The First Day of Royal Ascot Kicks Off in Style

For some, it’s all about the horses but for others the fashion is the main draw.

TOM DULAT//GETTY IMAGES

It’s the first day of Royal Ascot and thousands of racegoers have headed to Windsor for the much-anticipated five-day event. For some, the race meeting is all about the horses, but for others it’s the fashion that is the big draw.

From the flamboyant to the fragile, the dramatic to the dainty, hats are always center stage at Royal Ascot. And today, royals, celebrities and the general public did not disappoint as they topped off their outfits with some stunning headpieces.

King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving at Ascot.SAMIR HUSSEIN//GETTY IMAGES

Queen Camilla made her debut as Queen in a white Dior outfit with matching hat by Philip Treacy, while Princess Anne chose a pale green ensemble. Other racegoers were decked out in vibrant colors, with hats and fascinators of all shapes and sizes. 

“Royal Ascot is very important to us as milliners, it’s a place to showcase our talents, our fantastic hats, to have fun with designs and, as everyone needs to wear one, it helps keep the industry going,” says milliner Katherine Elizabeth whose eponymous hat-making business specializes in designer millinery, handmade hats, and formal toppers for ladies. “It offers me the chance to be creative, think outside the box and design wonderful hats for women to wear. These hats make them feel more confident, look more beautiful, feel taller and more elegant.”

Model Eunice Olumide wore a dramatic yellow hat to the first day of Royal Ascot 2023.KIRSTIN SINCLAIR//GETTY IMAGES

Describing Royal Ascot as her “favorite time of year,” Katherine says that this year she is expecting to see some trends worn at the coronation also in Ascot hats. “One of the trends highlighted during the coronation was leaves,” she says. “The Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, and the Duchess of Edinburgh were all wearing gorgeous headpieces featuring leaves. The nature trend has been around for some time but we’re now looking more at leaves than flowers…Leaves are on trend but I also still expect to see flowers on hats.”

A racegoer in one of the more over-the-top hats at Ascot today.KIRSTIN SINCLAIR

Royal Ascot has a strict dress code, particularly inside the royal enclosure where skirts must be below the knee or longer, shoulder strap must be a minimum of one inch and hats or headpieces with a diameter of at least four inches are required. Men must wear morning dress in black, grey or navy.

While women have been allowed to wear trousers at Royal Ascot since 1971, this year the Telegraph has reported that the event is “encouraging” female racegoers to wear the ensembles through fashion edits in its style guide. And it seems that several women were picking up the trend, with plenty of people opting for trousers over skirts and dresses.

DAVID M. BENETT

KIRSTIN SINCLAIR

“We have seen Kate Middleton set the trend for trousers suits,” says Alexandra Wood, Saville Row’s first female tailor, referring to the fact that Kate has frequently worn trouser suits on official engagements in recent months. “The Princess of Wales makes them look feminine and glamorous, in statement colours such as bold reds, soft pinks and blues.” She adds, “Ascot is set to be a scorcher so a super lightweight trouser suit would certainly be my preference with a large hat for shade.”