Well it has been a long Ladies' Day . . . The heels come off after a champagne-fuelled afternoon at Ascot

• After a full on day of partying many of the women at Ladies' Day looked worse for wear
• Gangs sprawled out on the grass amidst discarded bottles and rubbish
• The heels came off and some revellers looked like they needed a good sleep
  
• Ladies Day at Royal Ascot is one of the biggest days on the racing calendar - for both horses and fashion
• Guests on day three pulled out all the stops as they dressed to impress in a bid to triumph in the style stakes
• Despite the best efforts of the fashion police, one or two more outlandish efforts were spotted in the paddock
  
• Others took a more subtle approach, opting for large-brimmed hats festooned with silk flowers and feathers
  
• Unfortunately for the Queen, her filly Estimate could only manage second place in the Gold Cup - the big race
  

By Ruth Styles

Published: 06:53 EDT, 19 June 2014 | Updated: 08:58 EDT, 24 June 2014

It started out so well, as hundreds of well turned out ladies filed into the biggest event of the racing calendar wearing galmorous outfits and showing off fabulous hats.

But a few hours on the scene is not so classy. In fact it's rather messy as the heels have come off, the hats have been discarded and many of the women have taken to benches for a lie down.

It seems that a full day of glugging down champers and cheering on horses really can take its toll and the females of Ladies' Day might have sore heads in the morning.

Thank goodness for flats! Women of Ladies' Day relax later on amid discarded Champagne bottles and litter

I'll just lie down here: One racegoer decides to sleep it off there and then at the event rather than getting herself home

High jinx: This group of ladies play up to the photographers as they head home for the day after a fun Royal Ascot

Concerning: The day didn't end as well for this poor reveller who had to be attended to by her friend and a medic

Discarded shoes: This lady finds it easier to walk home without her heels on, left, while another looks like she might need to be carried home

Helping hand: This race goer needed assistance to get back on her feet after a long day at the event

They're still smiling but these racegoers have taken to the grass to carry on their fun as the day comes to a close

Need a lie down? Perhaps the Champagne was all a bit too much for this racegoer as she takes to flopping down on a bench

Catching forty winks: The excitement was all too much for these two who needed a lie down

Happier feet: These ladies have discarded their uncomfortable heels and look to be having more fun

Yet earlier in the day it was tailored suits, glamorous in form-fitting dresses and eye-catching in supersized hats as excited racegoers pulled out all the stops as they arrived for sunny Ladies' Day on the third day at Royal Ascot.

One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the racing calendar, Ladies' Day is as famous for its fashion as it is for the racing and as a result, all eyes were on the paddock as ladies made their way to their seats.

Happily for style watchers, they didn't disappoint with towering plumes of feathers, supersized blooms and a even bizarre titfer designed to look like a jug of Pimms spotted on the heads of racegoers - totally eclipsing the demure shift dresses beneath.

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Gorgeous: A racegoer is chic in a giant crimson hat and an elegant dress in a matching shade of scarlet as she arrives for Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot

Looking good: A pair of racegoers show off their style nous in crimson and blue (left), while, right, a couple co-ordinate in hot pink polka dot print

Botanical: A lady arrives for the third day of racing action at Royal Ascot in a spectacular eau de nil hat decorated with a huge bunch of coral silk orchids

Striking: A pair of racegoers pose in their artist palette inspired hats - complete with paintbrushes - as they arrive for Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot

Bold blooms: A lady arrives sporting an impressive hat inspired by a dahlia at Royal Ascot

All about the horses! A lady sports an equestrian themed titfer - and a matching necklace

Looking good! A lady in cobalt blue lace and an elaborate rose-covered hat arrives at Ascot

Creative: A lady arrives sporting an ensemble designed to match the colours of the Jamaican flag while, right, a dramatically dressed lady struggles to hang on to her hat

Birds of a feather... 'Retro girl band' The Tootsie Rollers arrive looking fantastic in elaborate peacock feather headgear and fitted cobalt blue dresses

But not everyone was angling for a win in the wacky stakes. Monochrome once again proved popular, with cream, white and nude running it a close second.

Pretty florals, a Royal Ascot staple, also proved a hit with racegoers as did glamorous lace which appeared in a range of hot hues, among them coral and cheerful fuchsia pink.

