Mary Poppins & 'Titanic?' Kentucky Derbygoers dress as iconic vintage characters each year

In 2023, Carrie Ketterman walked into Churchill Downs as though she’d just stepped onto the Titanic.

A few years earlier, her Kentucky Derby outfit was “practically perfect in every way” when she appeared as Mary Poppins.

The Kettermans live their lives as characters. Like a vintage hat pin in a fashion haystack, Carrie and Jeff Ketterman manage to turn heads at Churchill Downs, the storied track where the iconic race is run each year. They elegantly stand out in the vogue-filled crowd in an undeniably classic way. Their love of theater seeps into seemingly every part of the couple’s lives, including their passion for the Kentucky Derby.

The first time I met the Kettermans was in 2023 when I found a completely unexpected Rose at the Run for the Roses. Carrie was the spitting image of Rose DeWitt Bukater, Jack Dawson’s love interest from the 1997 film “Titanic.” I, certainly, wasn’t the first journalist to gravitate toward them in the Paddock. Our Courier Journal photographers have repeatedly taken their photos, and the Kettermans' characters have appeared in a few national publications.

A few months later, the Kettermans stunned me again as I walked up to their front door.

This delightful Derby duo doesn’t jet-set in from New York or Hollywood — they're local.

I walked through a whimsical tea garden, past a vintage camping trailer that nods to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and into their cozy kitchen in Corydon, Indiana. The Kettermans and their cat, Teacup, warmly welcomed me into their home, which doubles as one of their businesses The Old Capitol Tea Room. The private tea parties Carrie hosts are just a small part of what they describe as their “Technicolor Life.”

“The last four years with all of this angst and animosity, we like to be that little glimmer and that nods to the past when maybe times didn't seem as terrible as they do nowadays,” she told me.

They perform as Lucy and Desi impersonators and have a tribute show to the 1950s television sensation. They’re part of the bands Rosie & the Rockabillies, and The Tin Pan Alley Cats. Carrie is an artist, illustrator, and milliner, and Jeff has a day job working in a rail office.

Carrie doesn’t always dress in character, but for the past few years, she dressed almost exclusively in vintage. People often come up to her and ask her where she’s off to. With her catching, classic look it's easy to assume she’s going somewhere just as glamourous.

But sometimes, it’s just Walmart.

As we settled into the tearoom to chat, she poured me a cup of a mint julep-inspired tea in the spirit of the Kentucky Derby. Carrie has gone to the Kentucky Derby every year since Silver Charm’s win in 1997. The 2020 Kentucky Derby, when the stands were closed to fans, is the only one she’s missed. It’s her family tradition, so much so, that her brother, who lives in Switzerland, returns to Kentucky at least twice a year ― once for Christmas, and once for the Kentucky Derby.

Carrie and Jeff began dating in 2010 after they were both cast in a production of "The Music Man." He was Harold Hill and she was Marian the librarian. The musical has an iconic scene where the pair meet on a footbridge, and Marian professes her love for Harold.

Carrie likes to say she “never let him off the footbridge.”

They attended the Kentucky Derby together that year, but a few more springs passed before Carrie began treasure hunting through vintage shops to build costumes for characters.

The Kentucky Derby is seeped in tradition and history, and in a way, it has always reminded Carrie of the classic film “My Fair Lady,” which is set in 1913. That was the year Donerail — the longest shot to win the Kentucky Derby to date with 91-1 odds — won the 39th Run for the Roses. This was also right around the time the Kentucky Derby was blossoming into a national sensation.

In the film, Eliza Doolittle wears a dynamic, black and white hat, accented with pink and red flowers, and a flourishing black and white bow, so Carrie gathered all the embellishments to replicate it. The Edwardian period in the early 1900s when women still wore corsets and long skirts is among her favorite fashion eras.

“Edwardian just feels like what you should wear to the track,” Carrie told me. “I think I pull inspiration from that, and then if we can tie in a classic movie that we both love, that's another part of it.”

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The “My Fair Lady” look was such a success the next year, in 2018 they came to the track as Mary Poppins and her old friend, the jack-of-all-trade, Bert.

For the Kettermans, attending the Kentucky Derby as characters goes so much deeper than their curated, classic vintage look. Their British accents and bantering as Mary and Bert were all so convincing, at one point, another spectator even bought them a mint julep and welcomed them to Kentucky.

And true, they had crossed the Ohio River to come to the race, but they certainly hadn't journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean.

“Did you feel like Mary Poppins when you walked into the track?” I asked her.

“I did, and I think that’s our theater background,” she explained. “It’s another element of putting on the outfit.”

“The world is kind of a stage for you,” Jeff added, referring to Carrie's creativity. “Everything you do in your mind plays out on the stage.”

Of course, not every vision flourishes. A few years ago, she settled on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and just couldn’t bring the 1940s New York socialite to life. She ended up scrapping it.

The Kettermans would love to bring their beloved Lucy and Desi to the race, but the fashion from the 1950s doesn’t match what Carrie sees as the Kentucky Derby aesthetic. The pillboxes and capulets of that era are more subtle than the big brims from the Edwardian period.

Some years she starts planning her look the day after the Kentucky Derby. It can take a full year to find all the necessary vintage pieces.

All the while, she’s designing hats for other people. Carrie saves all the money she makes as a milliner, so she and Jeff can pay the ever-ballooning price of admission to the Kentucky Derby.

Even with the cost, they wouldn’t miss it.

So many people come up and take pictures with them at the track. Their vintage, character-driven looks inspire strangers to share stories about their grandparents and memories of simpler times.

“We've met so many people that we wouldn't have met otherwise,” Carrie told me.

The truth in that is something you don’t see, until you look beneath the brims of Rose, Eliza, and Mary Poppins’ hats. As we finished up our tea, Carrie confessed she was naturally shy. She’s not the type of person, who would introduce herself to strangers, but many of the characters she plays would.

As I said farewell to the Kettermans, I told them I’d see them at Churchill Downs in a couple of weeks.

And while they didn’t let me on the secret of who they were going to be on Kentucky Derby Day, somehow I had no doubt I'd spot them.

Even in a sea of 150,000 people, this Southern Indiana couple’s “Technicolor Life” shines among the crowd.

Features columnist Maggie Menderski writes about what makes Louisville, Southern Indiana and Kentucky unique, wonderful, and occasionally, a little weird. If you've got something in your family, your town or even your closet that fits that description — she wants to hear from you. Say hello at [email protected]. Follow along on Instagram @MaggieMenderski.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville area couple brings Titanic, Mary Poppins to Kentucky Derby