Be Your Own Ribbon Rack

Fashion for Winners

As a child, I aspired to be a horse girl. 

A Young Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her horse.

This desire had a massive shadow cast over it by Christopher Reeve's devastating horse accident (1995), the episode of Full House when Michelle falls off a horse and gets amnesia (also, 1995), and the Bonnie death scene in Gone With the Wind (1939, but still top of mind for my parents). My already nervous parents did not have any personal experience with horses to counterbalance the aforementioned bad vibes so riding was a no-go.

I settled for taking books out of the library on horse breeds (Palomino!), going to my friends house who lived next to some and staring at them through the fence, and later, dressing like I rode them in neat little plaid blazers and tall leather boots. 

Now I am an adult and nervous parent to my own child. I have gone horse riding exactly one time on my 30th birthday (It was fine. They made us trot slowly in a line. It wasn’t like Lord of the Rings at all). I still lose it when driving past horses grazing in a field. When I see a horse close-up, I feel like I am encountering a celebrity and have to play it cool when really I am desperate to get their autograph. And I love an equestrian style moment.

But in the year of our lord 2024, it appears that my latent wish of becoming a horsewoman and my love of external validation are combined in the “prize ribbon” trend popping up on my feed. An evolution of the rosette and bow trends that have dominated for the last few years, the prize ribbon is less likely to permeate to the same degree because it’s chic only in the stupidest way. 

My favourite kind of thing!

Room of avid rider Coco Brooks, daughter of Amanda Cutter Brooks.

I have noticed contemporary fashion takes on the prize ribbon popping up here and there. But I prefer the higher-strangeness of the real thing; hoping that I look like a horsewoman so decorated that the ribbons started jumping off my wall and onto my outfit. Search vintage prize ribbon on Etsy or Ebay and take your pick. 

A simple way to incorporate a prize ribbon into your outfit is by taking inspiration from the image above from Sean Brown. His is, in fact, a cat show ribbon. I love it paired with the brooch on the other lapel and worn with a classic cream suit and a rumbled linen shirt underneath. 

I also like the idea of pinning a bunch of them onto a voluminous white cotton skirt. You are your own ribbon rack-vibes. This idea is untested by me, aside from this crude collage below but I want to try it one day or another. 

A Related/unrelated situation still living rent-free in my head is wearing one big prize ribbon, as seen here on Chloë Sevigny while attending the LOEWE FW2023 show.

Christopher John Rogers also did a version in cotton poplin that he called the “Giant Car Ribbon Top” as seen below on Chloe King. This is forever an open tab on my phone’s browser though my size is long-since sold out.

Scorching hot regards,

Nicole Elsasser