Your ULTIMATE Cheltenham Festival Style Guide – What to wear, brands to style, and how to get the best from your outfit last minute! Whether your budget is Shein or Chanel, let me help!

Hello my darlings, I hope you’re well.

I’m bringing you another blog where we will delve into the world of fashion for Cheltenham Races, and more specifically The Cheltenham Festival, which is now just days away. This blog is perfect if you’ve got last minute tickets, or still haven’t quite finalised your outfit!

I would consider myself somewhat experienced in the area. I have been a member at Cheltenham Racecourse for many many years, attending every single meet! So when it comes to Cheltenham styling, I really do understand what works!

Now, I want you to understand I can appriciate how daunting dressing for the races can be! It’s very easy to look at glossy creators who have been dressed head to toe by brands, and think how unachievable their style is. And for many, we don’t have £1000’s to spend on one outfit, for one day! BUT, what I can help with is realistic styling, to suit all budgets.

So, whether your budget is Shein or Chanel, you can and will look fabulous at the races!

Where to start…

First things first, Cheltenham Festival is not Royal Ascot, and if it’s your first time attending this Cotswolds track, that’s definitely something to remember! It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be muddy, and you’re going to be surrounded by a lot more tweed than high heels!

Think practicality, layers and suitable footwear.

If you don’t know where to start with your outfit, try picking one piece from your wardrobe. That piece can be anything, you just need something as a starting point!

It might be that you have a new jacket you want to wear, a scarf you love and want to build an outfit around, or that show-stopping hat you never get chance to wear… it can be any piece of an outfit, but this is our starting point. We are going to build the rest of our outfit around it.

Creating your outfit:

Now we have a starting piece, we are going to create the rest of the look. I can almost guarantee you will be able to create your race day look from pieces already in your wardrobe. But if you do need to grab anything last minute, don’t forget to look for pieces with next day delivery, or head out to the shops, to save disappointment from something not arriving on time!

Outerwear

Your outerwear piece could be anything. From a show stopping trench coat, to a practical cape for layering underneath, to a tailored jacket. You’ll see plenty of tweed at Cheltenham racecourse, but it doesn’t mean you have to stick to this. Try to pick something that you can comfortably layer underneath, Cheltenham Racecourse has its own climate, and it is often chilly there!

Brands to try: Holland Cooper (there’s still time to buy online, and they have a boutique in Cheltenham that you could visit. Jenerick + Welligogs – I have found their shipping to be speedy, depending on what day you attend, there may still be time to order! Marks + Spencer – they have some great outwear options, and you can visit them on the high street!

Tops

You’ll see lots of people posting in beautiful silk shirts, but this wouldn’t be my preference, unless you are going to wear thermals underneath, plan on staying inside all day, or have a really warm coat. Don’t forget, we are still only in March, and the weather is very changeable. I would opt for a jumper, and I would still wear a thermal layer underneath.

Brands to try: Primark/H&M/M&S – great for high street staple pieces like a jumper or thermals. Holland Cooper – a boutique you can visit in person, and still time for next day delivery!

Skirts

Skirts are a popular choice, and again, it is often the classic tweeds you will see. If you don’t own a tweed skirt, why not consider a plain colour, which you can tie in with the rest of the outfit, a chocolate, navy or cream colour would work perfectly. Don’t forget tights, and my best advice with tights is to tie them in with the colour of your footwear, to elongate your legs and create a seamless look. If you are wearing tan footwear, opt for natural tights, navy with navy and black with black.

Brands to try: River Island/Primark/H&M/M&S – all great high street options for skirts, that you can visit and try on.

Trousers

A practical option for the season. Two piece outfits are becoming more popular, although not my preference. Trousers are practical and do offer extra warmth on cooler days. If opting for jeans, try to avoid blue denim, and consider a solid colour, perhaps cream, navy, chocolate or black.

Brands to try: Lovall – speedy delivery if you plan accordingly. Holland Cooper – have a boutique, and next day delivery. Most high street stores and supermarkets also have trousers and jeans!

Dresses

Remember this isn’t Royal Ascot. Summery dresses are going to leave you feeling freezing! If you’re considering a dress, why not think about warmer wool materials, or roll neck dresses.

Brands to try: H&M or Zara – high street options or Holland Cooper for luxury.

Footwear

Your footwear has to be practical, I can’t stress this enough. There will be a mix of gravel, tarmac, grass, and you’ll be between inside and outside areas, therefore you want something sturdy. There is also the potential for rain, so consider leather boots, or protecting suede with a waterproof spray, you can use something like Liquiproof.

Brands to try: Most high street stores offer a selection of knee high boots which could finish your race day look, alternatively if you’re looking to invest, Fairfax & Favor have the most beautiful footwear, and speedy delivery.

Headwear

A hat or fascinator can really finish off a race day outfit, and you’ll see plenty of both at Cheltenham. I love the excuse to get a fascinator out, but a fedora goes down equally well. You can go as plain or as extravagent as you like.

Brands to try: At this time of year, a charity shop is the perfect place to look for hats and fascinators at a bargain price. Hicks and Brown also have beautiful fedoras and quick delivery.

Accessories

You can be really clever using accessories to finish off your look. These can either subtly fit into the outfit, in a similar colour way, or you can use your accessories to add a pop of colour to your outfit. I like to use the rule of thirds. So for example, footwear, bag, hat or scarf, belt, bag, in the same colour way. This helps to balance to look of the outfit, this can be really important if using accessories to bring colour into your outfit.

Brands to try: With accessories, you’ll probably already have bags/scarves/belts/gloves you could utilise. But again, charity shops can be fantastic. If you’re looking for more of an investment piece, try Holland Cooper or Clare Haggas.

Still Stuck?!

Let me help with a really simple outfit formulation, and something you’ll likely already have in your wardrobe. Try to stick with neutral colours, by that I mean black, navy, chocolate, creams, browns.

The outfit formula I typically follow consists of a roll neck jumper, jeans or a skirt, knee high boots, and a jacket or cape. If you’re wanting to add in a colour, think about your jumper or jacket being the colourful piece, but keeping the rest of the outfit neutral. Stick to solid colours.

Want to know where to eat or drink in Cheltenham?

See a few of my recommendations below for places to eat and drink around your race day:

Where to stay & dine? No38 The Park
Where to have dinner? Sef Steakhouse
Where to try for drinks? The Botanist
Where to grab coffee/matcha? Pickles
Where to have breakfast? Flight Club
Where to have cocktails after? No131/Gin&Juice

Don’t forget to book!

Discount codes:

If you’re looking to treat yourself ahead of Cheltenham Festival this year, I have some codes which can help you save some money online…

Salthouse England – ‘LUCINDA10’ (10% off) (www.salthouse.co.uk)
Welligogs – ‘LUCINDA10’ (10% off) (www.welligogs.com)
Spanish Boot Company – ‘countryclassiclucinda’ (10% off) (www.thespanishbootcompany.co.uk)
Katie Loxton – ‘KLDTI5O8’ (15% off) (www.katieloxton.com)

*Affiliate – codes work online on most full priced items, direct from brand websites.
All codes active, and in working order, at the time of publishing.

That’s all for now my darlings! If you’re looking for more Cheltenham outfit inspiration, don’t forget to search my previous posts, and visit my Instagram @countryclassiclucinda

See you in the next blog!

Lots of love,

Lucinda xo