Rainbow Bright

Hey hey! Today we are looking at a day in the life of yours truly, I am dressed up with my victory rolled updo with flower accessory, a cute Peter Pan collar dress and the signature frilly ankle socks and Converse. I wore this cute modern vintage look to work and then after making sure my children were fed and watered and my husband Phil tag teamed me for the child care swap, I had an appointment to get my hair coloured by the lovely Vikki Mac (so yes, these photographs were taken a few days before the Dilly Debutante fashion shoot from yesterdays post). I have been growing my hair for nearly two and a half years, it has been a hard slog for two reasons the first being, I had to grow out an extreme undercut and secondly, my hair grows soooooo slowly, I am sure all the bleaching and backcombing that I put it through doesn't help but come on, give a girl a break!!!?? 

I had decided to add more blue to my colour on this occasion, but which blue? Vikki Mac brought out four or five options to choose from, which only added to my colour dilemma. I really would like a mermaid green but since I am still adding a lot of pink to my hair, I thought I would go for more bolder blues on this occassion. I think we went for Crazy Colour Peacock and Sky Blue in the end. I love the finished result and I still look like My Little Pony which is my main aim in life, perhaps I shall become brave enough to go for the Mermaid greeny blue the next time I get my hair coloured, which is only a couple of weeks away?? Watch this space x

All clothing from Primark, Topshop and Converse.

Hair styling by No Debutante

Hair colour by Vikki Mac at Me Time

Thanks for reading xx

ND xx

Dilly Debutante - Foxtrot Hair Fashion shoot

Finally, I have got round to posting about the Dilly Debutante photo shoot collaboration for Foxtrot Hair. Obviously, I am the Debutante in this collaboration but who is Dilly Foxtrot? Selena aka Dilly Foxtrot is a brilliantly creative and fabulous fashionista friend of mine and is also the lady behind Dilly Foxtrot Investigates (a beautiful childrenswear blog) and now the creative brains behind Foxtrot Hair a freelance hair service that offers Vintage and Contemporary Updos and hair styling  for special occasions, proms or even just for popping out to the shops, there is always time for glamour daaaarling!

I was really excited when Selena asked me to collaborate with her in a photo shoot for her Facebook page and to help with the promotion of Foxtrot Hair. How could I refuse a day of getting my hair done, dressing up and parading about (in the wind and rain might I add, it's blood cold up North!) with two of my best mates (the other being Selena's sister Dianne who took the Modern Vintage shoot photographs) I loved it! 

The results of my first (and coldest) shoot 'Modern Vintage' were brilliant. I was dressed up in a nautical Vivien of Holloway halter neck dress, Meadham Kirchhoff frilly ankle socks and red wedge sandals with my hair twisted up in a french pleat and a brilliant victory roll on top, finished off with a dramatic net fascinator over my face. The location was set behind an industrial estate, next to a canal with amazing derelict and half demolished red brick towers and industrial chimneys, it pretty much looked like a British World War Two bombsite and my Modern Vintage outfit fitted in perfectly. 

We joked about my character being a (albeit rather glamorous) war widow and in the last photograph I had climbed up onto the rubble to try and get a creative, blitz style photograph but then got stuck (I was wearing a very tight pencil dress and wedges for goodness sake) and Dianne got a shot of me trying to get down. It actually looks more like I was inspecting the ruins of my home and crying about the loss of my husband 'Oh gawd, my Charlie'.....My hair still looked fabulous despite the wind and rain and I wish I lived around the corner from Selena (like I used to, over ten years ago) so she could style up my hair whenever I was off out, well, every day....If anything I would become annoying....

In the second shoot 'Festival Chic' Selena styled my hair up into lots of random plaits, we discussed how we liked the randomness of it and how we both loved hair that doesn't look too done and perfect, it's too sterile and bland, texture and creativity is much better than perfection in a hair style! 

