Ascot, Thursday
No one who was present to-day would deny the courage of Englishwomen. From the early morning the weather was threatening. It seemed likely that there would be “a wind on the heath, brother,” and a rather chilly one, even if there were not heavy rain. But of course it was possible that the day would turn out brilliantly fine. It was astonishing that so many women should have gambled on the chance of the sunshine and decided to spend the day in frocks suitable for 80 degrees in the shade. A great many women had come in black frocks and coats of satin or silk. Others wore warm capes, and a wise woman combined colour and warmth by wearing a cloak of emerald green velvet which must have made her envied. But the great many wore no wraps at all, or only a tulle scarf over their flimsy frocks.
It made one feel cold to see the girls in lace frocks with transparent yokes and sleeves even when, as in one case, the lace had a deep hem and cuffs of pale cream fur to match. One girl shivering in the rain wore a charming frock of pale blue organdie muslin trimmed with rows of narrow Valenciennes lace and a pale blue poke bonnet with ribbons and little rosettes of pale pink. It was a thousand pities that the clouds did not roll away, for in the bright sunshine the effect of the really beautiful and original frocks would have been very striking. Even in the gloom it was interesting, and one felt that the women were quite justified in risking heavy colds to let their flowerlike frocks be seen. On previous days many of the costumes had been bizarre, but to-day the general standard was more sensible.
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