Six Years as No Debutante, the story so far......

Six years ago I was pregnant with my third child, I had been out of the fashion loop for some time and was yearning to get back into doing something related to fashion, I had previously been a fashion designer for girls wear high street brands, followed by starting up my own fashion label Phlem in 2002 which I loved!

Phlem had lots going on including a market stall, a website and a unit in a fashion shop in Bristol. Sadly, a lack of funds and help for start ups at the time meant that my business had to come to an end in 2005 after the birth of my eldest son and another baby on the way. It had to end so I could look after my children as we couldn't afford the childcare costs at the time and literally one day, I just stopped designing.

By 2008, after a very bored and uninspired stint as a stay at home mum, (I love my kids but honestly that life drove me nuts) I had landed myself a job at Venue Magazine (which would lead me to where I am now, but I had no idea at the time!) I loved the magazine and it seemed a worthwhile job to do and put my kids in childcare for, I never understood the mentality of working long hours, barely seeing your kids, paying for childcare to work a job you hate?? This job was fun, it was inspiring and it just about paid for the nursery costs!

I loved it at Venue, I met so many interesting and inspiring people, we were all creatives one way or another and despite my job at Venue only being in admin, it sparked something in me to bring fashion back into my life!

My husband Phil had been going on at me for ages to write a blog, but I had no idea about them and dismissed the idea, then I found Susie Bubble and Tavi Gevinsons blogs....I was hooked and thought, 'yep I can do that'. So I did. Friends had also commented on the outfits I wore around the same time and so naturally the blog started as a 'what I wore' type of blog but there was a catch, I was 20 weeks pregnant with child number three (alright, I know, three kids!!). Since I had no choice in the matter, my blog started as a pregnancy fashion blog, I really do not cope well with my body expanding, I didn't bloom, I moaned but I accepted the challenge!

The No Debutante blog has evolved over the years from a high street fashion loving blog, to a what I wore blog, to a short stint as a life style and beauty blogger (it wasn't for me), even a brand ambassador blogger, all in my attempts to make it as a blogger! I came to the realisation that I didn't want to fit in, I didn't care if I had hundreds of followers, this was my fashion diary, my platform and if anyone else was listening then great!

I began moving away from the high street and writing more about the non conventional designers like Meadham Kirchhoff and Ashish, and new brands like The White Pepper and Lazy Oaf who were the leaders in oversized fashion at the time which I was obsessing over! I then started promoting sustainable fashion after attending a fashion salvage event which lead on to Bristol fashion.

With my personal style posts becoming less frequent as I wanted less me and a bigger variety of content, I slowly noticed that my hometown Bristol was briming full of fashion creatives who needed to be recognised by people outside of Bristol. We needed to be taken seriously! With my heart going out to them as someone who also once was a Bristol designer struggling to get some press, I knew I could help out, even if it was just a little bit!

I now meet new creative Bristolians every week, honestly, it's nuts, I will never run out of content at this rate. I have met so many amazing, talented and inspirational people in Bristol and I am so proud of myself for going out there (nearly always on my own) and introducing myself as a self-confessed, Bristol fashion ambassador! I am enjoying every minute and I'm so happy that my six years of hard work as a fashion blogger has turned into something good!

The final bit of icing on the cake was Bristol 24/7 Magazine (many of my ex-colleagues from Venue Magazine work there now after Venue was sadly shut down - kicking and screaming - back in 2012, luckily for me some of them had read my blog!) got in touch, which brings me to where I am now, a Fashion Editor for Bristol 24/7 and still an avid fashion blogger (never forget where you came from) not bad for a fashionista mum, with a mashed up fashion sense and no qualifications in journalism, eh?

Thank you to everyone who has read and followed my blog over the years, I hope you enjoyed the No Debutante story...so far.....I really couldn't have done it without you! Mwaaaaah xxxx

Three years of No Debutante!

Hey hey fashionistas! Today we are celebrating three years of No Debutante. Back on the 14th July 2011 I decided to start my own fashion blog. I was a few months pregnant with my daughter Sylvie Belle and thought I would share my fashion frustrations and personal dilemmas on how I dressed my ever increasing tummy. This was also the birth of my personal style posts and where it all began! 

