LOUISVILLE, Ky. — High fashion and unique hats are a sight to see during the Kentucky Derby.

What You Need To Know

  • Masks or face covering will be required at Derby 147

  • Churchill Downs safety guidelines state anyone attending is expected to cover their nose & mouth at all times

  • This means when inside or outside the campus except when actively eating or drinking

  • Children 5 and under are not required to wear a face mask

This year there will be an additional fashion accessory and it’s all about the eyes: wearing a mask.

Fancy, decorative mask will be part of high fashion at this year's Derby.

“I am a milliner and I’m a mask-maker. I'm ready to just be a milliner again,” said Christine Moore, a featured Milliner for the 147th Kentucky Derby.

She has set up a temporary workspace at Rodes For Him and For Her, an apparel store in Louisville.

“This is the focus with hats but it's the focus with masks and all together. You just want people to enjoy the day but be really stylish and just make it memorable,” Moore said.

She’s in the final hours of fitting hats and sewing masks.

“The Derby scramble of finding a hat, but there's a shortage of everything because we all had to downsize and we didn't know what was going on [un]til like three weeks ago, really,” Moore said.

Historically, unique outfits are on display the first weekend of May.

“I don't think it's gonna cut it to just have a, just a regular like a paper mask. I think you have to go just like that. You’ll have to go over the top,” Moore said.

People go to Moore to go over the top.

Christine Moore fits a hat and a mask for a client at Rodes For Him and For Her.

“It's head to toe. So when people come to me, I’m like, I have to think about not only, you know, they show me their dress, they show me their shoes, we pick up the hat and then the finishing touches, really, the mask and then how it all— it's another accessory that flows that has to flow together to make the perfect Derby look," she said.

Part of that look at this year’s Derby will require wearing a mask.

Churchill Downs safety guidelines state anyone attending is expected to cover the nose and mouth at all times, whether inside or outside the campus except when actively eating or drinking. They also add children 5 and under are not required to wear a face mask. 

“It's just more work but it's not double so it's a labor of love,” Moore said.

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