Others opted for dramatic summer black - a huge trend for the hot months - and used their hats to make a statement, with huge marabou plumes and brims that could have doubled as a parasol all making an appearance.

Surprisingly, Royal Ascot's infamous fashion police were left with little to do - unlike on day two when Strictly Come Dancing's Kristina Rhianoff was escorted off the course thanks to a bizarre Ben de Lisi frock made from betting slips.

While several racegoers were clearly at the course in the hopes of being photographed, their wacky looks couldn't eclipse the sight of racegoers drawn from all corners of the UK resplendent in the loveliest hats they could find.

My Fair Lady? This group of girls in their spectacularly large hats and Regency dresses accessorised with peacock fans seem to have been inspired by the musical

Chic: A lady is elegant in a pale pink ensemble and a quirky top hat (left) while another goes all out in an eye-wateringly bright neon skirt and shoes, and a matching hat

Lovely: A lady is elegant in a chic brown and cream hat and a matching dress and clutch as she arrives to watch the action on Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot

Spectacular: A lady in an elaborate multi-coloured hat that appears to be inspired by a Navajo dream catcher arrives for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot

Striking: A stetson is given a sequinned and feathered makeover for Ascot (left), while another lady opts for an incredible sculpted cream lace titfer (right)

Unusual! Racegoer Stephanie Emsten opted for an pretty cream hat created using a 3D printer pen for her day out at Royal Ascot

Big is beautiful: A lady shows off her elaborate cream hat and matching dress, while another (right) opted for an eye-catching crimson get-up complete with a huge hat

Early arrival: A lady in a pretty floral dress plumps for a hat and a parasol as she arrives at Ascot

Bizarre: A racegoer poses in the 'Pimmbrella' - an all-weather hat created, inevitably, by Pimms

Dramatic: A lady opts for an all-black ensemble enlivened with a lace bodice and enormous hat

Top of the class: A lady arrives looking wonderful in a lily patterned dress and matching hat, while another (right) looks utterly spectacular in mustard yellow

Men too, among them Channel 4 style correspondent Gok Wan and Jemma Kidd's husband, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, were dapper in grey or black morning dress enlivened with colourful waistcoats and equally bright ties.

Watching the gaily-dressed crowds stream along the racecourse was Claire Balding who has impressed fashion watchers over the past few days, working a pretty floral dress and bright pink hat on day two after wowing onlookers in a cheerful coral-red suit as the race meeting kicked off. 

Mr Wan, with Ms Balding on the course, looked thrilled by the stylish fillies strutting their stuff in the paddock - many of whom appeared to have taken his style advice to heart.

Ahead of the opening race, he told MailOnline that monochrome and florals were likely to be popular with racegoers and as day two got underway, he appeared to be proved correct.

‘There’s going to be a lot of monochrome and quite a lot of colour clash,’ he prophesied. ‘Floral prints are a huge trend throughout the whole of the summer as well.

‘It’s going to feel very, very beautiful English garden. Of course, there will be the big-brimmed hats as well and this season we’ve gone very clean and neat with our tailoring, and we’ve put that on to prints as well.

'So expect to see loads and loads of sharp lines, which will be quite unusual for Ascot. I think it’ll be very exciting.’

Away from the fashion, racing took centre stage although things once again proved disappointing for the Queen when her filly Estimate lost out to Irish horse Leading Light in the Gold Cup - a trophy that the steed took home last year.

Nevertheless, the monarch, who was joined by a dapper Duke of Edinburgh for the ceremonial procession, does at least have happy memories of last year's race - and wrote glowingly of her experience in last year's event in the official foreword to the Ascot programme,

'I would like to thank those of you who were here for the wonderful welcome the filly received after performing so well, and also those who were kind enough to send messages afterwards,' wrote the Queen.

'To win at Royal Ascot is challenging and I know how much work goes into preparing every one of the horses racing. All those involved deserve great credit as well as our gratitude.'

Unfortunately for the Queen, this week has proved less than lucky so far, with her performers in yesterday's races also failing to live up to their billing.

First up with Musical Comedy, a highly regarded three-year-old who could only manage a lowly 18th place in the Jersey Stakes - a race that was eventually taken by the chestnut Mustajeeb, a steed owned by Dubai's crown prince Hamdan bin Mohammed al-Maktoum.

