Modish Flemington setting the running in the sartorial stakes

It has been a long time since The Dikler was at the cutting edge of fashion and the recent developments in men’s attire have been particularly perplexing.

Chief among them is the apparent desire for young chaps to go around parading their bare ankles, with little (or no) socks hidden in the shoe and trousers turned up to expose the hairy area beneath.

This surging tide had been held back by some bastions of standards, but another has fallen after the Victoria Racing Club declared it okay for men to no longer put on socks when attending Flemington racecourse, home of the Melbourne Cup.