Here are a random selection of the No Debutante personal style pics taken between July 2011 to July 2014. Expect many changes in style, body size and hair styles, remembering I had a baby in the middle of this fashion mash up!

Happy Birthday No Debutante!

All photographs and styling by No Debutante with a little extra help on a few of the above images from Mark Sewell, Selena at Foxtrot Hair, Dianne McDermott-Harris and Vikki Mac who have been inspirational Photographers and Stylists! You rock!

Also a lovely big thank-you to my amazing husband Phil for not laughing when I told him I was starting a fashion blog and for my buying me a camera tripod to take my own personal style photographs and to my patient kids for taking the photographs before Phil did this! 

ND xx

It's too early for that dress - Post Pregnancy Fashion Dilemmas Part 12

It's hard to follow my previous- visually stunning - post on Loiuse Gray's Topshop collection with photos (not quite as visually stunning) of me and what I have been wearing in what will be one of my last posts for the Post-Pregnancy Fashion Dilemmas series.

Sylvie is about to turn 9 months over the next week so I have decided any images of me taken from the 28 August will become my style & fashion moments rather than post pregnancy fashion images. I shall have to come up with a new name for the post too.

 

I have featured a couple of other people in this post and some early pregnancy images of myself, you'll see why in a moment. These photos are all from July this year - yes, I still have a back log of images to post about, but I have been away on my hot Ibiza hols and now need to get through these Summer 2012 images quick, the new Winter season is a-comin'....

 

 

 

This is the outfit I wore to my club night Bang in July. It was the hottest night ever, there was no way I was wearing anything too restrictive. I also had to make the most of wearing summer clothes, we don't see much sun here in the UK.

 

Neon Pink vesr (customised by me with a side knot) from H&M, the Leather Belt is vintage, denim cut offs customised by me. Name necklace from Tatty Devine.

 

This is my gorgeous husband Phil, he really did NOT want me to take his photo and blog about him, but I did it anyway, he looked so cute and cool. Here he is rocking the Vintage Americana trend in his Palm tree print short sleeve shirt and vintage fit jeans both from Topman. Cassette belt from Primark, Element sunglasses and Es skate shoes.

 

 I wish we hadn't cut the feet off of this photo, it would have looked really cute, Fruit Magazine style!! On the plus side, these photos were taken the morning after my club night Bang, just before we went to pick up the kids, we actually look quite good, considering.....

 

I am wearing black bodycon dress from H&M and Sonic Youth tee from Urban Outfitters.

 

 

Here's another person who I made pose for the blog, it's my cousin Claire and she was 18 weeks pregnant here and barely showing, she must be about 26 weeks now I reckon, I am loving the swallow print dress! We were at a family party here, I regret not taking more fashion photos that night, there were many style pic opportunities, unfortunately.......I was hammered....

 I'm always impressed with a pregnant woman in heels, generally your balance is all over the place, it's quite a challenge. I couldn't even dance when I was pregnant with my first son Lucian!!

 

I thought I would look back through my photo archives to when I was 18 weeks pregnant, I could have sworn I was bigger, I complained enough, I should have been......sorry Phil!

 

These images are from my first ever blog post!! When I didnt even bother putting make up on (that changed pretty sharpish) I don't remember ever being that skinny, my stomach looks like that now! Ha!

 

The final images from July 2012
I have taken to tucking in all my big baggy t-shirts into my denim cut offs, you will see more of this in my next post pregnancy blog post.

Gang of Four t-shirt from a present from Phil from 8ball, red sunglasses from H&M, belt and denim cut offs as before. ND xx



Whole Lotta Rosie - Part 6

So.......I am back with my latest (but not last....boo hoo!) Pregnancy Post for Whole Lotta Rosie - Part 6!!! Looks like you are gonna get to see me dressed as Jabba in Loungewear as this baby has decided not to come early and seems quite content to not come on time either! Help!!

This post covers the end of Week 36 - Week 39, I currently have 5 days to go until the baby is due and my patience are wearing thin, I still can't really complain though as I am not yet overdue and I am very excited about the baby coming - yes, I am in the denial stage, ignoring the idea that there is pain on the horizon!!

