Dressing for Royal Ascot: three exquisite pieces

Royal Ascot starts today and for once decent weather is forecast for the entire week! As usual James Sherwood will be there with his camera spying the best (and worst) outfits. James has just written a book called Fashion at Royal Ascot, featuring photographs from the last 300 years at the races.

Here is Vogue model Fiona Campbell-Walter at Royal Ascot in 1953 in a beautiful saucer hat:


One of the most outrageous fashion icons in the racing world was Mrs Gertrude Shilling, aka the 'Ascot Mascot', seen here in 1969:

Here's Queenie and her gang in 1974, wearing a Launer handbag - still her favourite in 2011 - and a turban.

Martha Sitwell is a 21st century beauty who wears exquisite vintage pieces to the races:

We've picked out three outfits from our boutique that are perfect for Royal Ascot. Our first choice is a stunning 1960s silk houndstooth dress with matching jacket. See more photos here.

Our next choice is a shantung silk early 1960s dress with chiffon daisy detail on the hem.


This ultra-chic navy and cream organza dress would look sensational at the races:

To view our full collection of dresses please click here. We are able to deliver on the same day if you live in central London. If you need more inspiration here is some footage of James's show from Ascot a couple of years ago:

Red carpet round-up: 64th Cannes Film Festival

The films are in danger of being eclipsed by the dresses during the Cannes Film Festival. We saw some absolutely knock-out dresses this year and plenty of new faces on the red carpet. Last year's undisputed break-out style star was Fan Bing Bing, and she didn't disappoint in 2011. Queen of the Cannes red carpet this year has to be Uma Thurman. Her choices were flawless and she has never looked better. Here's our round-up of the best dresses from this year:

Karolina Kurkova in Armani Privé at the opening ceremony.

Another blonde glamazon: Uma Thurman in Versace.

Rachel McAdams in Marchesa at the premiere of 'Midnight in Paris'.
Love the vampy 1940s hairstyle.

Fan Bing Bing in a dress designed by her stylist Chris Bu Kewen.
She looks like an empress.

Model Bianca Balti in a white Alberta Ferretti gown and some big ol' emeralds. And the sugar daddy who might have bought them.

Ines de la Fressange in a plum tone satin column dress with accessories by Roger Vivier. Ines recently wrote a book called Parisian Chic: A Style Guide.

Diane Kruger in the first of many silver dresses we saw at Cannes. This one is by Calvin Klein. I know that Diane is supposed to be one of the great beauties of our time, but to me she always looks slightly uncomfortable.

French actress Melanie Laurent - the new face of Dior fragrance Hypnotic Poison - in a black organza gown by Dior and jewellery by Chopard.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Dolce & Gabbana. Not sure about all the pearls but the hair is amazing.

Actress Tang Wei in a white column dress with organza frill detail by Valentino. What a beauty!

Fan Bing Bing in Atelier Versace. She looks like a floating lily.

Sarah Jessica Parker at the premiere for Wu Xia, wearing an Elie Saab printed dress. One of my favourite looks from the festival.

Here we have Cheryl Cole in Roberto Cavalli. Metallic gowns are extremely popular this year. I do wish she would wear less make-up - she has youth and beauty on her side but it's impossible to look chic when she's covered in Snog Marry Avoid amounts of bronzer.

Fan Bing Bing in one of the most striking looks of the entire festival: ruffled gown by Atelier Versace.

Last year Zoe Saldana wore a vaguely similar dress by Givenchy to the Academy Awards.

Angelina Jolie in a dark chocolate satin gown by Atelier Versace.

Gwen Stefani in a sequin jumpsuit by Stella McCartney.

I think Iman worked it better in bronze at the Met Ball the other week...

Fan Bing Bing in Oscar de la Renta taffeta gown with a Restoration-style neckline. The chartreuse colour and simple braid hair keep the look contemporary.

Bar Rafaeli in a sapphire Pucci gown. I'm not sure about the 80s-style 'facial contouring' bronzer... She looks like one of The Human League!

Kirsten Dunst in a mustard-colour midi dress by Chloe for a daytime photo call. Beautiful pleating and perfect for the occasion.

Zhang Ziyi in a black dress with a strong 1940s silhouette and peacock sequin detail.

Milla Jovovich in Prada. This hairstyle is so pretty on her.

Uma Thurman in a dove grey gown by Chanel haute couture.

Gwen Stefani gives a sleek Armani Privé gown a little punk attitude.

Rosario Dawson in Roberto Cavalli.

This girl has such a beautiful smile.

Actress Blanca Suarez in a silver column dress by Gucci.

Uma smoulders in a royal purple maxi gown by Armani Privé.

Karolina Kurkova in Roberto Cavalli. His designs were the most popular on the red carpet.

Next red carpet event: CFDA Fashion Awards on June 6th. We will be posting pictures from the ceremony in real time on our Twitter account - to follow us please click on this link.

Web exclusive: our big summer sale is now on!

2011 has been a really exciting year for Juno Says Hello and our dresses have appeared on the red carpet at the Elle Style Awards, the BAFTAs, the Academy Awards and the royal wedding. To thank our customers we are offering 20% off ALL dresses with free UK postage and gift wrapping until Monday 6th June.

Each beautifully packaged purchase also includes a scented candle (white tea and jasmine fragrance) and a large printed Juno Says Hello canvas bag. To activate the discount just enter 'JSHSS11' at the checkout. Here are some of the gorgeous dresses on sale now:

1950s Lola dress by Suzy Perette, available to buy here.

1950s silk-mix rosebud print frock, available to buy here.

1950s black cocktail dress by Bernetti, available to buy here.

Super glam 1970s leopard print maxi, available to buy here.


Sheer 1970s spotted maxi dress, available to buy here.

1960s lace shift by Horrockses, available to buy here.

1970s silk evening gown, available to buy here.

Estorille cocktail dress, available to buy here.


1930s velvet Greta dress, available to buy here.

Our central London studio is 2 minutes from Kings Cross station - customers are very welcome to come in to browse and try on our dresses, with no obligation to buy. We can open up very early or very late (including weekends) to work around your schedule. To make an appointment please contact us via this link.

We have many more dresses not yet online, so if you are looking for something in particular we may well have it in stock - get in touch and let us help you find the perfect dress. We can also source petticoats, accessories and corsets to complete the look.

We regret that international customers are not eligible for free postage.

Start browsing now...

This month's giveaway!

This month we're giving away a brilliantly useful - if bizarrely named - hair accessory: Bumpits. Each box contains several combs that work to create volume in the hair. No more nasty backcombing! This video shows how easy they are to use.

I love this picture of Jean Shrimpton on the cover of Newsweek - this is exactly the sort of hairstyle that Bumpits help you to achieve:

Here's the photo from the front of the packet:

You can use the Bumpits for long hairstyles or chic up-dos, like Ms Holloway:

A bit of volume on the crown also looks good on a pony tail:

Get the Eva Mendes look:

Gwyneth Paltrow with a volumized up-do:

The gorgeous Olivia Palermo with a 60s volumized bob:

We are giving away a set of Bumpits in mid-blonde (we'll be giving away other shades later in the year). To be entered into the competition all you have to do is sign up to our newsletter via this link. Our monthly newsletter includes details about private events, sale previews and exclusive discount codes. The winner will be notified by email on 16th June. Good luck!