The Melbourne Cup is an important day in the diary of any fashion-lover, famous or otherwise. Australians have come to expect the outrageous, with the best outfits often combining bright colours, crazy silhouettes and haute hats. Some prepare months in advance, meticulously planning an outfit to catch the eye of cameramen, fashions on the field judges or other racegoers. Others clearly have little regard for the high-caliber dress code, or quite simply have no clue. Here, The New Daily shares our picks for those who stole the show for the right, and wrong, reasons.

Top five best dressed

1. Coco Rocha

The Canadian supermodel, a guest of the VRC and a Fashions on the Field judge, did not disappoint with her immaculate red, white and black outfit. Rocha’s Peter Pilotto dress and Nerida Winter headpiece managed to remain appropriate while being eye-catching and fashion-forward, encapsulating what the Melbourne Cup is all about.

2. Rachael Finch

Playful and colourful, Finch kept it simple with her citrus orange get-up. Her Ann Shoebridge netted hat had a coquettish charm and her Ellery dress was incredibly flattering on her body, an achievement considering she only gave birth just over a month ago.

3. Kate Upton

Another international guest, The Sports Illustrated model was surprisingly demure in a red, below-the-knee Antonia Berardi sheath dress. She amped up the sex-factor by giving punters a glimpse of her famous cleavage and accessorised with classic black pumps and a sweet netted fascinator from Nerida Winter.

4. Andy Lee

Despite sporting a red sling, Lee looked dapper in a summery suit with yellow accents. That perfectly tousled hair and those rugged good looks certainly don’t hold him back either.

5. Fashions on the Field contestant

This anonymous model almost stole the show at Fashions on the Field in her fuchsia garb.

Top five worst dressed

1. Geri Halliwell

The former Spice Girl has clearly never been the races before. Perhaps a little prior research could have prevented this lace disaster, which was more tacky tea party than race day chic.

2. Rebecca Judd

The usually-stylish Judd is evidently struggling to clothe her pregnant figure. Aside from the unusual and confusing proportions of this dress, she failed to match the pink of her Danica Erard fascinator with the colour of her Toni Maticevski dress. Big no no.

3. Lance “Buddy” Franklin

We don’t even need to see the rest of Buddy’s outfit. Combining John Lennon-inspired glasses with an awkward fedora and bad haircut placed him on the worst dressed list before we could even look at his suit.

4. Jennifer Hawkins

Hawkins’ all-red Yeojin Bae outfit was overwhelming and uncharacteristically tacky, made worse by a strange fascinator reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. This is the Myer ambassador’s second fashion slip-up during the Spring Carnival – she also failed to impress with her dominatrix style Derby Day look.

5. Dita von Teese

The burlesque star’s white skirt-suit was too long and swamped her tiny frame, while her orchid accessories, bow-topped shoes and dangly earrings made the outfit look busy. Rhonda Burchmore was also not a fan of the visiting US personality, but it had nothing to do with her style choices.

All photos courtesy of Getty.