Despite my trying to remain laid back about the whole thing, I had one of the Mum's of a kid in Mika's class tell me  today that her babies have all been late, including one child that was....18 DAYS LATE!!!! Thanks I really DO NOT want to hear that. Thankfully her child ended up being ridiculously late because she was stubborn and wanted it all to happen 'naturally'....well that ain't me missus, any assistance I can get, as early as possible, I will take!!

There are a fair few images on this post too, I was camera happy again and treating everyday like it was my last day of pregnancy..........unfortunately, it wasn't!!

The end of Week 36 -  I thought I would go into labour on this day as it was Mika's 5th Birthday Party, which instead of being riotous (like all Lucian's Birthday parties) it was actually a sedated affair where all the little Reception kids were very well behaved, you could tell they had only just started at school, it couldn't have gone better! Thanks kids!!

I am wearing my favourite Xray Spex t-shirt (featuring one of my style icons, the late, great Poly Styrene!!) I got this t-shirt a couple of years ago from www.8ball.co.uk You can find good band t-shirts on this site, the quality is good and it's great for buying 80's style oversized t-shirts, that I love and are very useful when pregnant!! I like to wear it with the sleeves rolled up and oversized almost like a dress. I prefer to buy from this type of site rather than getting an obvious rock style t-shirt mass produced at Topshop, Urban outfitters and H&M (and every other high street shop for that matter). At least you get to choose your print, size and colour and can style it up yourself. I hate people wearing rock tshirts but not knowing the band or even worse than this is a fake band tshirt and by that I mean the printers have come up with a band that doesn't actually exist trying to avoid copyright issues!!!! Awful!! Rant Over!

37 Weeks -The Asos lace bodycon dress is still going strong, the maternity tights however are barely covering the bump. The Topshop maternity jeans no longer fit, I am now down to bodycon dresses and leggings for outfits, this annoys me!

2 November - Mika's actual 5th Brithday - I really didn't want the baby to come on this day, as you can see, it didn't...I'm wearing the Asos bodycon dress again, I am sensing a pattern forming....

Week 38 - Desperately finding different tops to go over the bodycon dresses and leggings, these wide H&M tops do the trick, but I am getting bored of it, I'm yearning to wear my leopard print trousers, denim shorts and playsuits, won't be long now.....so everyone keeps telling me....

Another day another wide H&M top over the bodycon!

Saw the midwife on this day, she told me the baby is growing fine, so no late scans for me boo hoo!! They are not gonna see me now until I am a week late, great thanks for your support!! The other bit of news was that the baby has now come out of the pelvis and has decided not to come out. I am finding it hard to keep up the british stiff upper lip charade...I am now just pissed off!

Popped my Dierdre Barlow glasses on to cheer myself up, I was going for an 80's secretary look here it seems. In my Topshop cropped blazer and oversized cobweb knit jumper, trying to disguise the bodycon that lurks beneath!

My boy hips have finally given in and I get woken up every hour at night to the pain of dead hips, they are killing me, it seems the exercise that I was hoping to encourage at the end of pregnancy( to get the baby out) has to be put on the back burner. I actually find it hard to sit around relaxing for too long, I get bored, I still haven't mastered it!

To match my lack of exercise I have popped on a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt from H&M, bring on the Chav, daytime TV & Lesiurewear, here I come!

On this day an old school friend had her baby, she lives in America and was induced (like all American ladies apparently) on her due date and had her little girl that day!! Congrats Mandy!!

However I am now totally jealous of American women, I want to be induced on the day I'm due! They don't bloody induce you in the UK until your are about 10 days late!! Its crap! Mika was 10 days late and was frankly overcooked, squashed and looked like a troll! He is, of course, beautiful now and straightened out after a few days..........basically my patience have totally ran out, I want my baby...NOW!!

It's the end of Week 38 and I couldn't handle it any longer, I went clothes shopping. I found this mohair stripe jumper in Topshop for only £25 in the sale, I'll wear it for years as it nods to punk and will get better with time!! I would have preffered it to be in a bigger size but, I get what I can at this stage. Why are all the sleeves so short on jumpers?? My friend Miri raised this issue oin facebook, there were alot of comments and the conclusion was that nobody wants these 3/4 length sleeves, they are useless in the winter!! Sort it out retailers!!

