Style Obsession! The oversized shirt

No Debutante is still in love with the Oversized shirt! 

With a penchant for eighties oversizing and prints, the fascination with the oversized shirt had always been there, then one of my fave brands Lazy Oaf started creating some amazing versions in the generously oversized shapes I craved, nobody could compete with Lazy Oaf's shirts....but then....Monki, I confess, I'm hooked, are churning them out on a bi-weekly bases and at really great prices and sizes that fit all. 

There was still a prominant gap in the market for larger girls to be able to get plus size garms with the oversizing style they wanted too. One of my close friends is a size 18 and is literally buzzing about the Monki oversized shirts fitting her the way they fit me (I'm a size 12 but always wear bigger sizes and often mens tops) Monki really have changed things for the plus sized fashionista! 

I understand why Lazy Oaf garms only come in three sizes, they are an independent and despite the garms being more expensive than Monki's cheap as chips fashion gems, they are limited editions, plus their size large is actually pretty large but I wouldn't go as far to say it would definitely fit a size 18.

The battle goes on between the high street and the independents, Lazy Oaf were certainly doing the generous oversizing thing first but let's not feel too sorry for them just yet. In terms of resale Lazy garms are so sought after, due to their limited edition drops and mass international following, that you could sell on your worn Lazy Oaf items for more than you paid for them originally. Shame the independents aren't making that return for themselves eh? Perhaps this is why the prices for the latest drops of Lazy Oaf goodies are rising, the indies need to get some of those rewards for themselves somehow and there is certainly a market for it! 

Where else can you source some oversized shirt goodness?? Vintage and thrift/charity shops have loads of oversized mens shirts available, try on the biggest sizes and play around with it. Pinstripes are looking to be a big thing over the next year too, so roll the sleeves up and style it out! This style is for the boys too not just the grrrls! 

I just love oversized shirts, all printed up with a contemporary graphic worn either buttoned all the way up or undone and layered over another top. Wear yours with leggings, jeans or if it's long enough, as a dress with tights this winter or some cute culottes (yes,culottes are not just for the summer! But, that's another story for another day...). 

However you wear it, wear it big, it's a great investment that will see you right through to spring. 

Photographs & Words by No Debutante

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.   
ND xx

I love Daisies read her shirt

When I was a young fashionista I followed each seasons trends and fashion shows religiously, I always wanted the next big thing (if I could afford it) and would get excited about the Vogue catwalk special to see all the next big trends, which I would covet using high street and vintage items.

It then became less about the seasons must haves and more of a realisation (thanks to discovering The Face magazine) that I loved styling up outfits and just wanted to wear what I wanted whether everyone loved it or not. I made my own clothes too which meant I didn't have to just put up with what the high street had on offer and made my look even more unique

These days I just dip in to whats going on on the catwalks usually through blogs I read, people I follow on Instagram, a quick look on the Vogue website or scanning through (rather obsessively) my ever trusty pinterest boards. I have collected thousands of fashion imagery over the years and always want to share my findings with you but pinterest moves faster than I can blog! 

The Marc Jacobs Spring Ready-to-wear 2018 collection caught my eye whilst I was browsing through Susie (Lau) Bubble's blog, Style Bubble. I  just loved the big hippy-trippy retro flowers, I've not been a flower print lover for a few years but these bold and bright beauties remind me of my nineties youth where big daisies covered everything from belts, dresses to De La Soul's '3 feet high and rising' album. I just loved daisies when I was a teenager! The extra surprise were the super cute sequinned flower embellished fabrics in real bright colours, adding a little glamour to this fashion mash up.

The next things noted were the head wraps, worn big and up high African style, I love head wraps but I have a tiny head and no hair to wrap it around, you have to wrap about twenty scarfs round my head for any effect! A great alternative to a woolly hat for the winter that will work all year round, give it a go!

The bright coloured and extreme oversized rain macs and knits look great worn big and slouchy, perfect for keeping you real warm and cuddly for the winter months especially when layered over a poloneck and shirt for triple protection against the elements!

There is a nod to sportswear with voluminous tracksuits and sports anoraks worn with the poloneck and shirts buttoned all the way up ensemble and it looks like bumbags, socks and sliders are here for another year. Who's waiting for spring? This collection can inspire you now!

The key pieces for a Marc Jacobs inspired transitional winter wardrobe

Head wraps 

Worn big in bold colours and bright prints (wrap headscarves and shawls around your head and play around with it).

Bright coloured, oversized knitwear 

Worn over fitted shirts

Voluminous Anoraks 

Pulled in at the waist with a bumbag

Voluminous trousers 

In bright colours and big prints, roll them in at the bottom to create a carrot effect think more hareem than a baggy All Saints 90s girl band vibe!

