A day at the races deserves a fabulous outfit
SIR – Surely the Jockey Club understands that one of the delights of attending a race meeting is searching for an outfit and a super matching hat and other accessories – and that’s only the ladies (“They’re off: dress code at the races relaxed”, report, February 3).
Dressing for the races on a special day raises the spirits, and that’s before any imbibing has begun. Everyone, from any walk of life, likes to feel special, and trainers are not built for that.
Avril Wright
Snettisham, Norfolk
SIR – The decision of the Jockey Club to abandon the formal dress code at its 15 racecourses is yet another blow to the nation’s sartorial standards.
We are becoming the scruffiest nation in Europe. Soon the only time an Englishman will be required to wear a jacket and tie is when he wants a cup of tea at the Ritz.
John Hicks
SIR – Good dress adds to the sense of occasion.
My grandmother was standing on a street corner in Gloucester in 1909. She was a girl of 15. A gentleman’s carriage passed by. The gentleman raised his top hat politely at the pretty girl. It was King Edward VII, on his way to Cheltenham races.
His old-fashioned good manners would have been out of place today. Isabel Wood