No Debutante - I love Dungarees!

I have been busy this week with painting vintage wardrobes and planning my club night Bang's 10th Birthday Bash - one extreme of my life to the other. I can't say I am ever bored or have nothing to do! I like to give myself a project or ten and still manage to have no time for any of them. This evening I am planning another collaboration with the photographer Mark Sewell, which is very exciting. Watch this space for evidence of all the above!!

I have a new obsession, well it's been an obsession for a while but I couldn't get my hands on what I wanted for ages and then, like buses, two pairs of dungarees come along at once!! Yes, dungarees are the new obsession or overalls as they say in America. 

So, I have been looking for the correct pair for, at least, a year and then I find a pair beckoning me in Topshop, the fit and shape of these Topshop dungarees are perfect, my only beef with them is the stupid worn effects on the knees that managed to rip on first wear. I hadn't even noticed this when I first got them - this is the price you pay when you go clothes shopping with a baby! I thought Topshop would know by now that the whole customising jeans thing is so ten years ago, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I would prefer my jeans to be worn away naturally. I won't go on.

Obviously, I am still wearing the Toppers dungarees but I am slightly bitter about the whole subject!

The second pair of dungarees were bought for me by my lovely husband Phil as a Christmas present from my new favourite vintage shop Freddies of  Pinewood. It was a surprise to receive the retro 1950s style dungarees, a very welcome surprise!! The fit and shape of the 1950s dungarees is fantastic, the legs are very long and wide, leaving plenty of room for the obligatory, turned up hems, I love them!!!
This is how I wear dungarees.

The Topshop Dungarees

The 1950s Dungarees from Freddies of Pinewood

My new Tatty Devine necklace a present from my sons Lucian and Mika for Christmas!

As you can see, I have been wearing my new dungarees alot lately. Which ones do you prefer? And how do you wear yours?

 ND xx

My Girl Lollipop

 I have always been a bit of a tomboy who also happens to dress real girlie sometimes....what's wrong with that? As an opposite to my androgynous boy side I also have a child like, dressing up. girlie side.

I have always loved the 1960s Dolly look which made the model Twiggy a fashion icon. I love the basic, childlike outfits of the era and those eyelashes! I once heard Twiggy say on TV that she would put on a few sets of eyelashes and then about 8 layers of mascara to get the look! I am always a fan of dolly style make-up, I love the dolly rouge on the cheeks, worn with those eyelashes and the side parted mod like hair style.

I started using child like hairstyles on my hair as a teenager during the early 1990s circa Bjork Debut era, I loved Bjork's style and the way she styled her hair and coveted it.

Around the same time there was a new underground culture emerging in Harajuku in Japan, this was documented in Fruits Magazine by photographer Shoich Aoki who photographed street fashion portraits within the suburbs of Tokyo.

Many of the portraits featured cute and childlike styles.

Fruits achieved cult status in Japan during the 1990s and more recently mainly thanks to social networking, worldwide cult status.

I personally didn't find Fruits until about 1999 when I found the newly published Fruits Book on the shelf in Selfridges and had to buy instantly! I had seen some fashion images of Harajuku kids in magazines but not on this scale!! Since then, I have been obsessed with Fruits Magazine and Japanese Street style culture, so much so that for our honeymoon Phil and I went to Tokyo and got to hang out in Harajuku on a Sunday, despite the scene not being quite as big as it was during the 1990s, I still loved it and got to be a Harajuku girl for a day!

Oversized hair bows and child like graphics.

1960s Dolly Style

Fruits - the book that started my Harajuku obsession!

1990s Bjork style



Retro child like prints, baby pastels and dolly styles at Meadham Kirchhoff  SS 12

Child like styling and outfits made from hand painted pastel net curtain fabrics by New Zealand fashion graduate Ella Barton Buchanon via my favourite blog Style Bubble!

http://www.stylebubble.co.uk/style_bubble/2012/12/candy-lace.html

I want Candy!

