Princess Anne's Royal Ascot dress is over *40 years old* but the thrifty royal proves circular collars and button-down dresses are back in style

Princess Anne went for a lively look at this year's Royal Ascot but it's not the first time we've seen the timeless look

princess anne
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Anne just made a stunning sartorial display at Wednesday's installation of Royal Ascot, proving that circular collars and brooches will always remain in vogue. 

The Princess' most recent impressive look was debuted on Wednesday during the Royal Ascot 2023, where our favorite royals convened to celebrate the annual horse races and gather for a day of festivities. Although she did not enter with King Charles and Queen Camilla in the royal procession, her lowkey entrance still made waves because of her outfit alone. 

One of her previous looks from this week also garnered some attention from royal fans: her two-toned teal dress definitely stole the show, complete with a wide-brimmed hat and extravagant jewels, including a rooster brooch. 

For Wednesday's Royal Ascot races, however, the Princess Royal continued her trend of wearing blue, but this time, added a bit more of a summery vibe to her look.

princess anne

(Image credit: Getty Images)

For the sunny day's events, the Princess started the look off with another wide-brimmed blue hat complete with an accessorized sash that was a lighter hue of blue. Then, she donned a dress of the same color as her hat's sash, which featured a retro circular collar, buttons going down the bodice, and timeless pleats. Amazingly, according to the Instagram account The Royal Fashion Police, the Princess Royal first wore this exact dress back in the 1970s, and fans of Anne's timeless style were rightly impressed, with one commenting, "Love this! I still have stuff from the 70s too! The fact that she can still fit into outfits after 50 years is impressive in and of itself!"

On the top, the Princess also sported a white tweed jacket, complete with a series of brooches and pins to accompany the blue tones in her outfit. For jewelry, she wore an elegant string of pearls around her neck, as well as some simple drop earrings to match her pearls. 

And, as expected, she wore a pair of comfortable, tan vintage kitten heels, complete with a bow on the ends for a small touch of glamour.

princess anne

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Anne also appeared for the high society event with her daughter Zara Tindall, who wore a stunning navy blue gown, complete with an eccentric emerald green hat and metallic silver heels.

In this year's racing pamphlet, King Charles and Queen Camilla took the time to honor the late Queen Elizabeth, "The Royal Meeting always played a central role in Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth's calendar," the note stated, "and the naming of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes will be a most appropriate way to mark this lifelong interest."

Madeline Merinuk
US Lifestyle News Writer

Madeline Merinuk is woman&home's US lifestyle news writer, covering celebrity, entertainment, fashion, and beauty news.

She graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Journalism from Hofstra University, winning multiple student journalism awards, including a National Hearst Award, during her time there. After graduating, she worked at today.com, the digital site for the Today Show, where she wrote pop culture news and interviewed big-name personalities like Emily Ratajkowski, Haley Lu Richardson, Emma Corrin, and more.

Her personal interests, in no particular order, are: cheese, Joni Mitchell, reading, hot yoga, traveling, having multiple chapsticks in every handbag at all times, and dancing to ABBA songs as if she were in the Mamma Mia movies.