Daisy prints 

Look for vintage or retro inspired items. Good luck, I haven't seen any yet! The high street will be full of them by Spring!

The Accessories 

Urban Sports influenced bumbags, Duffel bags and cross body bags covered with keyring charms, worn all at once, Mesh ruffled collars and boas worn as scarves and as bag accessories, big earrings, beaded bags and details and that amazing head wrap. 

Photographs courtesy vogue.com

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.   
ND xx

New Denims

Denim is big this season and perfect transitional fashion, here are the No Debutante faves of the season..... 

Geek Chic Cuts
From geeky half mast crops to extended turned up hems the jeans cut continues to stay creative and fun in dark indigo shades to retro stonewash fades there, is a lot to choose from. Check out Ader Error and Unif for alternative style inspo. 

The Ultimate Denim Jacket
 It's not just about jeans, the denim jacket is still around in vintage oversized, shearling style denims or jackets updated with added ruffles and embroideries as seen at Monki.

Boys in Blue
The crop Dickies style jean is popular with the boys this season from 80s stonewash, 70s patchwork or 90s indigo's, whatever your preferred decade from the catwalk fashionistas to street style lovers, it has to be cropped or turned up this winter, preferably with a pair of white sports socks underneath. 

Jumpsuits are here to stay
With dungarees looking as strong as ever, the denim boilersuit has confidently become this seasons dare to wear staple. Not just for the brave the denim boilersuit comes in fitted styles, is super comfy and will keep you warm over the colder months, wear yours with a colourful poloneck underneath, same goes for those jumpsuits and dungarees. 

Boilersuit from Urban Outfitters & Cute oversized jumpsuit from Monki

Retro Inspo

With retro sportswear and streetstyle heavily influencing and inspiring the catwalks, the sportswear styling has now made it to denim jeans with go faster stripes at Monki to a 1970s vibe added to styling with Adidas gazelles and sports tops and that shearling style denim jacket, denim styled  up with brights colours and stripes are a looking good this winter. 

Debutante Denims

From an oversized denim slip and tasseled crop jeans from Monki to vintage cut 1950s jeans from Vivien of Holloway, these pieces will see me through all through the winter with added long sleeve tops, jackets,warm socks, Dr Martens and perhaps a little bit of double denim. Watch this space!

Join #NDdenim
No Debutante wants to see your denims and how you wear it. Tag @nodebutante or #nddenim #NDdenim to get featured. This is an ongoing hashtag for the winter and it just for fun, wanna see
yourself on the No Debutante blog and social media? Get involved! 
Join in, there will be more No Debutante fashion hashtags added throughout the year, it would be great to get a group of fashionistas regularly appearing. Join the fun!

Photographs courtesy of unifclothing.com addererror.com, monki.com, vogue.com urbanoutfitters.com, elleuk.com, lazyoaf.com, drmartens.com, obeyclothing.co.uk, theshapeoftheseason.com, Ruth Wood and No Debutante

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.    
ND xx

Vans X Karl Lagerfield V the skate community

Catwalk giant Karl Lagerfield has got together with Vans to create the skate labels latest collaboration and it's caused a right stink with the skate community!

Mr No Debutante skates, he loves it, he watches skate videos when he can't go out and skate and when he's not doing that he is on skate forums, often slagging off the fake skate fashion trends, especially since the skate giant Supreme sold out to the masses, there has been a lot to slag off. 

Anything can start off a fake skate hate thread, it can be a fashion model pretending to 'skate', models hanging out in skate parks for a photoshoot (I am guilty of this one myself), obvious rip offs of respected skate labels logos on fashion items and try hard skate decks created by fashion designers to give themselves a street edge, emblazoned with fashion logos (usually with the trucks attached incorrectly) and of course the collaboration of high fashion with a skate label. 

The latest Vans collaboration hasn't gone un-noticed by the (real) skate community with comments like  'It's overpriced garbage! Is he (Karl Lagerfield) trying to reach out to a younger audience and do they know or care who he is?' and 'It's supporting the death of core skateboarding, we need to get the sell outs out of skateboarding' and quite simply a Vans obituary reading 'Vans 1966 - 2017, Used to be for skaters, died being just for c**ts'. 

Hell my own husband had to email me the link to tell me about the collaboration, not because No Debutante loves fashion you understand but to tell me that the skate community are pissed.

I completely understand why the skaters get pissed off by this and for the past few years I have become obsessed myself, sending skate hubby fake skate fashion images when I come across them, but I am also a fashion lover so I feel the need to review this latest collection, as a fashion writer and not as a skaters moll. 

