"Knickers," read the stern advice to racegoers at Royal Ascot, one of the swankiest society events of the summer: "a definite yes, but not on show please ladies." Reminders were in order owing to a "lack of understanding of what formal day wear actually means in this day and age", according to the organisers of the royal meeting, which began on June 17th. Miniskirts and spaghetti straps were banned in the poshest part of the course, and girls were asked to avoid streaky fake tans.rnThe subtext of this crackdown, horsey types reckon, is to deter "chavs", a snooty term for people with flashy bad taste. Snobs have grumbled about Ascot going downhill for 300 years: the admittance of divorcees to the Royal Enclosure caused a stir in 1955, and the 1990s saw a battle over women's right to wear trou- in Jerusalem that is almost an alternative to the Lambeth show) and the maximum concessions that liberals could offer.
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