Overview
- Earlier this week Lizzie Cundy was refused entry to the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot after organisers judged her cream netted dress with cut-outs to breach the event's strict dress code.
- Cundy first apologised for any offence but on Good Morning Britain she defended the outfit, saying it had a beige underlay and arguing Ascot should review its rules yearly to reflect changing fashions.
- Royal Ascot’s publicly posted dress code explicitly bans sheer or revealing designs and allows guests to be turned away, and organisers have not been reported to have changed that policy.
- Etiquette expert Laura Windsor noted the rules are available online and said Cundy’s dress looked somewhat see-through because of a skin-coloured underlayer, while an insider told reporters Cundy felt mortified after the gate refusal.
- The episode has reopened a wider debate over tradition versus contemporary fashion and gendered policing at formal events, and could prompt calls for clearer guidance or a formal review of how the rules are applied.