Cute styles from Annikavictoria and Wonderlandharu who I follow on fashionfinder.asos.com

Child like make-up and accessories

Baby doll dresses

White ankle socks and DMS!

Cute hair styles in bright colours and geek chic

Since there will always be children, this child like dolly style will remain and although it will adapt to become more contemporary with each scene and trend, the inspiration behind it will remain timeless and I certainly hope to continue to be influenced by it and hope to become the eccentric old 'fashion obsessed' lady that I aspire to be! ND xx

Thanks to all below for the wonderful images via my pinterest Fashion board! http://pinterest.com/nodebutante/

urbanheartvintage.tumblr.com   vintagevirgin.tumblr.com   larajadephotography.tumblr.com   jofesin.blogspot.com carolinesmode.com fairykei.tumblr.com  stylebubble.co.uk
tokyofashion.com

Hoochie Coochie Halloween Oct 2012 - Rock and Roll All Night!

Happy New Year and all that.

 I personally did not get to have a very sociable New Year (missing my brothers 1950s NYE Party) due to a random illness, nothing new from me there, if there's an illness to be catching this winter, I seem to catch it! Instead I sat up with my kids and Phil and watched the film - School of Rock, which the boys loved and became inspired, starting an impromptu band rehearsal in the garage (where we so happen to have a set of drums) the next day. It was very cute.

I sadly, do not have any images of the garage band but I do have some images from Hoochie Coochie Halloween that I hadn't shown you yet. I still have another lot of Bang and Hoochie photos to show you, but that will come, in between fashion posts, over the next few weeks!
 Our chosen outfits for the Halloween spectacular were Kiss Zombies.

The event took place in Bristol Museum, if it's good enough for Banksy.......It was a fantastic venue, despite a lack of bar service which unfortunately ruined the night for some, I personally, felt honoured to DJ at such an event with my brother and fellow Bang DJ Mike, and our lovely Bang roadies /ornaments Steve and Naomi. Phil could not attend the event due to a lack of babysitters...boo hoo! There are only a few images to show you and I thought it would be a shame not to post about them, even if they are a little late in coming.

That's where we DJ'd, up there, above the stage on the balcony!! It was soooo surreal! Put it this way, on the opposite platform to us was the best-preserved dinosaur ever found in Britain - the Scelidosaurus....As I said, very surreal!!

Here's to the first of many, many posts in 2013 -One of my new years resolutions is to blog more......We'll see how that goes.......Ahem!...ND xx

No Debutante - A Winters Tale Part 2 -Your hair looks like an easter egg...

Whilst Phil and my sons play Skylanders Giants on the newly received Wii U. I shall ignore what they are doing (and recognise when I am not wanted) and begin the second part of my Winters Tale double bill personal style blog post. I have since been taking many more pics of my Christmas fashion goodies but lets just end with the Nov-Dec fashion moments first! The baby is in bed by the way, she's not just randomly crawling about the house like that baby in Trainspotting...

 

 

I bloody love this Gang of Four tshirt!! I was a bit scared of it when I first got the big, oversized, monstrous bright yellow item but now I get annoyed when it isn't clean! (You can only imagine the clothes washing dilemma in my house with five people including two young boys and a baby) Here it is, my new favourite tshirt, worn with my high waisted H&M skater skirt (which is virtually vintage) and the studded Topshop pumps! This is what I look like at the end of the day after work and school pick ups BTW!

When I have a bit more time on my hands, I pop on some make-up (a little too much make-up on this occasion, some might say) and pop my hair up into cute kiddie bunches and then go hunting for my one year old daughter and do the same to her, Sylvie is clearly loving it!

  Not the bunches again Mummy!!!

Here's a sneak preview of me at the December Hoochie Coochie event, where The Bang DJs are residents, in a Rags to Riches themed outfit. More images of this amazing night to follow over the next few weeks!!

Vikki Mac, my hair stylist was our babysitter for the evening and Vikki kindly quaffed my hair up into and amazing curly mohawk. It's great when your hair stylist is your babysitter, isn't it?

