[the outfit] Royal Ascot (aka 'pretending to be posh day')
23.6.14
If you follow me on instagram, you might have noticed that I went to the Royal Ascot last Friday. If you don't know, basically it's an annual horse racing event that the Queen attends every year. There is a dress code to be 'formal' and headpieces are usually the center of attention. Other than the actual race, of course.
(Casually hanging out with Queen Elizabeth)
Never in a bajillion years did I think I'd able to see the Queen of England up close. But it seems like I've been juicing my luck at meeting (or seeing from afar) famous people. Casually. Not many people can pull off a bright pink dress suit, but Queen Elizabeth looked amazing in it. There were two other carriages behind her with members of the royal family, but let's face it, I only know a handful of them, so who was in the actual carriage, I have no idea.
I wasn't intending on placing an actual bet, but after the excitement of the first race, my flatmate and I decided to bet on two horses in the second race. We only wanted to bet on one first, as it had a really cool name (which was our logic for picking horses from the start). But after a slight research, we placed a second bet on the Queen's horse. It's an understatement to say that we were excited and cheering as the horses passed us. As we couldn't see the actual finish line, we were listening intently on the broadcast, but all we could hear was the really standout names of the horses. My flatmate and I kept looking at each other with wide eyes saying things like, 'Is Boomshakerlacker first????' 'no, it's Bold Sniper???' 'Who's first?'. There was quite a bit of confusion, but in the end, we had won £2.50 on one horse while losing £2.50 on the other. For a first time bet, it wasn't that bad.
(changing into flats 3 seconds after the photos and the flatmate's snazzy socks)
While there's a formal dress code for the Royal Ascot, as we were in the peasant area (or officially known as the Silver Ring) it wasn't enforced on strict terms. But as we were already spending a shedload of money on the tickets and transportation, my friends and I decided to still dress up as formal as we could for the event.
As going to the Royal Ascot was quite a last minute decision, I didn't have a lot of time to search for the perfect dress. I was lucky enough to find this Forever 21coral dress on such short notice. It's versatile enough to dress up or down depending on the rest of the outfit, which was perfect as I didn't want to splash out for a dress I'd only wear once. The only slight grumble I can have with this dress is it hits at the most awkward length, which results in me looking 10cm shorter. I threw on my H&M Blazer over top to hide the bra back that was peeking out from the criss-cross back of the dress. I wore my black H&M ankle boots on the way there, but immediately after taking the photos, I changed into the comfy New Look white sandals I brought along. Flats all the way. Finishing off the outfit with a gold H&M statement necklace and the obligatory headpiece from Accessorize.
(reminder: unless you want to look like you have huge calves, never take a photo with your legs crossed)
I've mentioned this several times on the blog, but my flatmates are absolute sweethearts. I was carrying quite some weight in my bag yesterday, which included my camera and lens that always wants to make me cry. On the way there and back, the guys kept asking me every five minutes if I was okay carrying it around and if I needed them to take it from me. I don't like to pass off my bag for other people to carry as it's supposed to be my responsibilty in the first place. But my arms were already sore from carrying around half a library the day before, so eventually, I gave in and gave my bag to the guys. At one point, my Belgium flatmate asked my Swiss flatmate who was holding my bag if he needed to take over (as they both were shocked at how heavy my bag was), and my Swiss flatmate replied with 'it's fine. You can hold it on the way home for her later.' I mean, how do I even begin to say how much I love these two guys????
The Royal Ascot was a great experience. The horse loving side of me was ecstatic with the abundant four-legged animals racing across the field. It also made me want to get back on a horse and ride again. But just a day out, all dressed up and spending time with friends over Pimm's under the sun was definitely a way to kickstart the summer.
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