Flowers, frills, feathers and fans

 

The Queen was dressed simply, in powder blue, for the first day of Royal Ascot. My own curiously cobbled together outfit comprised of faded pastel shades – I customized an old pair of Top Shop shoes with ‘found’ floral embellishment, which I’d purloined from a vintage hat the night before. Thankfullly, I found a pair of 'nude' tights before I left too...

I wore one of the 'mad hatter' creations from my extensive millinery collection, along with a Missoni (thrift shop) dress, a vintage couture jacket and a 1950s beaded bag,which was borrowed from ShopCurious. Amazingly, I didn’t spot anyone wearing anything similar…

Along with the inevitable red, white and blue, hat and dress trends on Tuesday seemed to fall into several categories: Floral hats – ranging from modern, nature inspired to old fashioned bathing cap style.

Frills (and later in the day spills) were spotted on hats and dresses alike.

      
































Feathers were everywhere – occasionally getting in the way.

One lady couldn’t get enough of them and took a spare hat along, just in case her companion didn't turn up for afternoon tea.

Flying saucer hats were also in evidence, like the ones worn by retro girl-band, The Tootsie Rollers (below right). 

And there were Far Eastern style fan-pleated numbers too.












As well as fitted trouser suits. One woman sitting under an escalator reminded me of Diane Keaton. Whilst another seemed to be wearing her pyjamas.

Then there were the fashion mavericks – like Tracy Rose, who never conforms to any style but her own. 

I also noticed a couple of girls with crazy tattoos. And, from afar, saw a fabulous pair of striped-heeled sandals.

    

After a fun day of fashion spotting, I pirouetted back to the car park. Next time I might even watch the races..

Will you?

PS check out men’s racy Ascot fashions in today’s post at The Dabbler.

Racing towards Royal Ascot...

With Father’s Day almost upon us, there’s still time to order a unique vintage gift from ShopCurious. Seeing as it’s almost Royal Ascot Week too, these1950s mother of pearl and gold horse-head cufflinks would be perfect if your dad’s off to the races.











Alternatively, for a more classic look, choose from our selection of stylish and sophisticated links.

And you don’t have to be a man to wear cufflinks – or to dress up for the races in curious style… Why not take inspiration from Marlene Dietrich?

 
 Will you?  

Hats, history and racing fashion

Styles have changed dramatically over the past 300 years, but the tradition of the Royal Ascot race meeting has remained an annual fixture of the summer social season. The event has become an occasion for racegoers from all over the world to indulge in a little English eccentricity – wearing quirky hats, unique accessories and curiously original clothing.

I’m not sure whether Royal Ascot has always been as much about the fashion as the horse racing, but photographic evidence from past decades shows that dressing up has certainly been a major part of proceedings.




In celebration of the 300th Anniversary of Royal Ascot, the display of vintage photographs of royals and celebrities at the event includes this stylish shot of Sophia Loren in a wonderfully wide brimmed hat - along with pictures of some of the more curious clothing, like these over-the-top outfits from the ‘swinging sixties’:
















Nowadays with catwalk shows, a Fashion Bar and live televised fashion commentary, Royal Ascot has become a firm favourite with fashionistas and designers alike.














Like most women, I'm not so much interested in the racing as the parade of hats, handbags and amazing attire on show. Apart from the official dress code, the way people choose to ‘dress up’ is a matter of personal taste... On the first day, yesterday, I noticed that flowers were very much in fashion.




















I wore Vivienne Westwood with a recycled hat, accessorized with a floral hairslide, found in a drawer just before I left. I jazzed up my look with quirky '70s style snakeskin shoes, a vintage basket bag and a tasseled natural stone necklace from ShopCurious – worn sideways, of course.




















Some ladies opted for the retro look – from 1930s floaty tea dress to 1950s prom style.




















Others were more fashion forward, like Vivienne Westwood's head of couture, in a futuristic flying saucer hat by Philip Treacy – and a rather arty looking Aussie visitor.




















One lady definitely stood out from the crowd in a pearl encrusted, rose-adorned Marie Antoinette style wig. A simple, cat-eared hat by Stephen Jones was also rather different from the mainstream.




















Men are able to express their individuality at Royal Ascot too. Photographer, Francis Mander, arrived looking as though he was ready for a spot of farming. And one chap, wearing a pith helmet, had obviously got on the wrong ‘plane.




















Some wore exotic headgear and brightly coloured waistcoats.




















And David Shilling’s Royal Ascot birthday tribute topper was madly marvellous.



















From old to new, there were some blinging accessories on show as well - from rhinestone bejewelled antique watches to crystal covered mobile 'phones.


























Best of all, it was a lovely sunny day, and everyone seemed to be smiling…

Are you?

Champions of curious creativity

There’s so much going on in London - I sometimes worry about venturing outside our culture-crazed capital, for fear of missing something… Nevertheless, next week I’ll be travelling a few miles up the road to attend Royal Ascot. I’ve yet to decide which hats to wear. I’ll probably find myself doing a bit of DIY decoration at the very last minute.

As florals are in fashion, I might take my inspiration from the finalists in the Florist of the Year award at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, whose theme was 'a day at the races'. They created these magnificent jockey vests from freshly cut flowers, all displayed around Tom Hare’s stunning 2-D willow sketch of a race horse (see right and below).

































































For men, one of the advantages of Royal Ascot is that they get to dress up too. If you’re going along, ShopCurious has some curiously appropriate accessories, like these vintage ‘steeplechase’ cufflinks, which will certainly set you apart from the crowd. They’d also make a great gift for Father’s Day, which is useful, since that falls just after Royal Ascot – so if you’re curiously clever, you can save a few bob by using them for both…

Will you?