This is the official description, of said collection, 'A Parisian-chic twist to Vans' timeless classics' written by Vans (ahem.. more likely Karl) it is laughable to say the least!  I can see how it may wind a skater or two up the wrong way. Why does a skate label need some added Parisian-chic? 

Let's make things clear, looking at the Vans X Karl Lagerfield collab, it's a fashion collection and has jack to do with skating, you cannot skate in those platform creeper soled Vans, not only will you look ridiculous but they'd be ripped to shreds in seconds, by the grip tape as you attempt ollies and kickflips in those quilted, platformed beauties, that's if you don't break your neck first....proper gnarly? I think not. 

The collection, as a whole, is basic and simple but has a few appealing features, as a none skater I do like a pair of platform trainers and the monochrome checkerboard print is very on-trend as well as being a Vans classic. The hoodie and tees are pretty standard and the zip up bomber has a similar style to a retro style Adidas jacket, it is all OK, a design masterpiece it is not, but it's OK. The platform shoes are my favorite pieces, but I don't think I will be splashing out the £125 for the privilege.

If only Vans could just admit to the sell out and agree that this is just a fashion collection, then I might be able to understand it but, hilariously, they are still trying to sell it as a skate collection, insisting that their signature rubber waffle outsoles (even on their platform shoes) will offer you a firmer grip....a firmer grip from what? Falling off the catwalk? 

Skaters 1 Vans 0

Photographs courtesy of  www.vans.co.uk

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.    
ND xx

Catching up with Bristol 24/7 - Part 2

It's amazing how your brain becomes so open and inspired when you are away from your usual life, whilst on holiday I must have truly gone into relax mode as I sat on a sun lounger in the baking heat of Mallorca, my head just started filling up with so many ideas for blogging and writing and life in general, I found myself positively inspired.
There is no saying I will carry out all of my new ideas but being away from my natural surrounding had opened a door which seemed, not completely shut but a little blocked somehow....blocked with life and all it's paraphernalia. 
One of my decisions made during this inspiring time was to write more No Debutante blog posts and articles for the Bristol 24/7 website, I really enjoy writing so why not do more of what you like? 

Here's a selection of the latest No Debutante posts for Bristol 24/7 magazine featuring fashion designers, upcycling events, fabulous festivals, fashion shows and young creatives, all based in the awesome city of Bristol, as the Fashion Editor, Emma Gorton-Ellicott.  

Young Bristolian artists put on a show to remember

A group of emerging young artists from the North Bristol Post-16 Centre exhibited a creative display of contemporary textiles, art and photography for their End of Show extravaganza at Centrespace Gallery. Read more here

Heritage fashion flies high

Bristol-based Peregrine Clothing are a classic English Heritage brand, producing high end knitwear and outerwear collections – perfect for our fickle British weather. Read more here

The Fashion Front and Bzzaar combine forces 

Two local fashionistas have come together to create fabulous fashion happenings in Bristol. Read more here

The summer of love

Love Saves The Day is the perfect name for the annual Eastville Park festival with a rainbow clash of everything that glitters and sparkles mixed with a bohemian/streetwear mash up. Read more here

Revamp, restyle, reuse

The Revamp, Restyle, Reuse event, part of Fashion Revolution Week, took place in Bristol Energy Hub. Designers and lovers of recycled fashion worked in collaboration with Bristol upcycling heroes Emmaus Bristol, Bristol Textile Recyclers (BTR) and Kecks Clothing. Read more here

Bristol’s fashion army

Despite never visiting the UK before, Jerry Grocravla moved to Bristol from Paris, ended up falling in love with our city and has been here ever since. Read more here

Moi xx

Photographs from the first two articles courtesy of  Maddie Rees and Peregrine Clothing. All other photography by No Debutante.

If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.    
ND xx

Guess who's back?

Hey Fashionistas! It's great to be back after a well deserved break following a very mentally and emotionally stressful but ridiculously productive year. Sometimes a girl just needs to shut down and relax and ten days in Mallorca with the fam was just what this fashion blogger needed. 

Here's a quick recap of what we have been up to and No Debutante will be back with more fashion fun, inspiration and current obsessions very soon! It's good to be back xx

Tutti Frutti prints

Family Fun in the sun

That Parrot dress!

All photography by No Debutante


If you are having a fashion event or a have a new collection you would like No Debutante to promote please get in touch!

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name 
Emma Gorton-Ellicott

If you are interested in collaborating with No Debutante or getting featured on the No Debutante blog please contact me

Keep up with No Debutantes OOTD posts, collabs and current fashion obsessions posted daily on all of the following. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.    
ND xx