Strike a pose at the Apron Views

Fog may have descended on the race tracks on Saturday during the 16th edition of the Dubai World Cup, but there was one area which was bursting with eye-popping colours. The Apron Views - the popular hang-out of fashionistas near the race tracks and Meydan Grandstand - were filled with the most stylish donning their finest dresses and feathery dramatic hats. The fascinators in various sizes and in colours could mitigate the worst of dust storms. Clearly, visibility was not an issue here.

Australian-born Corina Hurduzeu, 37, did her bit in adding a splash of colour to the fashionable proceedings. Dressed in a self-made multi-coloured creation from head to toe, even her deep-purple lipstick screamed "bring on the colours".

"This is my first time to the Dubai World Cup and I am loving it. Except my clutch, I made everything else from scratch," she said.

"Tailoring and designing clothes are my hobby. What you see now is my own creation, and I wanted it to be bright, colourful and zany. What do you think?"

Even her shoes were swathed in left-over silk, she added.

Twenty-something Ayesha Mohammad chose a flowing kaftan and a bejewelled flat sandal for the day. "It can get super hot and I decided to be practical. I needed a dress which was not like a corset with a billowing skirt. As pretty as it looks, it gets really stuffy. So I chose an outfit that lets the air in and chose flats over heels," said Mohammad.

Heels advantage

Other glamorous women who turned up in their finest were unwilling to trade their heels for practicality. The diminutive Dorota Krzysztofek from Poland was one such example.

Dressed in a pristine white number, her sky-high fuschia heels stood testimony to her beliefs. "There was no question of wearing flat shoes for such an event. I am participating for the Style Stakes competition, and I know that heels give you an instant advantage over other contestants. And yeah, it's painful, but it's worth the pain," said Krzysztofek glancing down meaningfully at my own practical black ballerina flats.

Bright hues were not the only popular staple. Women dressed in neutral shades like beige and ivory were aplenty. Black and white combinations along with polka-dotted silks were also embraced by the glamorous fashion set. "There's little that can go wrong with black or white. It has a timeless appeal," Krystal Blake.

Linda Murphy, 26, took the art of blending blacks with neon-tastic colours to another level.

It was not just the grand haute-couture designs or stylish high-end labels that were in the spotlight. Women who got their dresses tailored from Satwa also sparkled. Katie Shaver in an emerald green dress with a bouffant skirt was a walking advertisement for recessionista-chic. "Such a dress would have cost me $500 (Dh1,836) if I were to buy it online. But a tailor from Satwa made this by looking at the sketches and it just cost me Dh900. They have done a fantastic job," she said. Shaver and her better half, Matthew Mueller, even got a nod from the judges in the competition later in the day.

Sipping sparkling beverages and chatting up friends were not the only highlights of the afternoon. Mixing business with pleasure was Stephanie Khouy at the Bubble Lounge. She wore an over-sized hat made from discs and emblazoned on the discs was the name of the nightclub she was promoting.