Wednesday 17 June 2015

Five royal outfits as Ascots starts

And they're off. The ladies of the Royal Family have headed to Ascot for the opening day and we got a  lot of colour, some striking designs and even a bit of royal baby bump guessing.


Zara Tindall in yellow made the front page of today's papers

Here are five Windsor ladies in their Ascot best for day one.

The Queen


Maybe it's a nod to her new great granddaughter but the Queen started Royal Ascot 2015 in bright pink. The cerise coat was worn over a print dress and with a hat that was almost the shocking Schiaparelli shade of the colour.



It was bright and meant that against the still slightly grey skies of Ascot - they cleared later - the Queen stood out allowing all those who had been waiting ages for a glimpse got their wish.


 
 


 Ascot perfection, again.


Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall


It was an ice blue coat with matching hat for the Duchess of Cornwall. Lots of white trim on this one and overall it was a pretty, light and summery look for Camilla if not rather what we've come to expect of her.


 
 

 She is showing a preference for front buttoning coats with V line necks and the duchess has always loved a statement hat.


 
 

This one came with a two tone flourish under the brim which worked from a distance but was harder to pull off close up. Overall opinion - very Camilla.



Sophie, Countess of Wessex


Sophie, not for the first time this year, was a real fashion winner at the Ascot opening day. That line was made famous in My Fair Lady and Sophie did seem to have put in a nod to Audrey Hepburn in her choice of outfit. The neckline was very Edwardian, just like the famous lacy dream of a dress worn by the actress as Eliza Doolittle in the Ascot scenes, although Sophie's had cap sleeves and turned into a fitted outfit that stopped mid calf. And it looked great.


The hat was more reminiscent of the white saucer that Kate wore for Trooping the Colour but, dare we say it, Sophie wore it better. This was a larger, more transparent hat and had the sense of grandeur missing in Saturday's offering. It was summery but still striking.



The whole look was very modern for Sophie who can sometimes play it too safe and the countess looked stunning as a result. Overall opinion - cutting edge and cutting ahead of the fashion pack.


Anne, the Princess Royal


Did the Princess Royal put on an Ascot outfit or did she just grab her mack? In some shots, the beige coat that Anne chose looks rather elegant and in others it looks like, well, a mack.


 

We did get some print action from the princess - unfortunately, it was two different prints which didn't seem to go with one another but they did add a fashion dash to the ensemble. There was a feather effect on the underside of her rather lovely hat  to go with the feather on its outside and then a kind of 70s print on the top underneath the coat. 



It was busy in beige for the princess who can certainly carry off an outfit - if anyone could make this work, it's Anne. Overall opinion - a few too many good ideas not quite gelling together.


Zara Tindall


With Kate allowed at least three months off from royal baby speculation following the birth of Princess Charlotte, the obsession with staring at tummies and wondering if the Queen is about to get another great grandchild switched to Zara Tindall who wore bright yellow which didn't seem to fit. Her tummy looked rather obvious in it causing a wave of is she, isn't she comments.


 

 Zara clearly couldn't have cared less. The sunny dress and hat matched her smile to perfection and she seemed to be having a great time, even patting her tum once or twice to keep those staring on their toes. Overall opinion - bright, brilliant, bump guessing fun.



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