Summer of discontent? Not everyone got the memo. While God Save the Queen rang out over the furlongs of Ascot, a crowd that included Lady Bamford and Carrie Johnson swooned over the Duchess of Cambridge, resplendent in Alessandra Rich polka dots as she passed by in her carriage.
It was a look that recalled Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and ’80s-era Princess Diana, one that paid no heed to the sweltering heat on race day and prompted the breathless return of Tatler’s best-dressed list.
Like Kate, those who dare to look back are in the lead right now. Resurgences from Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Kate Bush have fuelled the nostalgia. While headlines screamed about strikes, society’s savviest sought out lost glamour – and they found it in the ’80s… twice.
First, the Gilded Age: ostentatious 1880s America, when the original influencers ruled from gilt palaces on Fifth Avenue.
This year’s Met Gala took inspiration from those heiresses and industrialists, who also inspired television series The Gilded Age. (The second season is shooting now, but Tatler got the first scoop with this issue’s cover, featuring two of the show’s stars.) Hamish Bowles owned the great ball’s red carpet in a black tailcoat, velvet slippers and a golden crown, twizzling a lacquered cane.
And then, the 1980s: note Made in Chelsea star Sophie Hermann and her self-described ’80s Mafia look – it turns out, a dash of Elmira Medins tailoring, Linda Farrow eyewear and some Hēdoïne hosiery is all you need. That and an exquisite blowdry (never forget the blowdry).