Here's my hair after Vikki Mac got her hands on it again a couple of weeks later, she put on a toner which I would only describe as neon orange, which was terrifying when wet, but I have actually been loving ever since!! It's still in my hair a bit now, two weeks later, which frankly is great for a toner on hair that needs to be washed regularly. I'm tempted to go back and get it done again already!

 

This is the outfit I chose to wear at my work Christmas party. My bodycon tiger print dress with the baseball boot wedges and my neon hair which coincidentally matched the 1970s wallpaper behind me. The party was held at the Big Chill Bar in Bristol (where my club night Bang were resident DJs for two years) this room is the secret 1970s kitchen diner, which looked great and was a pretty intimate space but unfortunately the retro record player couldn't play any of the vinyl as they were all scratched and we only had the tiny speakers to play our ipods instead which were frankly too quiet.......despite this I have many photos proving we were having fun, even though I was apparently ill when i got home and I don't remember the taxi journey at all........I'd say the party was a success!

 

Pour me another Sailor Jerry's and ginger ale Phil! Happy Christmas!! ND xx

 

 

 

No Debutante - A Winters Tale Part 1 - Dr Beat

Hope you've all had a great Christmas, mine has been hectic to say the least but it's great to spend more time with the family. Following my weeks of feeling under the weather then the run up to a Christmas with three kids, the chance to get any blogging done has been virtually, non-existent but that's the good thing about blogging you can just come back and carry on from where you left off!

 

This post is another of my No Debutante style posts and since I haven't blogged forever, there are a fair few images making this a two parter!

Welcome to Part one.

 

 

  Retro 1950s cut jeans, oversized cardigan and Dr Martens - what do we call this look? Tough geek chic?!

 

 

Fake fur, Peter Pan collar dress and Docs? Oh yes!

 

 

Winter Grunge? Layering up for a Winter in England.

 

 

 

Camouflage jacket, sunshine and my studded ballet pumps. Sunshine has to come before ballet pumps as they are useless in the rain or freezing cold!

 

 

 Mika in his Docs!

 

 

Buzzcocks t-shirt, the tightest denim cut offs ever and Docs!

Me, Djing at Bang - Your New Favourite Club! A whole post about how the launch party at Bang's new home went to follow soon!

 

 

These photos were all taken around the time I had been to the Dr Martens launch Party back in mid November and, despite being rather ill, I had managed to soldier on and take photos of myself and to promote Dr Martens!! This wasn't a planned, conscious decision to wear Docs all the time, it just happened that way! So this is how I wear mine, clearly! As you can see my 6 year old son Mika is wearing his kids Docs that I purchased (half price no less!) at said event in Bristol. Mika calls his Docs his jumping shoes! 

 

Anyhoo, I believe the second Part of this No Debutante post will be less Dr Martens heavy, even though I am freezing and would happily wear them every day. ND xx

Tapered Jean Girl - Step away from the skinnies, it’s over!

I am declaring that I will not buy another pair of skinny jeans, my relationship with them is over……for now….I worked out that I have been wearing skinny jeans for well over 10 years…..ever since I stepped away from my Miss Sixty stylee hipster flared jeans in the very early 2000s and declared I would not buy another pair, well I stuck to my word there, thank goodness…..

I really am bored of skinnies and despite my really loving them for many years, I now cannot stand them! It was at the point that the Jegging was invented that I decided enough is enough! I have never owned a pair of bloody Jeggings and if I wanted to wear a really tight pair of lycra trousers I would just wear a pair of leggings??? Who is with me here?

Anyhoo, I have been purchasing tapered and 1950s cut jeans over the past 4 years and have totally embraced them, so much so that it has become a current / ongoing obsession to collect images of them on Pinterest over the past year. Here a few images of mostly 1950s style jeans from vintage to new styles cut from old vintage patterns. I really recommend getting a pair, with their high waistbands and turned up hems, yes they are totally different shape to what you’re used to but hey, they are so cool, rock’n’roll and make you feel like you could probably win a Lindy-Hop competition when wearing them…….

