Scrambling up into a 1911 Clement Bayard is far from lady-like.
That is why most veteran car drivers at the 69th annual Dunedin to Brighton Veteran Car Rally were men wearing suits and overalls on Saturday.
Tiffany Armiger stood out because she was one of only a few wearing beautiful dresses, corsets and uncomfortable shoes, which were the fashions of the era.
She admired the others in similar dress because they were not very practical for riding in automobiles of the early 1900s, she said.
"A few buttons pop now and then, and you quickly have to do them up again.
"But it’s a lot of fun once you’re in."
She said hats were not optional when going for a ride in a veteran car.
It did not matter how much work someone put into their hair-do, the wind would just tousle it to pieces. Hats hid it all very well, she said.
"We went in a car once without a roof or windows, and the wind — the knots in our hair were terrible."
"We call the car Eiffe — after the Eiffel Tower — because she was built in Paris in 1911.
"Sometimes she has other names, especially if she won’t start properly or I’m struggling to get in her."
The family was one of many who participated in the rally which attracted 34 vintage cars this year.
Enthusiasts came from Southland and as far afield as Cambridge to take part.
