Hatinators and the new rules of Ascot dressing

Telegraph

10-04-2025

How to dress for the famous horse racing meet in June has always been a fascinating blend of tradition with a dash of modernity.
As Ascot racecourse releases its official lookbook overseen by creative director of the festival, British designer Daniel Fletcher, we assess the changing style and social mores in the enclosures.
The Gentlemen
by Stephen Doig
When King Charles casts his eye over the crowds at Ascot 2025, set to take place from 17-21 June, he may well alight on some looks that are something of a departure at the rigidly decorous occasion.
A flash of mannish bare leg, for example – hitherto an absolute 'no no' at Ascot, but granted within the Windsor enclosure. Actually, there's no dress code for the Windsor enclosure, but 'smart daywear' is the order of the day.
Dare you bare in shorts? You certainly have permission, because they feature in the official lookbook that has debuted today, curated by British designer Daniel Fletcher, who balances his work with Chinese brand Mithidrate alongside acting as creative director to Ascot.
The guide lends some suggestions for ensembles to wear within the various enclosures, as well as some general stylistic themes, from 'Best of British' to 'Prints & Patterns'.
While you might not agree that revealing some acreage of calf isn't quite the done thing at Ascot, there are plenty of outfits that will happily stand up to anything the King – a regular attendee – might wear, according to the dress codes of the various enclosures. Let's start with the most lofty and prestigious; the Royal Enclosure.
There are handsome morning suits, with Pall Mall formalwear outfitter Favourbrook acting as the official outfitter RP. There are subtle sartorial mores associated with morning suits and the fine details of how to wear them – more on that to come later – but patrician eyebrows were raised in 2021 when navy was granted as a colour for morning attire.
That was deemed controversial as it's a shade associated with citified, corporate attire; the old guard presumably deeming it a tad arriviste.
King Charles, as it happens, tends to wear a grey Anderson & Sheppard morning suit with lilac and pink accessories, if you're looking for a point of reference.
There are also suggestions for the less formal set-ups within Ascot; colourful suiting features by way of a handsome sage-green suit, and elsewhere suits are worn with sweaters and a little foulard, if you're feeling rather outré.
There's also a nod to sensual Seventies style in silk shirting, as well as the more classic varieties of single-breasted suits worn with pinstriped shirts and club ties, for a hint of Gordon Gekko. Perhaps a more soft-focus and English take on suiting is the cream chalk-striped suit worn with pastel shirting, bi-coloured loafers and a jaunty straw panama hat.
It's just the thing to see you through the 'season' – as it was ceremoniously called during the Edwardian era – from Henley to Glyndebourne and various garden parties, and has just a touch of Sebastian Flyte about it. Which is no bad thing.
The Ladies
by Jessica Burrell
Ever since men were required to wear top hats in the Royal Enclosure in the late 18th century, headpieces have been a focal point of the Royal Ascot dress code. For women, regulations require a minimum base diameter of four inches, along with a dress or skirt falling 'just above the knee' – or, as of 2017, a jumpsuit.
But this year, fashion-forward racegoers might trade their traditional hats for 'hatinators', which are mentioned in the official dress code. As the name implies, these combine the features of a hat and a fascinator, with a larger structure worn on a headband or hair clip rather than directly on the head.
They are also a frequent feature in this year's Royal Ascot lookbook, which was launched today. Introduced last year as an inspirational guide for attendees, the lookbook is styled by British designer Daniel Fletcher, whose namesake brand is popular with young tastemakers including Alexa Chung and Robert Pattinson.
Among this year's suggested looks for women are a striped and floral Vivienne Westwood suit styled with a large blush-pink hatinator by Merve Bayindir, which resembles a rose.
It's an elegant look from a 'Best of British' section in the lookbook, which also stars pretty pink pastels including a top and skirt by Suzannah London paired with a bow-adorned hat by Lock & Co.
Another hatinator highlight comes courtesy of Filipa Cardoso's sheer pastel-blue face-framer, which looks fresh paired with a shirt and skirt from Rotate Birger Christensen. Clearly, separates are going to be the order of the day in the Royal Enclosure this year.
Classic hat styles stray towards the rather more outré, including a towering oversized yellow pillbox style and something resembling a lampshade from Harvy Santos, as well as a fully feathered peach basket style from Rachel Trevor Morgan.
The latter is worn with a vintage Prada dress sourced from Sign of the Times, a luxury resale store in London and online, so perhaps Fletcher is appealing to younger racegoers. In any case, one must commend his suggestion of bringing pre-loved fashion into your occasionwear wardrobe.
For those looking to play things a little safer, on-trend polka dots look set to be a winner. This classic look dominates the 'Prints & Patterns' section of Fletcher's look book and recalls Julia Roberts' race day look in Pretty Woman, which was also channelled by the Princess of Wales in black and white Alessandra Rich polka dots for Ascot in 2022.