Let us also notice Mika hovering in the background of this photo, he said' he hoped he didn't ruin the photo this time' he was apparently 'trying' to get out of the way. He is so funny!

Oh look! New boots too? These little lovelies are also from Topshop and were £55, they have  a little wedge heel but are still flat enough for me to walk in, I love them....

Week 39 - One week to go!! Whoop Whoop!! I have squeezed myself into my Super Lovers t-shirt which I bought in the Super Lovers shop in Galleries Lafayette, Harajuku, Tokyo on my Honeymoon to Japan 2 years ago. I wanna go back!! I love Japan!!

Here's a couple of images where I bare all, well just the bump, it's not quite as iconic as Demi Moore's pregnancy shoot but I really have to be proud of my lack of stretchmarks after 3 babies!!

Still have the belly piercing in too, I have NEVER taken it out.

These Mothercare overbump seamless leggings (which I have totally rated until now) have let me down...literally, they have lost their elasticity a bit and have started to fall off when I walk!!

Back in the Mickey sweatshirt, worn with the bodycon and the new sheepskin, fleece lined wedge Topshop boots. Here's a close up of them below, they are so comfy and warm and look great!!

That bring's me to the end of my 6th but not final Whole Lotta Rosie Pregnancy posts, the good news is the next post will definately be the last, the bad news is you will get to see me looking like Jabba in very limited outfits, I shall probably just be in pyjamas the whole time, it make's things easier!!

I am very excited and cannot wait to meet my new little one xxx

Whole Lotta Rosie Part 5

Here's my next maternity post for Whole Lotta Rosie, it's Part 5 and I'm hoping there is only gonna be a Part 6 after this! If there is a Part 7 it shall involve pictures of me dressed like Jabba the Hut in loungewear.

 This post covers Weeks 34 - 36 , which is where I am now, just entering Week 37 and being told by everyone that it could be 'anytime now' that I go into labour. I feel cursed everytime those words leave their lips, like it adds a day onto my due date making the baby later and later!! SHUT UP!!

There seems to be alot of images for this post, I was camera happy and it was first thing in the morning before the school and work run, when I looked my best. I am not one of those people who keeps checking their hair and make-up throughout the day, so any end of the day photos would be even worse!

 Week 34

Here's me in the old faithful H&M bodycon vest dress and Topshop Denim shirt. Two of my friends babies have now been born they were both boys, I'm still not convinced I am definately having a girl, despite it being confirmed during the 20 weeks scan. My Mum had an attic clear out at the weekend and found

loads of retro baby dresses and knitwear that were mine (she's a worse hoarder than me!!) they will deffo get a mention on the blog soon and modelled by the new baby! Exciting!!!

 I could get away with not looking pregnant in this photo, i'm rather impressed but you do get annoyed when people tell you 'you're not that big' when you're actually feeling really uncomfortable, tired and don't fit into any of your old clothes, it's so easy to loose your identity when you are pregnant as you take on a style that's not really yours and your wardobe staples are a thing of the past (for a few months anyway!!)

 The outfit in full with Leopard print pumps from New look.

Saw the midwife on this day, she told me the baby was measuring a bit small and may need a late scan to check the baby is growing OK. My first son Lucian did have growth problems during the last month but he was still an Ok size at 6lbs 4oz, he was just a bit skinny!

 The second thing to consider here is that I have a longer than average torso, honest, I can't get a swimsuit to fit me, I'm too long, they end up looking highcut on the legs and lowcut on the chest, awful!! A bigger size is then too baggy, I can't win!

Anyhoo, having a long torso means I have more room inside me for a baby and then don't look that big when I'm pregnant. Imagine how big this baby really could be?? The plus side to a late scan is that I get to see the baby again, which is completely selfish but great!

This outfit in full with H&M yellow cardigan, red and black vests, the only trousers I own that fit me anymore from Topshop maternity and the leopard print pumps from Newlook. The weather must still be mild in England as I have no socks on.

The end of Week 34 and we now have the Baby's pram! I've curled my hair here as It's all getting cropped off again after work. I thought i'd make the most of the longer layers, dunno how it will looked curled when it's shorter. I'm basically getting the assymmetric cut out of  my hair as it's annoying and even my Mum & Mother-in-law have assymmetric hair now! I need to change my hair to a style they won't copy, it has to be extreme!!! I'm such a kid, i know, but it just ain't cool......ahem!

