ROYAL ASCOT
The dress code for The Royal Enclosure is the strictest by some distance, and requires a hat or headpiece with a solid base of at least four inches in diameter.
Dresses and skirts must fall just above the knee or longer, and midriffs must not be visible. Straps need to be at least one inch wide, which rules out strapless, off-the-shoulder, halter neck and sheer styles. Trouser suits are permitted if full length, in matching colour and fabric, and jumpsuits are now formally permitted as well, provided they're full length and otherwise compliant.
We've done the hard work for you. Every style in our Royal Ascot Edit is built to meet the Royal Enclosure's requirements, so you can shop it without a second thought.
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL
Cheltenham Festival has no formally enforced dress code, the Jockey Club dropped it across its racecourses back in 2023, but tradition has quietly filled the gap anyway. Held in March, it calls for tweed, wool and proper tailoring, alongside coats and knee-high boots for a day spent largely outdoors on grass. It's a countryside-smart style rather than a strictly formal one, and a hat or headband is very much part of the look even without a rule requiring one.
Our coat dresses and trouser suit sets work particularly well here, built for exactly this kind of colder, layered dressing without losing any polish.
GLORIOUS GOODWOOD
Held in late July, Goodwood calls for the opposite approach entirely. Structure and formality give way to lighter fabrics, florals and softer tailoring suited to a warm summer afternoon. There's no enforced dress code here either, but the mood is unmistakably more relaxed and more playful than either Ascot or Cheltenham.
Our tea dresses suit Goodwood's warmer, easier mood, and pair beautifully with millinery for the finishing touch.
HATS & HEADPIECES
Whichever event is on the calendar, the headpiece is usually the detail that finishes the outfit. Get the scale, shape and formality right and it elevates everything underneath it; get it wrong and it's the first thing anyone notices.
We collaborate with some of British millinery's best names to create hats and headpieces suited to every event on the calendar, and can organise bespoke pieces made to pair perfectly with your outfit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We are absolute specialists within this area. We have a wonderful relationship with Royal Ascot. Our outfits are regularly chosen for their advertising campaigns and within their style guides for inspiration and reference of 'what to wear'.
We regularly dress members of the British Royal family and many celebrity clients for this event.
Our Annabel dresses are a great choice for powerful colour and incredible style. We can style your dress with incredible millinery from within our boutique and from our website. We can commission a piece on your behalf to go with your personality and preference. We work closely with 7 of the UKs best milliners.
We have been dressing incredible women for this event for almost 20 years. Our looks regular achieve Best Dressed status in Tatler, The British press and British Vogue.
Women must wear a hat or headpiece with a solid base of at least four inches (10cm) in diameter, dresses or skirts falling just above the knee or longer, with midriffs covered and straps at least one inch wide. Strapless, off-the-shoulder, halter neck and sheer styles are not permitted. Trouser suits and jumpsuits are allowed if full length and in matching colour and fabric.
The winter jumps season requires warmth and chic glamour. A beautifully cut coat will be an elegant and appropriate choice.
Opt for our Washington Coat. Refined warmth and an appropriate longer length to be styled with slim leather boots.
Choose a chic velvet headband, felt fedora or chic pillbox and complete with elegant leather gloves
There's no formally enforced dress code at Cheltenham, but the strong tradition is countryside-smart tailoring: tweed, wool coats and knee-high boots, given the event falls in March and much of it takes place outdoors on grass. Hats, headbands and fascinators are a firm part of the look, even without a strict requirement to wear one.
It depends on the enclosure. In the Royal Enclosure, a fascinator is only acceptable if its base measures at least four inches (10cm) in diameter, the same rule that applies to hats. In the Queen Anne and Village Enclosures, this rule doesn't apply, and any fascinator is acceptable.
Absolutely. Our in-house tailoring and specialist alterations service means we can adapt any piece from our ready-to-wear collection to fit you perfectly.
For something truly personal, we also offer a Made to Measure service. It begins with a consultation, either in store or over video if you’re based overseas. We then cut a pattern to your exact measurements and create your garment much as a wedding dress would be made, starting with a calico toile and guiding you through every fitting to completion.
The process takes between 4 and 12 weeks, depending on the complexity of the look and how involved you’d like to be. As specialists in this field, we create garments up to a UK size 22 (US size 18).