Royal Ascot Fashion Guidelines Revealed

The 2012 Royal Ascot racing event has announced what is acceptable to wear at this year’s event. The horseracing occasion is often seen as more of a fashion parade for many than a sporting event.

The 2012 Royal Ascot racing event has announced what is acceptable to wear at this year’s event. The horseracing occasion is often seen as more of a fashion parade for many than a sporting event.

Ascot Racecourse today unveiled the dress code for the Royal Meeting, which takes place from the 19th to 23rd June. The guidelines on what to wear has been designed to assist visitors from making a fashion faux pas.

“Royal Ascot is a unique, stand alone event in the sporting and social calendar and dressing accordingly is part of the experience.” The racecourse say, adding, “Whilst the spirit of the dress code has always reflected this, the letter of it has arguably lacked clarity, leading in some cases to misunderstanding of what constitutes appropriate attire for this formal occasion.”

Ascot now hopes that visitors to the Royal Enclosure and Grandstand will find the new wording of assistance when selecting their outfits for the yearly event.

Charles Barnett, Chief Executive at Ascot, says of the new guidelines, “We have worked extensively with experts in the world of fashion to define better what formal dress means, with the overarching intention of being as helpful as possible to our visitors and assisting everyone in understanding what is expected and, we believe, cherished about the dress code at Royal Ascot.

“It isn’t a question of elitism and not being modern in a world where there is less and less requirement to dress smartly – far from it. We want to see modern and stylish dress at Royal Ascot, just within the parameters of formal wear, and the feedback we have received from our customers overwhelmingly supports that.”

The guidelines include for ladies in the Royal Enclosure to make sure that “Dresses and skirts should be of modest length defined as falling just above the knee or longer.” This replaces the less clear instruction that miniskirts are considered unsuitable. After all, the Queen has seen her children marry enough tarty looking women in her time. She doesn’t want to be reminded of that now does she?

Hats are noted that they should be worn however you can get away with wearing “a headpiece which has a base of 4 inches or more in diameter.” The rule notes that fascinators are no longer permitted in the Royal Enclosure.

For the ladies in the Grandstand Enclosure Ascot note that “A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times.” This replaces advice that many ladies wear hats but this is not compulsory. While clothing should not contain “Strapless or sheer strap dresses or tops are not permitted.”

For men it’s a little more simple, for the Royal Enclosure “Gentlemen are kindly reminded that it is a requirement to wear either black or grey morning dress which must include a waistcoat and tie (no cravats), a black or grey top hat and black shoes.” This clarifies that cravats are not acceptable and that black shoes should be worn with morning dress.

While the Grandstand Enclosure sees males “required to wear a suit and tie.”

Sarah Harris, Fashion Features Editor, Vogue, says of the racing event, “Royal Ascot is one of the most prestigious events of the season and improving the dress code wording will ensure that the event remains iconic and a strong part of the fashion calendar.”

Other ‘less prestigious’ sections of the racecourse isn’t under the fashion police’s spotlight with the basic rules that no formal dress code applies in the Silver Ring except that replica sports shirts are not permitted and fancy dress, novelty and branded or promotional clothing are not allowed on site.