Then disaster struck again in the penultimate race of the day, when the Queen's horse Sea Shanty lost out to Field of Dream, a British bred thoroughbred, and finished in fourth place behind Steeler - a chestnut owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's Godolphin.

Colourful: A lady arrives sporting a heavy-looking hat that appears to be decorated with a garden's worth of flowers and right, a guide dog gets into the spirit of things

Enjoying themselves: Ladies stop to chat as they enjoy their day out at Ascot, with one lady looking particularly elegant in a pink lace dress and matching titfer

Amazing: A lady combines huge silk roses with metre-long feathers in one unusual crimson hat, and teams it with a two-tone red and purple shift dress

Stardust: Katherine Jenkins arrived to add a spot of stardust to proceedings while Jemma Kidd came on the arm of her husband, Arthur Wellesley, Earl of Mornington

Stylish: Former Made in Chelsea star Kimberley Garner arrives in a monochrome ensemble

Striking: Milliner Stephen Jones and a quirkily dressed friend arrive for a day out at Ascot

Pretty: A racegoer in a cheerful pink and green hat and form-fitting dress arrives at Ascot

Monochrome magic: Couples co-ordinate their racing attire with elegant black and white for the ladies and dapper black morning dress for the men

OUTLANDISH HATS, COLOURFUL FROCKS AND THE STRICTEST DRESS CODE IN  RACING: MEET THE ASCOT CROWD

While Cheltenham is famous for pearls and fur, and Aintree for its colourfully dressed fillies in fake tan and skyscraper heels, Royal Ascot's trademark is hats - the bigger and more outlandish the better.

From towering piles of fruit to laser-cut and wide brimmed, almost anything goes, although racegoers are likely to fall foul of the Ascot fashion police should they venture into the Royal Box sporting a fascinator.

Although the majority of racegoers come dressed up to the nines with elegant shift dresses and neat tailoring taking centre stage, recent years have seen Aintree-style bodycon become increasingly popular.

As a result, Ascot organisers have issued a strict dress code which bans bare shoulders and miniskirts, as well as fascinators and anything that shows off a slice of stomach.

Also outlawed are spaghetti straps, or indeed any sort of strap that is less than an inch thick, mismatched trouser suits, halterneck tops and headpieces with a base of less than four inches.

Men, meanwhile, are asked to wear black or grey morning dress which includes a tailcoat, waistcoat and a natty pair of pinstripe trousers, all accessorised with a silk top hat, but with a tie in place of a cravat.

Despite the dress code, each year sees a smattering of bizarrely dressed racegoers fall foul of the fashion police. Last year, milliner David Schilling made headlines when he was ejected from the course thanks to his outlandish get-up. Fellow hat designer Tracey Rose also ran into difficulties with Ascot's style supervisors when her skirt was deemed too short for the Royal Enclosure.

Outré: One lady arrived showing off an arm covered in tattoos while another (right) appeared intent on breaking every one of Ascot's style rules

Wacky: A pair of racegoers arrive in an elaborate Elizabethan style dress topped with a silk tree hat and a ruffled and heavily embellished milkmaid number

Bold: A lady opts for an elaborate orange and yellow outfit and a hat featuring a peacock while another (right) keeps it simple in dove grey

Turning heads: A colourfully dressed group of racegoers pose with the 'Pimmbrella' hat wearing Emma Humfrey as Ladies' Day gets underway at Royal Ascot

Black and white: Black proved enormously popular among racegoers, particularly when it came to hats as this pair of well-dressed racegoers demonstrate

Stunning: Racegoers show off their colourful dresses and supersized hats as well, in one case, as a daring jumpsuit as they arrive on Ladies' Day at Ascot

Rainbow: Royal Ascot was awash with colour as racegoers plumped for pretty pastels such as this lady (lefty) while others opted for bright purple or coral (right)

Excited: A colourfully dressed group of racegoers arrive sporting their finest frocks and hats as they wait for the racing action to begin on Ladies Day at Royal Ascot

Cheerful: The tree-lined avenue leading towards the racecourse was awash with colour - not just from the Union flag bunting - as guests made their way in

Classy! An eager group of women make their way towards the racecourse carrying some essential supplies in their vast coolbox

HOW TO PICK A WINNER IN THE HAT STAKES: MILLINER JANE TAYLOR ON HOW TO LOOK TOP NOTCH IN A TITFER

From Sophie Wessex and Princess Eugenie to the Duchess of Cambridge, milliner Jane Taylor, the brains behind the Jane Taylor label, boasts some impressively grand names among her army of devoted fans.

