The Worst-Dressed Stars At Royal Ascot 2024
What do you get when you mix royals with racing? Five days of horses, hats, and highnesses — AKA Royal Ascot. The long-standing event takes place every year at the Ascot Racecourse, and is considered one of England's biggest social outings of the season. It was said to be Queen Elizabeth II's favorite event of the year to attend, along with her family, and approximately 300,000 other spectators.
Royal Ascot 2024 kicked off on June 18th, and over the course of the following days, through June 22nd, the horses were cheered on by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, William, Prince of Wales (Catherine, Princess of Wales, did not attend, but we still remember her scorching monochromatic look from Royal Ascot 2023), Princess Anne, Princess Beatrice, and a variety of lords, ladies, dukes, and duchesses.
Princess Eugenie was also there, and that's where our list of worst-dressed stars for Royal Ascot 2024 begins. Her white sweater dress was okay, if not a bit plain, but it was her hat that caused a bit of a stir. The pale pink boater was decorated with a string tassel, giving off serious high school graduation vibes. The fluffy embellishment looked like an afterthought, and frequently got in the way — multiple photos show her clutching the tassel to keep it from flying into anyone's face. Despite the fashion being traditionally bold and often playful for Royal Ascot, the princess wasn't the only one whose attempt at horsing around with her outfit failed to cross the finish line.
Anouska Lancaster
We want to say pretty in pink because this Barbie shade is beautiful, but we can't because pretty left the building as soon as it saw Anouska Lancaster's entire ensemble. The interior designer and TV personality showed up on day one of Royal Ascot 2024 in head-to-toe questionable choices.
While it may not be obvious due to a lack of sunshine, Lancaster's dress is actually a solid sheet of sparkly pink sequins on a pink background. Her shoes are metallic pink, her handbag is beaded, and she's wearing a shiny rhinestone butterfly brooch. It's probably a good thing Britain wasn't too sunny, or the masses might have been blinded by all the bling.
Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the head topper. Packed with a variety of giant pink blooms and more bejeweled butterflies, it can't quite decide if it's a hat, an overgrown headband, or a fledgling shrub.
Victoria Brown
London model and content creator Victoria Brown spent day one of Royal Ascot 2024 wearing a fluffy floral dress. The pattern was gorgeous, the silhouette of the gown beautiful. Where it all went terribly wrong, however, was in the details.
The dress, a white frock with pale-hued flowers, was accented with contrasting black trim. In the category of "too much," are the ginormous black bows positioned at the top of each shoulder, with long, fat tails falling down the front and back of the bodice. Instead of matching the thin trim at the waist for a delicate touch, the big bows are a big distraction.
The only thing more obnoxious than the bows were Brown's chosen accessories: a pair of black, lace gloves and a clunky black handbag. Surprisingly, in an event filled with crazy chapeaus, the classic boater hat topping the look had only minor frippery, and was the model's only saving grace in an outfit detailed with black marks.
Cinderella Balthazar
Despite her name, Cinderella Balthazar was anything but the belle of the ball on the first day of Royal Ascot 2024. The singer, Belgian-born and London-based, has never crooned about or mentioned "Little House on the Prairie," but if her choice of dress is any hint, then it's pretty obvious she's a big fan.
The blue color of the dress with its button-down front mimics a casual denim shirt, but the addition of so many ruffles and the puffy sleeves let us know it's really a special-occasion outfit. Kind of like what Laura Ingalls would have worn to church on Sunday with Pa.
In a twist on the prairie vibe, Balthazar chose an accessory that didn't appear until hundreds of years later — a pucker purse of white lips. While we're not in love with the dress as anything other than cosplay couture, the singer could have at least stuck to her theme and gone with a metal lunch pail.
Jerry Hall
It's not like Jerry Hall doesn't know anything about fashion or about having fun. She was a high-end model who graced the covers of Cosmopolitan, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. And long before she became Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife, Hall was married to Mick Jagger. So, there's really no explanation of why the star was dressed to attend a memorial service, or stand witness in a court of law, instead of glamming it up for Royal Ascot 2024.
On day three of the races, Hall showed up wearing a very conservative dark-blue dress with matching flats and purse. While other attendees were dressed in vivid hues, bright florals, and colorful pumps, Hall went with a sedate, monochrome look that didn't show off any of her fashion savvy.
Even her hat, despite being whimsical with its floating feathers, added to her somber vibe, with a black tulle veil covering part of her face. The sunnies, too, did nothing to brighten up the outfit.
Elizabeth Hurley
Day two of Royal Ascot 2024 brought Elizabeth Hurley to the Ascot Racecourse. The actress, model, social media swimsuit star, and seemingly ageless celebrity caught us by surprise with both her dress and her hat. This is the woman who famously wore a black Versace gown held together by safety pins — and killed it.
She barely nicked it with her white lace dress, however, all because of some bad embellishments. We're thinking she probably stopped by a third-grade art class before hitting the races, and allowed small children to paste their handmade flowers all over her dress. There isn't even a cheeky safety pin holding one or two in place.
The kids may have also been responsible for what Hurley is using as a hat — or maybe that was a garage sale? Sometimes a quarter will buy a bread basket that needs a little repair, or that can be stuffed with floaty fabric and jauntily positioned on top of the head.