The hues of south west Queensland are being spotted trackside at some of the most glamorous race meets in the world.
Created by Sarah Turner, bespoke pieces from Country Peonies Millinery are the finishing touch in captivating outfits taking centre stage at country race meets and Royal Ascot alike.
From humble beginnings, Ms Turner said she started creating millinery for herself in 2013 when she couldn't find pieces to wear to local race meets.
"That turned into friends and people around the district asking me to make pieces, so I thought there might be something in this," she said.
"Then I went and did an actual millinery course, and Country Peonies was created from there."
Working from a studio that overlooks the 8000-hectare cropping property Boolarwell at Talwood, Ms Turner said she takes inspiration from what's going on around her.
"This time last year, we had a sorghum crop right out the front of my studio and I was using a lot of greens and reds," she said.
"In these drought conditions, I'm drawn to using many textured natural straws and leathers in nude and tan colours.
"I find my colours are always quite tied in with what is going on at the property."
Talwood may be a long way from the trendsetting stages of Flemington and Royal Randwick, but pieces from Country Peonies Millinery are setting their own standards of elegance in fashions on the field competitions.
"I don't like to follow trends as such because I find you then go to races and every lady is wearing the same thing," Ms Turner said.
"It's nice to hone in on something that is quite popular coming through but create your own style from it; otherwise it's not very fun."
Ms Turner said the style in 2019 went back to more traditional pieces.
"A lot more hats and boaters, and headbands played a massive role," she said.
"My style is probably a bit more classic, what I personally enjoy to wear, so I really enjoyed last season because it's a lot of classic. I'm doing a lot of beading with pearls, which are my favourite.
"Hopefully the more classic style will stick around a bit longer - I think hats are definitely here to stay for a while, they're very popular."
The popularity of Ms Turner's millinery sees her regularly receive orders from the United States and United Kingdom, and has been featured alongside the Queen of England and Princess Kate in UK Elle magazine's top 14 millinery pieces from Royal Ascot.
"It's a strange feeling sometimes when you're sending off something so glamorous and amazing, to be sitting home in your work clothes."
With two young kids taking up much of her time, Ms Turner said once Molly, 6, and Frederick, 4, go to bed, she works late into the night creating the captivating millinery.
And depending on the amount of detail, she could spend several weeks hand-beading or preparing leather for the headpieces.
"I fell in love with it because I'm a creative person but I found millinery, every piece is individual, you're not creating the same thing, ever," Ms Turner said.
"When you're giving that to someone, you know that no-one else in the world will have a piece the same as that.
"I just love creating a whole outfit as well, so bringing all the elements of what a lady is going to wear - her dress, shoes, bag - and creating a piece that brings it all together and finishes the outfit."
Despite the heights that her millinery has reached, Ms Turner said her favourite part was still country racing.
"It's absolutely amazing how far it has spread in a short amount of time, but it's always lovely to win the small races because they're the ladies who enjoy it more and really appreciate the win," she said.
"For country ladies, you don't get the chance to dress up very often so it's nice to have that moment to dress up and maybe walk away with a prize.
"It might not be much but you've been recognised for the amount of effort you've put into this outfit.
"Usually, a lot of them are handmade outfits that they've spent hours doing themselves, so it's nice to be part of that."
