Royal Ascot (17th to 21st June) is one of the highlights of the British season. Being British, we sometimes feel anxious about dress codes at such events. One person to go to for help and advice is Kristian Robson, Owner and Creative Director of Oliver Brown, who supply formal and country tailoring. Kristian gives a few tips below for selecting morning wear and top hats for such events.
Oliver Brown has been a popular destination for sartorially-aware gentleman for over thirty years, specialising in formal and traditional menswear, it is also the oldest independent top hat retailer in London.
Their Royal Ascot Collection comprises of plain black barathea wool and black herringbone morning coats, grey morning suits, traditional striped and houndstooth morning trousers, and a huge selection of single and double-breasted waistcoats. They also have a wonderful collection of new and vintage silk top hats at their shop in Lower Sloane Street, Chelsea, London.
Kristian Robson gave me a few tips for about top hats and morning wear for Royal Ascot -
TOP HATS
“Antique silk black top hats are considered the height of beauty and elegance because of their impressive shine, shape and lightness.”
“It’s so important that your top hat sits correctly, it should rest comfortably one inch above the ears, sitting completely straight - it’s not like wearing a cowboy hat!”
“The shape and height of antique silk top hats evolved somewhat over the years, with the crowns gradually becoming taller in height and the brims narrower. The most common shape of antique silk top hats is the ‘bell-shape’ which has slightly curved sides, but there are also examples such as the ‘stove-pipe’ which has straight sides and is particularly tall.”
“The shape you opt for is a personal choice, for example if you have a smaller head you may want to opt for a crown lower in height that could suit you better.”
“Antique silk top hats are largely found in black, but can also be brown or grey (which is often referred to as ‘white’ even though they are in fact grey in colour), and although extremely rare from time to time we have these colours available at Oliver Brown.”
“Black is sometimes thought of as more formal, though any colour can worn to finish a morning suit or tails, and worn to all occasions.”
MORNING WEAR
“The full three piece grey morning suit is back in fashion. I think that this worn with a black silk top hat will be a very popular look this year.”
“When it comes to waistcoats, the ‘old school’ black morning waistcoats with white slips are the most traditional – all the royals wear these.”
“Plain coloured waistcoats in pale blue, pale yellow, grey and buff in plain wool or linen are very easy to wear and are the most popular.”
“Some now choose to go wild so we’ve designed a St. George inspired single-breasted waistcoat so even the most sartorially-aware gentleman can support the World Cup during Royal Ascot!”
“Remember that if you are wearing a single-breasted waistcoat to leave the bottom button undone. This tradition comes from the time when the future Edward VII was Prince of Wales and he became so fat he was unable to do up the bottom button of his waistcoat. They say that the court followed suit to make him feel better about his body image.”
More about Royal Ascot can be found on Oliver Brown's website here.
"any colour can worn to finish a morning suit or tails, and worn to all occasions.” What he recommends is wrong - The Royal Enclosure Dress code only permits Black or Grey Top Hats.
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