That Thing AW 18 Launch Party

Streetwear and lifestyle queens That Thing dropped their AW18 fashion collection yesterday.

Bristol really supports it's independents and this launch party was full of fashionistas, friends and customers checking out the new collection and hanging out with the That Thing girls whilst Bristol's Bitch Please DJ's provided the soundtrack for the night. There was even a queue outside to get in! 

Inspired by the mossy greens of the designer, Joh Rindom's, Scandinavian homelands, this collection features warm earthy tones of forest and fern greens, creamy golds and a black contrast.  The collection comes in cuddly knits, lurex sparkled tops and super soft jerseywear pieces, perfect for the winter months whilst adding a bit of glam for that sparkly Christmas season that is rapidly approaching. 

"I was really deep nature inspired so we have a lot of soft textures and darks greens and black, a real comfort feel for autumn/winter".  Joh Rindom - That Thing 

Joh was resourceful in her pattern cutting with this collection. By combining the top half of one design and the bottom half of another, she created block paneled garms that also reduced fabric waste. You know how we love a bit of sustainability here at No Debutante! 

No Debutante's fave pieces included the luxe double trumpet sleeve t-shirt dress, the super-soft unisex trackies, and this years streetwear staple - the bucket hat. Now what to add to my Christmas list this year? 

The AW18 collection is currently available in the Stokes Croft shop in Bristol and will be available online alongside the Lookbook shortly. Watch this space. 

Mind your Manners

I was introduced to Manners London by Joh Rindom at the That Thing Festival launch in her Stokes Croft shop. I had scanned all the lovely garms, knowing I was going to buy something at the event (I always do) and one of the items, a monochrome geometric printed catsuit had caught my eye. I had paused and thumbed the item as I passed through the clothes rail and I turned around to see Joh greeting me wearing the very same outfit! It looked amazing! 

I usually dismiss a catsuit as I am not a skinny girl, just an average size 12/14 with a few squishy bits, but that's to be expected of a woman in her 40's whose had three kids! But seeing this catsuit (or jumpsuit as it is named at Manners) looking so amazing on Joh, just made me want the catsuit even more!

All dressed up in my Manners London jumpsuit for my gig at the Bristol Harbour Festival

The reason I am highlighting my shape is that what I hadn't realised on first inspection was that Manners London  - as their website suggests  - is 'not your average bodycon'. Using a trademarked fabric, Manners create gorgeous bodycon garms with added support for women with boobs, bums and tums! 

The VV Bodysuit worn by curvy and fabulous models

Joh Rindom and No Debutante twnning in our Manners London jumpsuits at the That Thing Festival fashion launch party
Photographs courtesy of Dulcie Horn

I can wear my Manners jumpsuit without a bra and I still feel safe, comfortable and nipped in, this garm is so flattering and |I love everything from the soft, comfortable fabric, the contemporary 'Esk print' and the low cut back, which makes me feel so happy to be able to go bra-less and actually bear my back! Something I would not have done before.

Manners London bodycon suits all shapes and sizes!

I am an avid bra wearer, I believe you should wear a well fitting and supportive bra and pay money to have the best cut bras, no Primark cheapies for me! At Uni I specialised in lingerie fashion design and my final collections featured a beautiful and fun supportive bra for a larger young woman; due to a gap in the market for beautiful bra's for bigger girls at the time. As you can imagine the decision to go bra-less wasn't taken lightly! 

Super cute yellow jumpsuit and Ikan print bodysuit

Since discovering Manners London I have fallen in love with the brand for many reasons, the first being that I just love the garms, the second is the supportive super thick stretch jersey fabrics and the third is that this brand focuses on making women of all shapes and sizes feel great in their garms. The story behind the brand is rather empowering too. 

Not your average bodycon! 

Self taught, designer and mother Sally Mansfield was forced to use local tailors, whilst living in Bali to make up garms for her curvier figure, as shockingly the Balinese shops sizes (and Asian shops in general) wouldn't fit her! Are there no curvy women in Asia?? Apparently not!

Sally Mansfield founder and designer at Manners London

Sally became inspired to create her own brand after befriending her fave tailors and asking them to help her produce a micro fashion collection with dreams of becoming her own boss to give her more time to spend with her son. The collection was created to empower woman and to be more inclusive of plus sizes. To stay connected to Bali all of the originally designed prints are hand screen printed in Indonesia. 

It's time to burn those bra's! 

On her return to London, Sally sold these amazing garms at Portabello and Spitalfields Markets, gaining inspiring and loyal customers along the way. Sally says the best part of her Manner London journey has been meeting so many beautiful, powerful, interesting, kind and strong women along the way! What an inspiration! 

I am a keen promoter of independent designers and Manners London is definitely my current obsession! 

Manners London Jumpsuits featuring No Debutante's fave red racer stripe want! 