Check out how short the H&M bodycon dress is getting, the bump is so big it's pulling it up! The cropped jacket is from Topshop A/W 2010 & so is the jumper. The weather is getting colder and the layers start to pile on. These maternity tights do not cover my whole bump anymore, I don't actually think this baby is small at all!

Enter the extreme haircut, I'm still getting used to it, since I have lost my long fringe that I clearly used to hide behind like a comfort blanket. My hairdresser Vikki Mac at Angela Gaudi in Bristol, Uk thoroughly enjoyed cropping my hair off, despite my telling her when I was first pregnant not to let me talk her into cutting all may hair off late in pregnancy when I'm all crazy & hormonal, she did it anyway, the sick bitch!

Week 35.....It's my last week at work!! I'm not sure how I feel about this, I am tired and uncomfortable, but I'm gonna miss my work mates and physically doing my job, I shall get bored....more time for blogging then? With a baby? Maybe......The exciting thing about finishing work is that it means my baby will be here soon. I cannot wait!!

I'm clearly on the school run here, ipod et al. The khaki poncho was a bargain from my recent visit to Primark, it was only £8! I love Primers Primarni!! I got the poncho in a size massive, not just because I'm pregnant, this is the way I like to wear clothes, easier for layering etc. The Topshop maternity jeans and my red converse low tops, one of the only pairs of my shoes that I can actually reach to put on by myself. My husband Phil usually has to help out with any fastenings! Putting on socks is the latest issue.

I've got over the initial hairshock. The fringe has calmed down and has stopped balancing on the top of my head. I like the colour contrast too. I love you again Vikki Mac!

I was about to visit my friend Rudi here, who was, at this point, a day overdue, massive and pissed off!! She did finally have her lovely little boy by the end of the week, yes, another boy!! I'm excited because it's me next in line to have my baby!! Although the worry about the baby being late has kicked in!

On an entirely different note....Check out the Deirdre Barlows!! I have wanted a pair of these glasses for ages and then I saw Amanda Warner with some and that was it, I had to have some of these 80s lovelies! Mine are from Vintage by Robert Roope, I got them at the beginning of the year but disaster struck when my optician had attempted to up my glasses perscription to correct my, ever worsening stigmas and eyesight, only to make it so strong that it made me go cross eyed! Ha! Finally they got there and my glasses are perfect, I love them. These glasses also distress and confuse alot of people too, which I also like.

My boss Becky told me I never smile on my blog, here you go! The truth is I don't really like my smile, my face feels uncomfortable doing it!

Here's the ripped punk jumper from Topshop that I've mentioned before, it's ripped to hell, I love it. And it's actually adding a bit of colour to my current mostly black wardrobe.

Yey! It's fur coat time! It's not real fur of course, this leopard print lovely is from H&M years ago, the brooch is from Mikey. I have also managed to curl the short hair, I'm double happy today, even if I could only manage to do two top buttons up on the fur.

Week 36 - I am beginning to look bloated in the face, this is actually a good sign, it means the end is nigh! I have now finished work and have found out that the baby has actually grown so much over the past 2 weeks that it is back on track. So no late scan for me!

 I had hoped that by finishing work I would spontaneously go into labour....that doesn't appear to have happened. After a few days of denial I have come to my senses and chilled out about the whole thing, the baby will come when the baby is ready to come, which may be this week or it may be in 5 weeks time(I only have 3 weeks until the due date but the baby could also be 2 weeks late!). I shall have a week off with my sons for their half term break and just wait........patiently........or until my next hormonal impatient rant!!

This photo (on the right) is actually from Week 35, I am so uncomfortable sitting here, I can't be bothered to move it!

Another hair pic, tried out a different back combed fringe here. My face is definately looking dfferent, when I was pregnant with the boys I got mega moonface, it looks like it's possibly on it's way again, I also always said moonface / distorted face happened when you had a boy. Am I actually having a boy? Or is this just a thing that happens to me when I'm pregnant???? Will the next Whole Lotta Rosie post be the last?? Do I actually have a Whole Lotta Rodney growing in my belly??? Watch this space xx