Now Ms Taylor, who has been designing bespoke and ready-to-wear hats since 2008, has been named the hat partner of choice for this year's Royal Ascot.

So what does take to get past the Ascot fashion police and straight onto the best-dressed list?  FEMAIL asked Taylor for her top tips - here's what she said:

Favourite client: The Countess of Wessex is elegant in a Jane Taylor hat at the Derby in 2012 and since then, has regularly been photographed in Taylor's designs

THE BASICS

'The perfect hat should be flattering for the wearer and confidence boosting,' explains Taylor. 'Finding the right one totally depends on the person wearing it.'

For Taylor, that means taking your face shape and complexion into account when hunting for the perfect Ascot accessory. 'You should always complement your face with the shape of a hat,' insists Taylor. 'For example, if your face is round, wear an angular hat that cuts across your face.

'Or if your face is more angular, soften it was a rounded hat and a soft trim. 
If you’re wearing a cocktail hat, wear it pointed down so it nearly touches your eyebrow.'

GO BOLD

With the perennially popular fascinator banned by Ascot's fashion police this time around, Taylor says it's time to consider swapping it for something a little more exciting.

Along with wide-brimmed hats, options include berets, perchers or Sophie Wessex' favourite small disc shaped hats. 'I would suggest a small cocktail hat,' adds Taylor. 'There are plenty of different shapes to choose from if you'd rather avoid a large brims.'

CHOOSE QUALITY

With designer hats costing more than many Ascot-goers can afford, finding a quality hat on the high street can be a challenge. There is, however, a simple solution.

'I absolutely love coming across vintage millinery,' explains Taylor. 'They are finely made and the quality and finished effect is really outstanding.' Along with costing less than a designer number, vintage hats are also unique which means you won't have to worry about doubling up with another guest.

TRY OUT A NEW TREND

While not everyone wants to risk ridicule by being spotted out and about in a flamboyant piece of millinery, there's no reason not to try something new.

'Big brims and stylised boater hats are huge news for this summer,' explains Taylor. 'Small tailored cocktail hats, pastels and coral are also a good choice, while aqua and nude are going to be as popular as ever this year.'

Make sure the new hat works with your complexion but don't be afraid to let your personality shine through. 'People choose hats to show off their personality,' adds Taylor, 'and I always admire the people who choose more elaborate pieces as they have the confidence to pull them off.'

LOOK TO THE ROYALS FOR INSPIRATION

The Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex always look impeccably turned out, and that, says Taylor, is because they've nailed the perfect styling formula.

'The perfect Ascot outfit is a simple tailored dress in a classic shape, worn with a exquisite elaborate hat,' explains Taylor, who says the Countess of Wessex is a favourite client.

'I have designed for the Countess of Wessex for many years and she is always a pleasure to work with,' adds Taylor. But it's always lovely to see my pieces worn by the Royal Family.'

Winning ways: Leading Light (far right with a blaze) streaks past Estimate (centre, sheepskin noseband) to take the Gold Cup on Ladies Day at Royal Ascot

Winning ways: Frankie Dettori leaps from Baitha Alga after the pair triumphed in the Norfolk Stakes watched by Prince Harry and the Queen

Oh no! Frankie Dettori blushes with embarrassment after dropping the trophy he was handed after winning the Norfolk Stakes on the Qatari owned Baitha Alga

Exciting stuff: Colourfully dressed racegoers sit in the Grandstand as they wait for the racing action to begin, starting with the Norfolk Stakes

Smart: A lady dressed in an all-crimson ensemble topped with a black hat, left, and right, a dapper gentleman in morning dress and his equally well-dressed companion

Green and pleasant land: Racegoers stroll towards the course along a pretty tree-lined avenue festooned with Union flag bunting on Ladies Day

Stylish arrival: A group of racegoers made an entrance in a vintage landau pulled by a team of four perfectly matched chestnut Gelderlander horses

Open the gates! An excited photographer snaps a photo of arriving racegoers as a top-hatted guard in a viridian velvet suit looks on

Wonderful: The sun shone on Berkshire's Ascot racecourse as excited guests arrived for Ladies' Day and the chance to see Estimate compete in the Gold Cup