There are so many amazing garms to be found from deep back bodycon dresses, flared trousers, pencils skirts with thick and supportive comfy waistbands, more jumpsuits, (I have my eye on the red go faster stripe style jumpsuit next) crop tops, wrap tops, leggings, bodysuits and the big trend of the year the Bardot top dress! All in flattering hot reds or blacks or in various prints from tropical leaves, to my fave Esk prints (in monochrome or super cute yellow and white) to beautiful fish (Ikan) prints.

Bodycon dresses with the shape of the summer  - The Bardot shoulder

Want to feel supported, empowered and glamorous without the restrictions of a bra? Free yourself and get over to Manners London now or regret it forever! 

Buy your Manners garms here www.mannersldn.com

No Debutante Loves Manners London! 

All photos (except the one's featuring No Debutante) courtesy of Manners London.

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

No Debutante promotes fashion independents, new designers & sustainable fashion. 

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine 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 nodebutanteblog@gmail.com

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

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas

ND xx

Loves Saves The Day again!

As the festival season is in full flow, I would like to share the No Debutante moments from my fave festival,  Love Saves The Day in Bristol! 

There are many fantastic moments from this weekend back in May, from meeting so many festival fashionistas as I roamed around, looking for the best dressed and latest festival fashion trends for Bristol 24/7 Magazine. My LSTD partner in crime & bestie Rachael joined me, workin her head wrap, Gangster Wraps earrings, Tatty Devine tiger necklace, Monki shirt dress and sparkly leopard print leggings with me in my amaze new monochrome Manners jumpsuit, purchased at the That Thing festival fashion launch party, worn with monochrome Tezla earrings and a Butchi and GosMos bumbag! Yeeessss! 

Getting ready to go to Love Saves The Day at my house with my oldest friend Rachael

We loved hanging out with one of my oldest buddies Chris who was working backstage at LSTD.

SEQUINS SEQUINS SEQUINS at Kuccia as part of The Fashpack crew

We hung out with The Fashpack team who supply a fashion fest of glitter and sparkles from their treasure tent, as the place to go get your obligatory (and sustainable) glitter face paint did and all your fashion fixes from sequined kimonos and bodysuits from Kuccia, heart or daisy shaped sunnies and vintage gems from That Thing, feathered headdresses from Zedhead Headwear, jumpsuits and co-ords made from saris from Dulcie's Feathers and festival fashion galore!

Joh Rindom from The Fashpack doing my festival face paint 

Wearing daisy sunnies from That Thing at The Fashpack tent

The Fashpack fashionistas inc Dulcie's Feathers, Zedhead Headwear & DJ Steven Stone working the room (tent)

The only photo of my Saturday LSTD outfit taken by Rachael! 

The weather was scorchio after mad rain and thunder storms at the beginning of both days, which saw people cutting down their welly boots and stripped down to barely there outfits, it couldn't have been any better and the sunshine just added to the whole fun-filled vibe!

Kuccia Mama outside the Fashpack tent

Wearing florals and black  - Frau DJ Katie Dane in a Lazy Oaf dress & Joh Rindom from That Thing & The Fashpack

A few members of SisterWorks were representing female DJs over the weekend including Frau DJs, who I shall be collaborating with as a Bang DJ at this years Pride (more on this very soon) and Dutty Girl DJs DissMiss and SafeSoul who were killing it at the Cocktails and Dreams stage on the Sunday.

DJ DissMiss from Dutty Girl playing her set on the Cocktails & Dreams stage

SafeSoul from Dutty Girl

I arrived at the festival solo on the Sunday wearing a crop top and my Duvet Days striped trousers and silver Reebok trainers. I dropped in on the Dutty Girl set and found myself taking photos of their crowd of dancers and handing out SisterWorks stickers to everyone - SisterWorks is a Bristol based female empowerment collective that I am part of, for those who didn't know -  It was great to see lots of young men wearing our stickers, not for the eye candy you understand (LOLs) I'm not sure they completely got it but to have them promote SisterWorks whilst dancing to female DJs was empowering! Yeah, yeah, it is equality that we are looking for and it shouldn't matter whether the DJs were women or not but one step at a time, right?

Young men representing - wearing SisterWorks stickers

Loved these girls style twinning in fur hats, matching skirts and lace tights on such a boiling hot day! 

Rainbow Bright - No Debutante's best dressed award! 

The icing on the cake was bumping into Loyle Carner before he went on to perform! I was completely starstruck, I really like his music and love the style and tone of his vocals and yeah, he is  (too young for you.....Loyle Carner reference from Damnselfly) so sweet. I am sure that myself and fellow fashionista/mum, Zoe (from Zedhead Headwear) terrified poor Loyle Carner and Sampha (yes, two musicians in one swoop) as they finished their lunch, but Zoe insisted on meeting her music hero Sampha and I was not gonna stop her for a chance to meet Loyle!

Celebrity stalkin' No Debutante meets Loyle Carner

I managed to get myself right at the front of the Loyle Carner performance with my lovely new Lumix camera and got some great shots, considering I wasn't aloud over the barrier to take photos with the official photographers. Who needs access all areas eh?