Selena is really great at plaiting and braiding hair too, she is so quick at it, I, sadly, am not.....Don't get me wrong, I have perfected the victory roll but plaits and braids are too fiddly for my fingers, I trained to be a hairdresser for a time and I was no good at cutting either, I am much better at bigger updos and colouring! It would be great if I was still in Leicester with Selena then we could collaborate all the time! Check out the fantastic plaits and braids on my newly coloured (by the lovely Vikki Mac - my usual hair stylist) pink and blue mane the colours and textures look amazing with the Foxtrot Hair plaits and braids!! The photographs for this shoot, were taken by photographer Helen McCann-O'Leary and are fantastic and in perfect  

contrast with the Modern Vintage and Undone Glamour shoots.

The other models who joined me on the day were the very young and beautiful Celine and Lois who had not done anything like this before. These girls had the longest legs ever and were happily walking about in short skirts, massive heels and no tights in the wintery weather! Perfect models with beautiful hairstyles! They were great in the Foxtrot Hair 'Undone Glamour' shoot and ruled the Boho, Festival Chic look. I caught a quick Instagram pic of them both on a runaway bicycle, which is hilarious but a brilliant natural shot with loads of energy. So funny! Well done ladies!

 In conclusion, Selena at Foxtrot Hair is a very creative lady so whether you are looking for a bang on trend look or a vintage inspired updo this freelance hair stylist can create it for you. 

Foxtrot Hair is based in Leicester, UK. Please contact Selena on her Facebook page here for more info.

I am lastly excited to announce that Selena chose one of my Modern Vintage shots for her business card and Facebook page, which I am very humbled by, it's a great honour and I am so happy the collaboration went so well! Here's to more Dilly Debutante collaborations. Now check out these amazing images!!!

All Hair & Styling - Foxtrot Hair

Photograpy - Dianne McDermott-Crampton for Modern Vintage & Undone Glamour &  Helen McCann-O'Leary for Festival Chic

Model & Styling - Emma Gorton-Ellicott for Modern Vintage & Festival Chic

Models - Celine Watts & Lois McDermott-Harris for Festival Chic & Undone Glamour  

Instagram images (last four images) from No Debutante and Loulouparis95

Photo collages by Foxtrot Hair

No Debutante's hair colour by Vikki Mac at Me Time

Thank you so much for reading and big whoop to my Pinterest boards as I now have over 1000 followers! I'm right happy!!

ND xx

Rock Around The Clock

I am finally catching up with my personal style pics and I am proud to say I am now only a month behind! The idea that I could be blogging about the outfit that I have just worn has seemed an impossibility to me up until now, it would have helped if I hadn't taken so many daily photos of literally every outfit I have worn over the past few years of blogging but I have calmed this down now and with double outfit posts (to help catch up) I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel! My plan is to keep writing weekly personal style posts but to have more time for other current obsessions and fashion favourites. 

My Pinterest boards and Instagram photographs are way ahead of my blog, obviously this is because they are both so instant and no writing and cropping is involved but I would like the blog to try and keep up as I love writing it and don't want to have to leave it behind!

Today's outfits are both Modern Vintage, the first rockabilly outfit was worn on a lovely day out in Bath, UK with some of my bestest friends and it features mix prints and layering, I do like a double collar! The hair is styled into a victory roll with plaits. 

The second outfit features some colour blocking worn with a maxi skirt and a Land Grrrll head scarf. For Victory!! Frilly ankle socks and Converse finish both outfits.

 Which is your favourite outfit? Do you follow me on Pinterest and Instagram too? Are blogs getting left behind?? Share your thoughts xx

Thanks for reading! I shall be back very soon with a No Debutante collaboration with my good friend and fellow blogger Dilly Foxtrot Investigates on her new creative venture! Watch this space!!

ND xx

Chanel SS 2014 - Picasso Punks

The Chanel Spring Summer 2014 collection is a coin of two halves for me, on the one side the classic Chanel twin set and pearl signature tweed suits and ladylike chic, the other is a colourful, young, high summer punk rock style which is, of course, what caught my eye, making it one of ( or in this case half of) my favourite Spring Summer 2014 collections. 

