How To Dress For The Races

Although race days aren’t in everyones social calendar they are a great opportunity to get dressed up in your finest tweed suit and to enjoy a day out. It’s the perfect place for men to embrace their own unique personal style and flair, gone are the days where going to the races was just a chance for the ladies to dress up. These days mens styling is just as important and getting the right outfit doesn’t have to be a challenge whether you’re looking for traditional or contemporary. The dress code for men at the races depends on the enclosure they’ll be visiting on the day. Usually the more you pay for your race day ticket, then the more formal the dress code becomes. The strictest race day dress code for men applies to the Members Club or Premier Enclosure.

A smart jacket and tie are suitable for the men unless it is a special occasion like the Royal Ascot, which usually calls for men to wear a formal morning suit and even a top hat if venturing into the Royal Enclosure. On the whole though race days usually require the men to wear smart casual dress, tweed is always a very popular choice. A full tweed suit or just a tweed waistcoat or jacket with a tweed flat cap always looks very stylish and helps you to feel part of the atmosphere!

Tweed Suits

Tweed suits are ideal race day wear as they are a traditional, classic style that still allow you to stand out from the crowd. Despite the fact that these suits are typically seen as an outfit for the older gentleman, programmes like the Peaky Blinders series have led to a resurgence in the popularity of tweed suits for the younger man.

Luxury Accessories

When styled correctly a tweed suit can easily maintain a bold contemporary edge. Utilising classic accessories such as the pocket square and watch chains add a touch of flair and exploring various shades outside of the traditional green, such as grey, can help to keep your look fresh for the races. Accessories are a big part of race wear, and the plainer the suit you wear the bolder you can go with the colour or print of your accessories.

A vibrant pocket square or silk scarf will add real character to your outfit and help you to stand out in the crowds.

Waistcoats and Shirts

If you really want to go all out with your look, then why not opt for the classic three piece tweed suit? After all, the races is the perfect time to go all out with a formal ensemble. A three piece suit consists of a suit jacket, trousers and waistcoat, which can either be worn in contrasting colours or materials or if you’re going for a uniformed look then all the pieces should match. Whatever your choice it’s very important that your waistcoat is well fitted and is long enough to drop over your waist without falling too far below the belt line. The last button on both your waistcoat and jackets should always be left undone and you shirt cuffs should never cover your hands. Pair your three-piece suit with shirts in cool tones as seen in our vintage shirt range.

Footwear

When it comes to race day attire the shoes are just as important as the suit, they should be comfortable enough to walk in as you’ll be on your feet a lot and yet stylish enough to offset your suit. Loafers are a great option but brogues work just as well. You should always wear black shoes with a black suit, brown or burgundy shoes with a navy suit, brown shoes with a beige suit and black or brown shoes with a grey suit.

Heading to a race day and dressing in Garrison Tailors? Do tell us, we would love to see your outfit.