 

 So, did you like what you see?? Get you’re here http://www.freddiesofpinewood.co.uk/ and http://www.vivienofholloway.com/

All images from my pinterest Fashion board http://pinterest.com/nodebutante/fashion/ and were originally sourced from vivienofholloway.com and Freddiesofpinewood.co.uk (including the fantastic vintage photographs) I think Freddies Of Pinewood may be becoming one of my current obsessions!

This is a jeans related quote from a lovely man and fellow colleague from the now deceased Venue Magazine (God, rest her soul!) where I somehow still work! Now I will say this story was told under the influence of alcohol but I loved it and it has stuck with me ever since.

 ‘I had a friend from New York back in the 1970s, who came over to England to visit, when she arrived she asked’ why are you all still wearing flares here? Nobody wears flares in New York anymore, they wear skinny jeans’ I was confused and asked ‘what’s wrong with flares? I love my flares and will never stop wearing them!’……But slowly……. after a period of time I found myself wearing skinny jeans, I didn’t know how it happened or why I didn’t wear flares anymore. I was annoyed about it for sometime………..’

I'm not sure whether the person who told the story would like me to name him on my blog….not that he is likely to be reading my blog (please feel free leave a comment if you do)…..I just love the story though, It just about sums up how fickle and powerful fashion really can be! Now go get them jeans!! ND xx

No Debutante and Mark Sewell Bristol Photoshoot Collaboration

.............And.......I'm back in the room........This is my first blog post for nearly a month, I have been really poorly, tired, worn out but soldiering on and definitely paying the price of being a busy mother of three, DJ and blogger, not to mention my day job! When illness hits us, it hits hard, with a very poorly and teething (yes, a double whammy of fun) baby, two very energetic boys and no sleep whatsoever AND two clubs nights, I have pretty much been a zombie of late, going to bed at 8pm (on the non DJing nights, of course).

I am glad to say that I actually got a full nights sleep last night, thanks to my beautiful little baby Sylvie Belle who is finally on the mend and turned 1 years old last week (I'm still in shock about that too, it's gone ridiculously quick!) Happy Birthday Sylvie Belle!!! I love you xxxx

 

Following my last blog post, better late than never, I had mentioned there would be a collaboration between No Debutante and the photographer Mark Sewell (my friend from the Dr Martens Bristol Shop Launch event - he took the pictures of Me and Rudi at the event). Well this did happen and I am (finally) pleased to share with you my favourites images from the photo shoot.

The theme for the photo shoot is basically quite raw and I guess urban, for want of a better word, It is a very British look. It was shot in my hometown (well, adopted hometown of the past 10 years) of Bristol, here in the UK. The area is Stokes Croft which is close to where I live and has some great graffitti including the iconic Mild, Mild, West Banksy mural. The styling was influenced by Dr Martens/ skinhead style / This is England, mixed with my own personal style. I am also a massive lover of these influences and the music that goes with them including Ska and two-tone. Please use these as a soundtrack whilst browsing through the photographs!

 

I hope you like the photographs which were all taken by Mark Sewell, styling and model No Debutante. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Aahh! Beautiful Sylvie Belle with Mummy (mid fashion shoot and a quick break at Boston Tea Party on Stokes Croft).

 

All photographs by Mark Sewell.

All clothing from Topshop, H&M, Primark, army surplus stores, Fred Perry and Dr Martens.

 

I had forgot to mention that Mark and I had decided to include Dr Martens into the photo shoot in hope of winning a pair on the Dr Martens facebook page, which encourages you to Share Your Style. Follow this link and share yours too and win yourself a new pair of Docs!https://apps.facebook.com/dmstyle/contests/305119/entries/new

 

A massive, great big thank you to Mark Sewell for his time and fabulous photography, I look forward to our next collaboration very soon!!!

 

So, which photograph shall I upload for Share Your Style? Watch this space to see if I'm successful! ND xx