What do I love about Chanel SS 2014? Well, of course, the bright colour swatch, brush stroke inspired prints caught my eye instantly, followed by the matching Peter Pan collared crop top and skirt suit, I love a crop top and  co-ord separates at the moment so along with the bright prints this outfit ticked all of the No Debutante boxes! I love the 1970s style bandeau mini dress worn with the cute crop cardigan and the billowing printed kaftan both great inspirational looks for a holiday in the sun worn with those over sized 1970s sunglasses and rock' n' roll choppy bob hair.

I like the idea of wearing long socks (below the knee) as an accessory to the look which for me would get a street style make over worn with wedges or converse low tops rather than chic pumps. As I said it is a collection of two halves and I am more inclined to go with the brighter, high summer pieces although I really love the monochrome tee and longer midi skirt and the sixties inspired tea dress with the embroidered lace panel. There is a hint of Country and Western style with the lace panelled midi skirts and pretty lace vest tops which are worn next to the more disco inspired asymmetric tops, there's a lot going on here and I am only showing you my favourite pieces! This isn’t a bad thing however as you know a bit of excessive more is more is something I’m rather partial to and Karl Lagerfeld isn’t a man told hold back. Go Chanel!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post but during the holidays my time is spent with my family and I don't get much spare time to blog! 

I hope you have enjoyed today's post and check out the full collection here and let me know you're favourite pieces. 

All images courtesy of Vogue.com. Thank you for being a bloggers friend!

 

Thanks to you guys for visiting and expect another personal style post very soon.

ND xx 

Pastel Denim

Hey Hey Fashionistas! I thought I had better write a blog post to prove I haven't left the planet since it has been over a week since my last post. Sometimes I just need a little break and a holiday and I have just returned from a brilliant long weekend away on the South West coast of England with my family. We stayed in a converted barn in North Devon and drove the VW Van down to the Ilfracombe and Woolacombe beaches for body boarding and rock pooling in the wind and sunshine (a common mix of weather in the UK for this time of year) and although I am feeling happy, I am totally in pain from over doing it at body boarding, mental note to myself...I am not a professional body boarder....Owwwww! Great fun though!

Here's a look at some more personal style pics, I really can't write much as my hands and arms are genuinely aching! I'll soldier on though.....Today's pics feature alot of denim in pale shades and pastel colours. Both of the denim shirts were from Primark last year and the jeans were from Harajuku in Japan bought nearly five years ago on my honeymoon! Here are two ways I wear a denim shirt anyhoo and I love my Maxi skirt too, I keep forgetting I have it and really must wear it more!

My bright rainbow hair always fades to pastel shades after about a month which I also like, it's a semi permanent hair colour that just keeps on giving. Influenced by my personal original nineties style I like to pop my hair up into cute buns which, for me, during the nineties, were influenced by Bjork. I still love a Bjork hair bun now!

 I am hoping to fit in another of my favourite Spring Summer 2014 designer collections for my next post, so watch this space and hope that the weather will now start to improve so we can actually wear these inspiring outfits!! Now, which designer collection to choose????

Thank you so much for reading and following!

ND xx

Time To Pretend

Some days, I don't have the time to take photographs of my outfit or to even write a blog post, which I have long since accepted. Now that I have a fair amount of blog followers I find myself getting annoyed if I haven't managed to get a photo an outfit especially when I am really happy with it or I am wearing something new that I want to show off, which is frankly ridiculous! Since getting a smart phone over a year ago and being able to use Instagram to take personal style pics and share them instantly (in a space where people are genuinely interested in your style) I have found this social networking tool great for those days when my time is really limited. Today's personal style pics feature a couple of instances when time has been short and I have only managed to take a snap shot of an outfit or look. The last look is how I would prefer to show off my outfits but sometimes this just isn't possible.

Expect Dungarees, Diner chic and a Rockabilly Cool.

All clothing from Topshop, Converse, H&M, Primark, Tatty Devine and Dr Martens.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed today's post and stick around for some more fabulous fashion fun! 

ND xx