By Charlotte Tonkin
Flamingos, jailbirds and Frankensteins are just some of the creations which have taken over Wellington's Westpac Stadium for the rugby sevens.
This is the one time where in a crowd of 35,000 – if you're not in a costume – you stand out.
But before the rugby kicked off, there was a fierce battle off the field for the title of best dressed.
Last year's winners came unstuck in their lycra, and the ruby red slippers from the Wellington Dorothy's weren't enough to impress the judges – who awarded first prize to something a little less wholesome.
The two-day sevens tournament is notorious for the costumes outshining the competition.
“Let's be honest, how many games do we actually watch – we go to dress up,” said Mel Jagusch, dressed as a pink flamingo.
Robyn Scott and Kate Doig chose to don bagpipes over a bottle of whisky and the Loch Ness monster.
“We wanted to go traditional, not too tarty, so we went with bag pipes because we thought it would be the easiest option,” said Ms Scott.
But it's not the easiest day for police who are meant to be controlling the chaos rather than being consumed by it.
“It's all part of the season, this is the events season for Wellington, the guys are all up for it so it doesn't faze them,” said Simon Perry of the Wellington police.
Now in its 11th year, the sevens remains an event for the committed.
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