Yesterday I headed to
Royal Ascot with a group of friends. We were in the Royal Enclosure, so had to conform to the new super tight dress-code they put in place this year. If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know how long it took me to find the perfect hat (fascinator’s are no longer allowed). I was originally going to wear a
green DKNY dress, but after seeing the weather forecast (very windy) decided against it and opted for my LK Bennett dress as it doesn’t blow up around my neck in the wind. I’ll wear the green one for
Henley next week instead!
Anyway, we drove up, and after being very late and having to stop off at Sainsbury’s on the way for emergency hairspray and tights (my fingers always go straight through them), we finally got there at around 1pm. We met up with some other friends before having lunch and then heading to the Royal Enclosure Grandstand to see the Queen arrive in her carriage and then watch the first couple of races…
The ladies dressed up all fancy in pretty dresses and beautiful hats, and the men dressed all dapper in their mourning suits and top hats. It was like something out of My Fair Lady…
We had a front row view of the Queen and Prince Phillip, which was very exciting! (Although not quite as exciting as when we bumped into Matt Baker from Blue Peter/Countryfile in the queue for placing a bet!)
Ciara, me and Charles getting completely blown away by the wind!
Dress: L.K. Bennett
Hat: Accessorize
Me in front of the Royal Box. I definitely have my grandmother’s ankles (*cough* cankles), which is why I usually wear much higher heels to make them look like normal ankles!
We placed a couple of bets, and lost money. Note to self; Never choose a horse just because you like the name.
Our rather elegant looking little group…
…we then went up to the high seats to watch the racing from above…
Before going in search of some fashion disaster’s…
Interesting hat…
I’m still not sure how the gold-dress lady above was allowed in the Royal Enclosure with that dress length….so much for the new rules! The back of her hat had the Olympic rings on it.
We finished the day with home-made scones with clotted cream and jam and a beautiful bottle of red wine out of the back of my car, before heading back to London for the Royal Automobile Club Summer Party.
My mini scone sandwich, yummyyy!
Did you go to Ascot? What do you think of men in mourning suits? (I personally love them!)
Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
Find me on: Web | Instagram
I remember reading somewhere that if you break the dress code rules they make you wear a big orange sticker…
Im so jealous!!
You look absolutely gorgeous 🙂 x
Thank you lovely!
Cx
Maybe she hoisted it up when she got through? your outfit was perfect and you all looked fab! was you really that close to the queen? wow http://getthrifty.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you! Yes, that photo was taken with a pancake lens (no zoom whatsoever), I could literally touch the carriage as it rode past, it was wonderful to see her so close up!
Cx
Oh wow, it's my dream to be in an enclosure at the races and enjoy all the exciting things like you did (i.e. scones and cream). Bet it was fun people watching too. Loved your photos, they enabled me to imagine I was there! xxx
It was the best people watching place you could imagine! Glad you enjoyed, you should definitely go next year. See if you know anyone who is a member of the Royal Enclosure, if not, you can always get tickets for the general grandstand 🙂
Cx