Alexandra King - Vintage Inspired Clothing. : Ask Alexandra

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Ask Alexandra - Tweeds at the races?

what to wear to Cheltenham festival ladies day

This weeks Ask Alexandra question is great for planning your ladies day outfits.

It's Cheltenham race season this week, being still quite cold, what can I wear and not have my skin go pimply and turn blue? Are tweeds OK and what colours please?

Tweeds are the fabric of the equestrian world and a tailored look on a chilly race day at Cheltenham Festival will be far more chic that trying to pretend its Spring in florals.

Take inspiration from the great French labels, Chanel does tweeds to perfection with her classic suits and teamed with a Hermes scarf would be divine.
For an androgynous look, Biba did it perfectly in the 1970s with fitted waistcoats and wide leg trousers with a neat shirt and tie 1920s style. There are so many ways to make tweed look beautiful.

I've had a look through the ladies day galleries of the past few years and have devised a few rules that should help you avoid looking like horsey trollop.

1. No super short skirts for Cheltenham. Its not summer, not a night club and the hooker look doesn't quite work for day events.

2. Make sure you can walk in your heels! Try a pair of heeled brogues, laced boots or take inspiration from the 1920s with a firm heel. Wobbling on stilettos in a field just makes you look dumb.

3. no boot - skirt gap as this just makes you look like an elephant in wellies with thick knees. Horrible.

4. Fascinators are wrong at the races. Wear a proper hat, tipped back on a tilt to show off your face.

5. Don't go mad. It's great fun dressing up but remember races are a day event. Subtlety and matching goes a long way.

Have a fabulous time at the races, we'll answer your summer questions in a few weeks on the run up to Ascot ladies day.