There were so many moments and I had the best time at this brilliant Bristol festival, just 20 minutes walk from my house! If you would like to know more about the festival fashionistas, check out my article for Bristol 24/7 Love Saves The Day Festival Fashion special  


See you next year Love Saves The Day! Thanks for having me! 

All photography by No Debutante 

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

No Debutante promotes fashion independents, new designers & sustainable fashion. 

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine 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 nodebutanteblog@gmail.com

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

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas

ND xx

Double whammy fashion extravaganza

I've been saying it all week but Bristol's has really gone to town with fashion events this spring. I seem to be attending events every week these days, which is great but two in one evening? I saw it as challenge and took it on!

Dressed up in striped pirate trousers, Adidas gazelles, retro Adidas kids jacket, Tezla earrings and my Lazy Oaf Mermaid top with shell boob appliques, I was ready to tackle this night, one fashion event at a time...

Yeah, fashion ready!

The first event took place at Rhubarb Jumble which is situated on the super-cool North Street in Bristol. This vintage boutique is full of retro gems and vintage garms from the 40s to the 90s that are all sourced by the owner Amy Hamilton, who has managed to turn a clothes hoarding obsession into a successful fashion business.

Amy Hamilton wearing the most fantastic red vintage jumpsuit from Rhubard Jumble! Want! 

This particular event was to exclusively show off their new selection of Spring garments that featured kitsch dresses, abstract floral shirts and 90s denims, plus lots of quirky pieces and vintage oddities from homewares to furniture that Amy had upcycled herself.

Rhubarb Jumble staff picks and an amazing vintage print shirt that was sadly too small for me! 

To keep things fresh, the stock is rotated and updated regularly with new vintage pieces and gems meaning each time you visit the stock will have completely changed so each time you visit Rhubarb Jumble you get to start the search for hidden goodies all over again! The fun never ends!
 If you are a vintage fan get yourself down to Rhubarb Jumble and find your dream vintage item for this spring!

You will get to hear more about my visit to the Rhubarb Jumble Spring Launch up on Bristol 24/7 online shortly.

Local Independent designer garms at That Thing Festival Edition 2018

Second event of the night on Thursday 3 May was the That Thing Festival Edition 2018 as part of their Independent Designer Showcase event. That Thing always has a buzz, the crowd was completely different to the Rhubarb Jumble fashion event and that's what I love about Bristol, there is always so much going on! In under 30 minutes I had moved from a sweet, vintage space to a bangin party of festival lovers, fashionistas and independent designers, there were DJs and rails of festival and streetwear garms!

Although I do love vintage, especially oddities and homewares, my style is definitely more at home in That Thing, I have to admit I am also more involved with this scene, this is my area of Bristol, I love Joh Rindom and the That Thing girls and know so many of the amazing Bristol designers who create garms for the shop, that I felt right at home at this event.

Independent festival fashion from designers including Manners, Neat Frontage and Kuccia

Joh, the owner and a fashion designer at That Thing, supports so many independent fashion and accessory designers including Zedhead Headwear, Neat Frontage, Tezla Designs, Dulcie's Feathers and Duvet Days who are all Bristol creatives, That Thing also stock another No Debutante fave Kuccia.

I had been on a buying cull, refusing to buy from the high street just because, so I have been saving myself for these types of events to get me some super-cool threads, handmade by local designers.
I instantly fell in love with some stripy trousers by Duvet Days (yep, they are made out of retro duvet covers - sustainable and sassy) when their creator Emma White said she could knock me a matching top, I was sold. I will reveal the whole co-ord in a future post!

The adorable That Thing shop manager Katie wearing a Neat Frontage sweatshirt

The second item purchased on the night, was an amazing jumpsuit by London bodywear designers Manners, I loved the monochrome print straight away and then I noticed Joh, was wearing the amazing item. It looked amaze on her and since we are similar sizes, I just had to try it on!
Manners do say that there is magic in the fabric and I believe them, this catsuit was the most comfortable and durable jersey ever, it was soft and nipped you in, in all the right places! Sold to the woman with the pink hair!

Twinning with That Thing's Joh rindom in Manners jumpsuits - Photograph courtesy of Dulcie Horn

The gorgeous, blogger and Dulcie's Feathers designer Dulcie Horn managed to catch Joh and I twinning in our fabulous Manners jumpsuits!! Dulcie is always such fun at any event she attends, she wrote a little blog about the night too. Check out Dulcie's blog The Festival Life

The fabulous Dulcie Horn (left) and an amazing festival headdress.

It was a night of meeting old friends, making new friends, talking fashion, showering myself with amazing garms made by brilliant independent designers. I love Bristol!

Read more about That thing in my Bristol 24/7 article Do the right thing

All photography by No Debutante except Twinning photographs courtesy of Dulcie Horn

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

No Debutante promotes fashion independents, new designers & sustainable fashion. 

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine 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 nodebutanteblog@gmail.com

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

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas

ND xx