat's popularity that The Times fashion editor Prudence Glynn singled it out in 1966 as part of the British 'uniform' at official summer events.

[7] In a feature warning of the perils of choosing an expensive occasion outfit in a country where the weather could not be relied upon, she said: "Look at the photographs taken at the Derby.

The weather couldn't have been more unpromising, yet there were the British ladies staunchly parading the British Special Occasion Outfit (Subsection: Race Meetings) – Sling back shoes, wind-torn Bretons clapped onto untidy damp hair, nodding and smiling away under tons of artificial pansies and draped tulle.