Pageantry Of Royal Ascot

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 242, 9 July 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

Pageantry Of Royal Ascot

Tradition and Modernism Side By Side At Famous Meeting

"Dominion" Special Service: By Airmail. London, June 14. fHE Royal Ascot race meeting opened with its usual splendour to-day. It was the Ascot of Dreams Come True: beautiful weather, beautiful frocks, and a course that was perfect for racing.' Bowing and smiling in response to the cheers, the King and Queen, the Duke of Kent and the Enr] of Harewood drove in an open landau up the Golden Mile in full Ascot state, with outriders and postillions in Ascot livery of scarlet, blue and gold.

TVILL Ascot dresses be different this ’ ' year? Every June we ask this question, and wonder whether repeated soakings will damp the ardour of women who wear beautiful flimsy dresses at the smartest race-meeting of the year.

This year when I visited some of the leading dress shops before the great event I found, controversy raging. Two important designers had refused to make long Ascot dresses. Others remained faithful to tradition, and long gowns of lace,* organdie, and muslin were paraded before me by the. mannequins. From a practical point of view, of course, short dresses are far more comfortable and really smarter. But on a fine day they are not nearly so attractive as wide-flowing ground-length gowns and broad-brimmed hats.

Some of the short dresses I saw were certainly most attractive. One I particularly liked was made of white silk pique with a coat of blue net and white lace sewn together in narrow stripes and fastening up the front with a concealed zip. The dress had a round yoke and short puffed sleeves. Both were edged with lace and net. The ensemble was worn with a large blue straw hat trimmed with white lace flowers. Prints, always popular in the summer, are being worn more than ever this year. I saw several dresses, most of them with draped neck and sleeve lines, in painted silk and satin—most attractive materials. Others were in plain materials trimmed with pique or linen. Dark blue trimmed with white is still a favourite. The Return of Lace. T NOTICED that lace has returned to A its old popularity. It is combined with georgette or organdie in both long and short Ascot frocks. One ensemble I saw had a dress of heavy blue georgette with a lace panel down the front, and a coat made of stripes of lace and georgette. A long frock, on the other hand, had a'full skirt of heavy lace, and lace was appliqued on the georgette bodice. The short coat was edged with fox fur and had full sleeves with lace appliqued on t£e lower part. The hat worn with this dress was of baku straw, with an applique of net flowers under its wide brim. I also saw a number of lace tailormades, generally worn with plain chiffon blouses. Accessories are also of great importance for Ascot, and the selections I have seen in the shops illustrate the Edwardian trend we have been following this year. Parasols are to be used a great deal, I am told, and they should match the dress. I saw one in purple chiffon covered with shaded anemones to match a pink dress. Another was green chiffon,' trimmed with frills of beige lace. Scarves, veils and other airy pieces of net are much in evidence. They soften the neck-line of a tallor-ma'de, and can be draped round a hat and tied under the chin to save it from breezes. They can be used cleverly to accentuate a colour scheme or to relieve a dark outfit. Flowers for boutonnieres are, of course, to be seen everywhere. Lilies-of-the-valley are favourite, but here, too, you can lot your imagination and your colour sense run wild. Long gloves for formal wear, an important part of the Ascot ensemble, are made in many attractive shades. They are usually of suede, and often have smart bags to match them. Hats are as varied as they can lie. I have seen huge brims and fiat crowns, small brims and high crowns, or no brims —and sometimes brims without Crowns.

Flowers and fruit for trimming are still as popular as ever, and yells

abound for both large and small hats. They are usually long, sometimes flowing, sometimes tied under the chin—a very becoming style. . Altogether, judging by Ascot fashions, we should have fun choosing our clothes for the remaining part of the summer.