Attending Royal Ascot is a dream for many Americans.  While it can seem a daunting task (trust me, I feel your stress), it can be done.  I had numerous obstacles before attending, but I was determined not to be deterred.

 

 

It had been a lifelong dream of mine to attend Royal Ascot ever since watching “My Fair Lady”.  The Royal Ascot scene is probably one of my favorite scenes as it is visually stunning but also goes deeper.  It is Eliza Doolittle’s first public appearance after her makeover by Professor Higgins.  Will she fit in or not?  We all know the answer.  Despite looking the part, she does not fit in. I must admit, I was afraid that I would not fit in.

I have guided many clients through the gauntlet of preparing for Royal Ascot.  Many of them have attended the Kentucky Derby, but trust me, this experience is entirely different.  For one thing, there are rules about what it acceptable in each of the different categories.

There are four main categories/enclosures to choose from, each with differing rules for dress.  While some people feel daunted by the dress code, I actually like it as it gives some guidance and upgrades the experience for all.  That being said, we witnessed people breaking the rules.  Men wearing trainers for examples.  There were “fashion” guides at the entrance to help corral errant behavior.

1.  The Royal Enclosure – If attending in this enclosure, you must be invited.  There is no way purchase a ticket for this enclosure.
2. The Queen Anne Enclosure – This was the enclosure that we chose for Ladies Day.
3. The Village Enclosure – This was our enclosure for Ascot Opening Day.
4. The Windsor Enclosure – The most casual enclosure.

Here are my tips for success in getting ready for Royal Ascot.

1. Decide what day you would like to attend. I recommend Ladies Day or Opening Day. You may purchase tickets online.
2. When choosing your outfit, try to go with a neutral outfit or simple print. It will be easier to choose a hat to coordinate with your ensemble.
3. Pick your outfit a month before if possible. Time will go by incredibly quickly and it is important to have your clothing sorted out.
4. Don’t feel you need to purchase a new outfit.  I wore dresses that I had and they worked well.  I wore a black and white print on Opening Day and a solid white lace dress on Ladies Day.   Quite often, a new dress may not be as comfortable.

The biggest lesson for me was….

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

It was stressful planning and packing on such short notice, but it worked out. Book the trip, and buy the tickets.

What were my fears?

1. Would I fit in?
2. Would my hats be acceptable for this most fashionable millinery event?
3. Would the trip go smoothly?
4. How would we get from London to Ascot (which is in Berkshire, about one hour away)?

While we were taking the photo below on Ladies Day, we were invited to join a coach to Royal Ascot. The gentleman who invited is one of the Great Britain’s top etiquette professionals and has worked with King Charles III. Little miracles and random acts of kindness were around every corner for us.

 

Ascot Highlights:

1. Everywhere we turned, we saw beautiful hats.  It was visually stunning.
2. Seeing the Royal carriages with the King and Queen Consort roll by. They were about 50 feet from us, which I had not expected.
3. The food. People sometimes make fun of British food but the food we had was out of the world, especially Afternoon Tea on Opening Day.
4. The staff was incredibly helpful and grounds at Royal Ascot were stunning, filled with bright flowers.
5. I met the friendliest people. Everyone was so helpful. There was no judgement of hats and/or outfits. Everyone was just lovely.

 

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Fashion Highlights:

1. The predominant color in 2023 was spring green. My friend Melissa nailed that effortlessly on Opening Day! See photo below.
2. Many ladies wore espadrilles.  I always tell clients that no one will be looking at your shoes if you are wearing a stunning hat.  I wore flats and was so glad I did as I didn’t get tired. My flats are pictured below. After a busy Opening Day at Royal Ascot, we had the energy to do a ghost bus tour of London and walk along the Thames that night.
3. Many ladies wore lace, especially white. I was amused and happy that my dress for Ladies Day was rather similar to the dress worn by Zara Phillips.

Finally, the icing on the cake.

We were featured in a video on Royal Ascot’s social media page promoting Ascot.  I was beyond excited, so yes, we did pass the test!

When I was a little girl, my Mother read to me often.  One of my favorite books was “Toodles and Her Friends”.  It was about a cat, Toodles, who went through many obstacles but never gave up.  The cat would always say “Perseverance Pays”.  That little phrase has always stuck with me and encouraged me to never give up, both in professional and personal lives.

 

In designing hats, I am always the most proud of the hats that were the most difficult to design. I will generally design whatever the client requests, even though at the beginning of the project, I am not quite sure how it is all going to work out.

 

This hat was designed for Royal Ascot.  It was the very first hat that I designed for this prestigious event.  It had to be perfect!

My client lived on the West Coast and I was in Kentucky.  We emailed numerous photos back and forth.  I did not have the dress, which was a different shade of taupe than what showed up in photos. I found a local boutique that had the same dress in stock.  They graciously loaned me the dress so that I could make sure the feathers matched the dress.

My client was thrilled with the hat and received many compliments that day!

 

Often, the hats that are the most difficult to create are the ones that I fall madly in love with.  Much work goes into designing. I often wake up in the middle of the night with the answer to my design questions.

 

This was a design that I made for Nancy Cox, who was a local news anchor who covered the Kentucky Derby.  Nancy is a former Miss Kentucky and a delight to work with.  Since she was on air much of the day, I wanted something that stood out, was comfortable to wear and looked stunning with her dress.

 

 

The yellow dress was a great base.  I added the blue and white to add a little more color and give it height.  We were both excited with the results. Nancy was a winner on Derby Day.

 

I designed this hat for Margaret Guedes, who is the Founder/CEO of Kids Beating Cancer.  Margaret is a delight to work with. She always sends me a photo of her dress and we go from there. Her style is elegant and timeless.  We both were happy with the result.  Finding the right color flowers was a challenge but it all worked out in the end because “purrseverance pays”!