Royal Ascot

This year, at the end of June, I attended the Royal Ascot which is the long standing traditional English equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. Differences being - the hats are not just for fun but part of the dress code, and a woman named Queen Elizabeth makes a daily appearance. 

 

For my foreign friends and I, this was one of those quintessentially English experiences we were eager to take part of after much anticipation and preparation.

 

Ok, I'll admit that one of my main incentives to go was an excuse to wear a fascinator!

 

The review:

 

The Weather: balmy 57F degrees and patch of drizzle. I believe my outfit changed 4 times in the span of a week in order to strike the balance of dressy but comfortable and suitable for rain, wind, cloud, sun & cold - whichever combination would appear in the span of 9 hours.

 

The Outfits: See above - I'll admit in the end I had purchased 3 fascinators and wound up returning 2 of them. My outfit changed from summery to wintery and not knowing the best place to go for a fascinator, the last minute department store sales wound up getting me a better price closer to the event.

The stress my whole group went through dressing for this event was comical. We were exchanging links and pics of ourselves in various hats. Fascinators were required of women in the Grandstand and full hats for the posh people in the Royal Enclosure where you have to know someone to be invited in.

On the subject of outfits, the people watching was outstanding. While the website clearly states the dresscode and even offers videos of example attire, there are many that take liberties.

Fascinator + mini skirt + tatoos + fake eyelashes + teased hair, does not = posh (or sexy, for that matter).  That's all I'm saying.

The Betting: I lost. Apparently, placing random small bets on the American horses only is not the best strategy.

The Food: I ate Pizza Express and drank wine. Classy.

The Venue: Ascot is beautiful, the place seemed well planned out. The mobile reception was practically non-existent which was annoying and caused some problem in connecting with friends I had left tickets for at the box office. Despite the crowds, things seemed to run smoothly and the train station is a short walk away.

The Royalty: I saw the Queen! Every day she appears for a procession from her residence at Windsor Castle, through the park and up into the Ascot stadium to wave at the crowd. This event basically takes place in her backyard, and the Queen always has a horse racing in the competition. She was there despite the drizzling rain with her umbrella matching her attire.

The Queen - there she is!

 The Tradition: Queen - check!, singing of National Anthem - God Save the Queen, check!

After the races, the crowd is invited to the bandstand out front for the "singing of traditional songs". This basically means the drunken crowd throws their arms around each other and sings karaoke style to classic American tunes like "New York, New York" (???)  Ascot Singing around the Bandstand - 2013.  Brits sure love a good sing along!

 

Royal Ascot 2013