There were winners and losers on and off the track at Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot yesterday.

Lucy Richardson looks at the form of those who romped home victorious in the fashion stakes and those who limped past the finish post.

I APPRECIATE that there’s a fine balance in the surreal world that is fashion between a showstopper and a show’s over.

But I fail to understand the thought process that goes from... “ooh a glitzy day at Royal Ascot”, to... “great excuse to dress up”, to.... “I know, I’ll wear balloons on my head”.

Of course, there were thousands of stylish women sashaying around the stands sipping pink champagne on Ladies’ Day yesterday, but the ones who grabbed the attention looked like they’d worn their outfits for a dare.

Taking Carmen Miranda and Su Pollard as their inspiration, it seems, many tried too hard to be humorous and individual.

Bizarre hats included a pint of overflowing milk, an artist’s palette and a balloon creation that looked as if it had been made by a magician at a child’s birthday party.

There were also lots of feathers on display – from flocks of eagles perched precariously on the crown to Robin Hood-like adornments.

According to milliner Louis Mariette, who presented the BBC’s fashion coverage with Suzi Perry, it’s important to wear long hair up when wearing a hat. For some, this was the least of their problems.

You can tell that the Queen has been doing this sort of event for years, as, per usual, she got the tone just right and looked amazing.

Her salmon pink coat with frilly edging was complemented by a hat topped off with flowers and a gold coil detail – different without being deranged.

Her granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, learned from her recent fashion faux-pas by playing it safe in a sombre blue headpiece.

The Philip Treacy number she wore at the royal wedding may have been derided, but, ultimately, she had the last laugh by auctioning her prezel-like monstrosity on eBay and raising £81,000 for charity.

She just goes to show how tricky it is to pull off a look that we rarely get to wear. My mum was reduced to tears on my wedding day by a flippant comment made about her fascinator.

Let’s just say it has never been worn again and is now lurking in my five-year-old’s dressing up box.

Award-winning fashion designer Kate Fearnley, from Middlesbrough, was soaking up the atmosphere at Royal Ascot for the first time yesterday. Wearing one of her own dresses, naturally, and a hat by bespoke milliner Lynne Young, she said that her collection was aimed at fashion-conscious race-goers and she had dressed one woman who was in the royal enclosure.

“I definitely think the royal wedding had a big impact and women want to dress up more now,” she says. “There’s so much doom and gloom around at the moment, special days like this are a great excuse to get as dressed up as you can.

“I really love looking at the stunning outfits.

It’s interesting to see just how dressed up people get. Anything goes and it’s fun.

“There’s definitely some weird and wacky outfits, people are not used to dressing like this every day, so they go a bit over the top.”

When I cover Ladies’ Day at York races in August, my editor has challenged me to buy an entire outfit for under £25.

The look may be cheap, but you can’t buy taste. But I will definitely not be going for the weird and wacky, you can bet on that.