Fashion police will be on patrol at Royal Ascot
The fashion police will be out in force at Royal Ascot, which starts tomorrow (19-23 June), enforcing the racecourse’s strict new dress code.
A team of “dress code assistants” will be on hand outside the course to advise patrons whose wear falls below the Ascot standard.
And a selection of waistcoats, ties, pashminas and other items will be available at the turnstiles for those who need them to stay within the rules.
Hats will be loaned, for a refundable deposit of up to £50, to ladies heading for the Royal Enclosure.
Ascot chief executive Charles Barnett said: “Ascot is Europe’s flagship race meeting and one of the world’s greatest sporting and social events.
“We have tried to provide an appropriate dress code that is clear, workable and in line with the wishes of racegoers.
“Over the past few months, a huge amount of planning has gone in to making sure that the implementation of the new code goes as smoothly as possible.
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“During the meeting itself, our team of special dress code assistants will help people with any queries that they may have.”
The new rules state that hats (of at least 4in/10cms diameter), rather than fascinators, must be worn in the Royal Enclosure.
And thigh-scrapers are out. Dresses and skirts should be “of modest length”, which is defined as “falling just above the knee or longer”.
As before, men must wear morning suits in the Royal Enclosure, but must wear a tie and waistcoat – cravats are banned – and a top hat.
In the less formal Grandstand, men are now required to wear a suit with a shirt and tie (the dress code previously stipulated simply, “shirt and tie”) while women’s “midriffs must be covered”.
Strapless or sheer strap dresses and tops are banned and “a hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times” in the Grandstand.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.