Ascot hat hire

What should I wear to Royal Ascot?

Royal Ascot is the high point of the British millinery and fashion calendar.

Taking place in June each year, it is a five day festival of fashion, royalty, horse racing, pageantry and most importantly – to us at least - hats.

Unlike at a wedding, where you don’t want to overshadow the bride in the style stakes, at Royal Ascot you can be as flamboyant as you like and there are some truly gravity-defying millinery creations on display every year. However, fancy dress and novelty outfits are not allowed, and many women choose to wear an elegant outfit rather than something to make them stand out – whatever your style, we’ll have a headpiece to suit you, so once you’ve chosen your outfit, get in touch.

Any of the pieces from our Spring/Summer collection suit Royal Ascot, and with the exception of a few of our smaller headbands, all our headpieces are compliant with the Royal Enclosure dress code.

The lead up to Royal Ascot is our busiest time of year – so if there is a particular piece in our collection you want to wear, we recommend you get in touch early! We CAN work miracles though, so if you find yourself hat-less with 24 hours to go, contact us and we’ll see what we can do.

You can come to our studio in St Albans to try on the hats and see what suits you and your outfit, or if that’s too far away, we can send you some options via email/WhatsApp - we promise this works and the colours will match.

There are four different enclosures at Royal Ascot, each with a slightly different dress-code, so check which enclosure you will be in as if you don’t meet the dress code you may be taken aside and given a hat to wear (and we can’t promise it will be as fabulous as ours!)

What should I wear to Ladies’ Day at Ascot?

Thursday of Royal Ascot is known colloquially as ‘Ladies’ Day’ where many guests - particularly ladies - go the extra mile with their outfits. To really stand out from the crowd you could wear one of our statement Spring/Summer pieces such as ‘Flame’ or ‘Elixir’. However, don’t feel you have to do that - a lot of women don’t want to stand out and choose something more relaxed. Remember that Ascot is a long day and unless you’re lucky enough to be in a private box, there’s a fair bit of moving around the racecourse and standing, so think about your feet as well when choosing your shoes! (The flip-flop sellers outside the racecourse do a roaring trade at the end of the day for women who have chosen agonisingly high heels.)

I’m going to a race meeting at Ascot Racecourse - is the dress code the same as Royal Ascot?

No, outside of Royal Ascot, race meetings held at Ascot Racecourse are more relaxed. You will see hats at most race meetings, but there is no obligation to wear one and the fashion is less flamboyant.

Our free styling service is there to help, get in touch with details or photographs of the rest of your outfit and we will be happy to advise.