Arty Farty Fashion Party: royal ascot

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

Lady Helen Taylor at Ascot (via dailymail.co.uk)

My commute into work brings me through Waterloo which is also the station where most of the trains out to Ascot depart from. And so every day of Royal Ascot week, I am immersed in the throngs of morning tails, nude heels and multicoloured hats which are on their way to the races. It's a fascinating sight, especially when you're more used to a sea of grey business suits. However it always strikes me that, like men, most women ending looking very samey. When there's a dress code, that's bound to happen. But it does make me sad that so many people probably completely abandon their usual style and head straight to the nearest L.K Bennett or Coast in order to feel that they comply with rules which actually leave quite a lot of room for manoeuvre. There are variations of colours, brim widths and arm exposure but it still all ends up looking pretty uniform. There must be, or should be, some kind of Social Anthropology theory which explains it. Perhaps it's not really about the items but the way they get put together in such a ticking boxes kind of way. Dressing up is such a special thing that surely it should be one of the times when we're most imaginative with our outfits?

Anyway, Lady Helen Taylor did a brilliant job of showing that you don't have to sacrifice your personality for Ascot dressing. I'm pretty sure she's wearing a dress by Roksanda Ilincic and a hat by Marie Mercié (there's a similar one here at Avenue 32). Yes there are the ubiquitous nude heels but when their co-ordinating item is awesome round sunglasses, rather than a twee little clutch, they work. One of the traps that lots of racegoers seem to fall into is that everything must "match". Not true. Lady Helen's got a lovely blue manicure which co-ordinates with precisely nothing in her outfit, but it works because it throws the look off course a bit. It's unexpected. As are the jewels which look like they're chosen simply because she likes them rather than because they go particularly with anything else. While most matchy matchy gets boring, Lady Helen's hat and earrings are exactly the same same colour as her official name badge which is actually genius, whether it's intentional or not.

Lady Helen has an impressive fashion record already; she wore Erdem to the Royal Wedding and has collaborated closely with Giorgio Armani for years. The problem is that there's no way to really "learn" her kind of dressing. You either have the proverbial fashion balls and imagination to steer off the boring route, or you don't.

A DAY AT THE RACES

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The English summer is punctuated with social occasions ostensibly centered around sport- Wimbledon, Henley and, of course Royal Ascot to name but a few. Today, I was very happy to be invited to join Harrods on the second day of this year's Ascot event. As an avid people watcher and fashion enthusiast (obviously) an event like Ascot is a treat to attend. If any of you have been watching and enjoying Grayson Perry's brilliant series 'In the Best Possible Taste' then you'd have loved the opportunity I had today to see how everyone from a Jordanian Princess to a Spearmint Rhino loving lad approaches a day at Royal Ascot. As one woman I overheard on my way home stated, "It's not really about the horses is it? I spent all day looking at the fashion".

Despite plenty of publicity surrounding Royal Ascot's new fashion police and strict dress code policy, it seems to me that there's still plenty of room for guests to express their version of occasion dressing. There were horsey upper class ladies in the paddock discussing the muscle tone in number 7's right leg who looked like they'd had their housekeeper run up their outfit from the old curtains. There were terribly chic older women in loose dress coats and just-dramatic-enough hats. There was also every kind of interpretation of 'fashion' from rebel girls in studded biker boots and vintage fedoras to TOWIE disciples in mega short body con and a layer or ten of fake tan. Interestingly, the further down the stand you went, the more 'trashion' it got. The Queen has been attending Royal Ascot her whole life and it's safe to say she has been witness to big changes in the attire of those who attend. If she's half the people watcher I am- she's probably not, as she's famously much more interested in animals than people- then the 2012 version is all the more interesting for the microcosm it shows of how we dress now.

So a huge thanks to Harrods for a delightful day out and for providing a conventional catwalk show of some great British designers to go alongside the all-day parade of what British women wear now.

What I wore today... Including a lovely hat from Mich Dulce- a Filipino milliner who makes hats with a bit of humour but not so much that you can't be taken seriously at an event like Royal Ascot, and in my opinion much chicer than a few feathers glued to a hairband.

A bit of a pap shot I'm afraid, but I think this must be Marie Mercie, who is well known for cat hats. This is the first time I've seen a summer style and I like very, very much.

Lace was definitely the biggest trend of the day. This navy lace was EVERYWHERE. It's from Next and is based on the Erdem style Duchess Kate wore in Canada last year.

From Prada guipure coats to this... That's the span of Royal Ascot fashion.

The horses were invariably handsome and groomed to perfection

The Fashion Show...

Vivienne Westwood

Giles

Ginormous Westwood shoes

Stephen Webster mini trilby

More Stephen Webster

Giles

Westwood

Giles

And something for the boys...

Todd Lynn