If there is one thing the British love, it’s getting on their Sunday finest and heading out for a day at the races. Never is this more apparent than at the famous Royal Ascot, when the gentry and horseracing fans alike descend on a small corner of Berkshire for five exciting days full of top-class racing, pageantry, hobnobbing and, yes, the height of formal fashion.
Where did you get that hat?
For over three centuries – the first Royal Ascot was held way back in 1711 – top and tails, extravagant gowns, priceless jewellery and watches more expensive than most houses are paraded around this royal raceway. However, one fashion item stands head and shoulders above the rest at the Royal Ascot – quite literally. The hats brought out for Ladies’ Day – the third day of the festival – attract the lenses of Fleet Street’s finest like nothing else, with a wild and wonderful display of outlandish headgear stretching as far as the eye can see.
The hats brought out for Ladies’ Day – the third day of the festival – attract the lenses of Fleet Street’s finest like nothing else.
Forever vying to outdo each other, the next hat appears to be even more daring than the last, and it’s an impossible ask to pick out your favourite. It’s almost as if anything goes, but there are in fact strict boundaries as to what you can and cannot adorn your head with. Chaps are particularly restricted – only a classic top hat will do (but then, it’s not likely that you’ll enter the Royal Ascot wearing a tattered baseball cap!). For the ladies, the only real limit is your imagination, but there are certain rules that you must abide by.
The Hatters House Rules
The Royal Ascot’s official dress code guide states that hats and headpieces must be worn at all times, and that the base must measure at least 10 centimetres in diameter. Fascinators are allowed, unless you’re lucky enough to be granted entry to the Royal Enclosure, where they are not permitted. A guide published by The Hat Club London, who provide outfits for the festival, lend the advice that both ladies and gentlemen should dress as though they are attending a joyous formal occasion, such as a wedding. Hence, shorts and t-shirts are out, and modest, yet elegant dresses are in.
Some 300,000 people attended the Royal Ascot 2015, from royalty to road workers, rubbing shoulders as one. Why not join them in June 2016 with Motive Travel? We’re heading on over for the festivities, and you’d be mad as a hatter to miss it!
