A Very Royal Occasion

Hi girls,

So it’s Royal Ascot this week. I go every year with my family as a tradition which started with my grandparents going in the 80’s and then my parents and aunties and uncles started going too. Now there’s about 15 of us; my boyfriend, my sister, my many cousins and their girlfriends/boyfriends etc. It’s quite an occasion.
Royal Ascot starts on Tuesday with the last day on Saturday. We always go on the Wednesday which is one of the days the Queen comes. A lot of people (especially young adults) go on the Saturday which is slightly less formal than during the week. It’s a really special day with lots of drinking and being merry (if you pace yourself!) and the shouting and adrenaline of placing a few bets and screaming for your horse to win.

For me one of the highlights is always seeing what everyone is wearing. Everybody looks so fabulous, glamorous, beautiful and elegant (most people anyway). The not quite so glamorous and fabulous are often featured on the Daily Mail the morning after. Us Brit’s do know how to have a jolly old time! You spot the women who went a bit too ambitious with their very high heels and from about 4pm you see them struggling to walk, ouch! Or you see the women who have worn their heels for the bare minimum requirement and are now walking around in either no shoes or flip flops on the pavement, sometimes wet grass etc. Then at around 5 or 6pm you see the very drunk men and women stumbling around after singing (more like shouting) a few songs at the bandstand performance and waving their hand held British flags. The atmosphere is fantastic and it does make me proud to be British. It’s a very royal British Summer occasion and I love it.

So this year, I decided to wear one of my Rixo dresses that I got in a sample sale a year ago. I’ve worn it before but that’s good as I’ve been making a conscious effort for the last year to get good use out of the many clothes in my wardrobe rather than instinctively going out and buying a new one. This dress was perfect Royal Enclosure Ascot approved; it was past my knees in length and no spaghetti straps or full shoulders on show. The dress was an absolute winner. I was comfy all day, wasn’t too hot (I would have been last year when it was +30 degrees!) and thank god I didn’t see anyone wearing the same dress as me 😉 God forbid!! I always love Rixo dresses, the fit is always perfect, the prints to die for and they fit me like a glove. This is called the Katie dress, I’ve put a link below to view online.
My shoes were from Office in the sale down to £34 (bought them last weekend) and they were super comfy – didn’t rub my feet or give me blisters all day. I’ve put a link below for the shoes, still available online. My hat is one borrowed from my mum who has a large collection – makes it easy! Then, you know me, where would I be without a bright lipstick! Red accessories calls for a bright red lip in my world. So I went with my trusty Nars satin lip pencil in colour Majella (below). I’ve talked about Nars lipsticks before and I’ll tell you again, they are THE BEST! This one lasts me all day and doesn’t smudge at all. I highly recommend.

https://www.rixo.co.uk/?s=Katie&post_type=product

https://www.office.co.uk/view/product/office_catalog/6/3451060000

https://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/en/majella-satin-lip-pencil/0607845092070.html?cgid=lip-pencils

Royal Ascot is just one of the many fabulous British Summer royal like engagements in the social calendar each year with the likes of Wimbledon, Henley Regatta and Goodwood coming up soon. If you’re going to any of these occasions or if you’ve got lots of wedding invitations this year, then of course I would firstly recommend you look inside your wardrobe to find a fabulous outfit, you probably have a dress hung up at the back that you’ve forgotten about. However, if it is time for a new dress and sometimes it really is, then I’ve pulled together some of my favourites out there at the moment, we all know it can be a real job to find an outfit, it takes a lot of time and thought!

Under £100
Topshop’s Austin dress..
Now I don’t want to promote Topshop much (every time I go in there I just think I don’t want to give my money to Phillip Green) but I must admit, the buyers have secured a winner with their Austin dress this season. I did buy the original print back in around March (below) as I couldn’t quite resist. It sold out in an instant and the buyers cottoned on quite quickly and re-coloured the dress in many prints a couple of months later. I love this one here and I’ve been tempted again but resisted. A fantastic price of £39 but with that comes the consequence of seeing many people in the same dress – I saw quite a few of the below at Ascot.
https://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/austin-floral-daisy-print-angel-sleeve-midi-dress-8812520Me in my Austin dress below on the left…

£100-200
Reiss Corinne Dress…
I’ve got my eye vaguely on this dress after seeing it on Instagram, it’s in the sale at £135 from £195. The print is just beautiful and can be dressed up with heels or dressed down with flats for summer holiday vibes. I used to work at Reiss on the shop floor many years ago and have a few Reiss dresses in my wardrobe, they are always such good quality, timeless prints, good fit and good value for money.
https://www.reiss.com/p/floral-printed-midi-dress-womens-corinne-in-pink/?category_id=11000&gaEeList=W%20-%20Sale%20-%20Dresses

Second Female Emanuel dress at Anthropologie…
I’ve actually tried this dress on as I fell in love with the colour and shape however it drowned me, you need to be tall to wear this!
The colour is just mesmerising and would look fabulous at a wedding with heels! Online and in store right now at £174 retail. I’d wear this with bright pink accessories but neutral accessories would look fabulous too.
https://www.anthropologie.com/en-gb/shop/second-female-emmanuel-dress?category=dress-shop&color=030&type=REGULAR

Over £300 – If you can afford it you might as well!
Rixo Cozi dress in leopard daisy floral…
As already mentioned, I love a Rixo dress and this one as been on my wish list for a while. The colours are just STUNNING! I would wear this with lilac or pink heels, matching colour earrings, headband and lipstick. Available online at £335 retail price.
https://www.rixo.co.uk/product/cozi-leopard-daisy-retro-flower/

ML Monique Lhuillier dress on Anthropologie…
This dress has just hit down in Anthropologie this week and I absolutely love it! An American designer who specialises in bridal as well as sophisticated elegant ready to wear dresses. I love the colours and the detailed embroidery on this dress. Available online only at £350. Anthropologie have a few dresses online by this designer so definitely check them out. I’d wear this with matching pink accessories and lipstick. As shown in the picture, it would look stunning with hair up and fabulous earrings.
https://www.anthropologie.com/en-gb/shop/ml-monique-lhuillier-floral-lace-dress?category=dress-shop&color=049&type=REGULAR

So I hope that’s given you some inspiration for some outfits this summer to whatever very royal occasion you’re off too!
Or if you’ve not planned anything yet then check out Tatler magazine’s online article (link below) for a list of all the British Summer social occasions to inspire you.
https://www.tatler.com/article/british-social-season

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures of my amazing time at Ascot this year.

Lots of love girls!! Xxxx

My gorgeous mother in her outfit, love a bit of pink and orange!