“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” - Mark Twain
Traditional morning dress is obligatory for gentlemen in the Royal Enclosure but it is increasingly popular in the public enclosures too. A black morning suit is generally considered de rigueur at Royal Ascot, although a grey morning suit is perfectly acceptable. 
The top hat’s place in society fashion was assured when Prince Albert started wearing one in 1850. The first top hats were made with felt, most commonly being beaver fur pelt. Later, they would be made of silk. The structure underneath the felt or silk was made of a material called goss. The nineteenth century is sometimes known as the Century of the Top Hat. In the latter half of the 19th century, the top hat gradually fell out of fashion, with the middle classes adopting bowler hats and soft felt hats such as fedoras, which were more convenient for city life, as well as being suitable for mass production. In comparison, a top hat needed to be handmade by a skilled hatter, with few young people willing to take up what was obviously a dying trade.
By the end of World War I it had become a rarity in everyday life. It continued to be used for formal wear, with a morning suit in the daytime and with evening clothes (tuxedo or tailcoat) until the late 1930s. In the present day, the top hat is only worn with a morning suit for such occasions as Derby Day, Royal Ascot and weddings. You would no more expect to see a polar bear in the Royal Enclosure than a male patron without morning dress but that doesn’t mean that their attire is stale or stuffy or prevents an expression of their personality. There are all sorts of acceptable ways to personalise Royal Enclosure attire, starting with the tie.
The tie as we know it today has been around since the 1920s and, rather than keeping the neck warm, this style of neck wear was simply a fashion statement and an opportunity to display individuality.
Ties are a must for Royal Ascot, as opposed to cravats which, along with bow ties, were worn with morning dress up to about the 1920’s but are now for weddings. A tie of any colour is acceptable and this is an opportunity for the male racegoer to display his individuality and express his character. Tie pins are optional.
Once a virtually mandatory piece of men’s clothing, the waistcoat has become uncommon in contemporary dress with the exception of its partnership with the morning suit. The waistcoat is one of the few pieces of clothing whose origin historians can date precisely. King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland introduced the waistcoat as a part of correct dress during the Restoration of the British monarchy in the 1600s.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, men often wore incredibly elaborate and brightly-coloured, even garish, waistcoats, until fashion in the nineteenth century restricted them in formal wear. The development of the suit dictated that informal waistcoats become the same colour as the rest of a man’s outfit.
Popular opinion once claimed that a man could be identified as a “real gentleman” if he left the lowest button on his waistcoat unbuttoned. This anecdotally originated from the habits of King Edward VII whilst still Prince of Wales when his ballooning waistline caused him to leave the bottom button of his waistcoat undone. The story goes that his subjects took this as a style-indicator and started doing it themselves. Others consider the practice to derive from the habit of undoing the lower button to stop the waistcoat riding up when on horseback – possibly a more likely, if a little less interesting explanation! Again, the colour options open to the male racegoer are wide and varied. A waistcoat in silk, satin or a lightweight wool is acceptable and it is quite common for the man to echo the colours that his female partner has chosen so that as a couple, their appearance complements each other.
Cufflinks, whether they’re cuff buttons, flats, chain links, snappers, kum-aparts or one-piece links, are elegant accessories that lend a sparkle to formal wear. It is not certain when the cufflink arrived. Its first mention in writing was in 1788, but for sometime before that, buttons had ceased to be decorative and cuff-fastening slits were being cut into clothing. The ribbons or tape ties of the past were replaced with luxurious items, often made with gold or silver and set with gemstones. These were an extravagance reserved for the wealthy classes and were all hand-made.It wasn't until the mid 18th century and the invention of the steam-driven stamping machine, electro-metallurgy and the Tour a' Guilloche machine, which could mass-produce enamel cufflinks, that men’s jewellery really took off amongst a wider audience.
By the 1840s the double-cuff shirt became popular - and unlike most fashions it has remained so since. The middle classes adopted cufflinks, but unable to afford the silver or enamel versions they used replicas such as fake diamonds and gold-coloured alloys with foil backing. Like cuff links, the handkerchief is optional with morning dress. Amazingly, perhaps, the handkerchief is only about 400 years old. Its origin is in Italy, where a Venetian lady invented it from pure flax, decorated with lace. Only a silk handkerchief is up to the mark in the Royal Enclosure, a cotton one simply won’t do. The handkerchief provides another smattering of colour in the male racegoers attire as a triangular shape, neatly folded and pressed.
Lace up shoes are the only suitable style with a morning suit. Slip on shoes are not really the done thing in the Royal Enclosure.
Moss Bros are the official supplier of morning dress to Royal Ascot and provide a stylish Royal Ascot Collection morning suit available for hire: http://www.mossbros.com/
You can expect more than just excellent quality racing at the 5th Ascot Racecourse Beer Festival in association with CAMRA and Fuller’s on Friday 30th September and Saturday 1st October. With the help of the Berkshire South East branch of CAMRA and Fuller’s, Ascot Racecourse will be showcasing over 200 beers, ciders and perries predominantly from local craft brewers and stunning live music.
Ascot has announced that Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds will play live on the Saturday of the Beer Festival. The Bad Shepherds will be entertaining racegoers by playing punk songs on folk instruments. The band believes the songs by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers, The Jam, Sham 69, The Undertones, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, The Specials, Talking Heads, Squeeze and others bands of a similar genre are better than people remember.
Adrian Edmondson of the Bad Shepherds stated, ‘The Bad Shepherds are all in training for our appearance at Ascot Racecourse - I am good for two furlongs as long as the ground is not too firm. Unfortunately, Troy Donockley is not much good over jumps but Andy Dinan goes quite quickly if you dangle free beer tokens in front of his face…’
John Blake, Head of Sales and Marketing at the Berkshire track, added: ‘The Ascot Beer Festival continues to go from strength to strength. Since its inception, we have gone from selling 6,500 pints in 2007 to a massive 23,000 pints in 2010. The introduction of a live act such as Adrian Edmonson and the Bad Shepherds on the Saturday heralds in a new era for the Ascot Beer Festival and establishes it as one of the must-attend Beer Festivals in the UK’.
Tickets start from just £12 on the Friday and £17 on the Saturday. To book call 0870 727 1234 or visit ascot.co.uk. Gates and bars open at 11am with the first race at 2pm. A voucher system will be in operation for all Beer Festival ales, perries and ciders. A half pint is priced at £1.50 and a pint £3.00. A limited edition commemorative oversized pint glass is available for £4 as well as Ascot Tercentenery Ale brewed by Fuller’s to commemorate Ascot’s 300th year. 
Kid Creole and the Coconuts, formed in 1980 after Dr Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band split up. August Darnell - the bassist from the band - adopted the name Kid Creole and formed his group along with a glamorous trio of female backing vocalists known as the Coconuts. This peculiar name was inspired by Cab Calloway and Hollywood films of the 1930s and 40s. For over 30 years the band have been entertaining thousands of crowds around the world, recording 23 albums which included hits like ‘Lifeboat Party’, ‘Gina Gina’, ‘I’m A Wonderful Thing’ and ‘Me No Pop I’.
Inspiration
Jason has not only wowed his audience as a pop singer, but he has also performed the lead in many West End shows such as ‘Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’, ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and most recently ‘Priscilla Queen Of The Desert’. After re-launching his career in I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2006, Jason went on to produce his ‘Greatest Hits’ album and in 2010 released his 5th album ‘Soundtrack of the 80s’.
