Magnificent Mermaids - A swimwear brand with a difference

I am very proud to be able to share the official Mermaid in England photos by Viktoria Kuti from a recent swimwear photo shoot I took part in.

It was so lovely to meet such an inspiring group of women, who all overcame their fears and stripped down to their swimwear to support body positivity and the REAL body image. What a brave and beautiful group of powerful and empowering mermaids we were! 

None of these images have been been digitally altered -  all lumps and bumps are the models own!

For those of you who haven't seen my previous posts and articles on the Bristol based Mermaid in England swimwear brand and the real women photo shoots please read My Naked Journey  and A little mermaid with big ideas

Love your body! Love yourself! 

Girl, you got it goin' on! 

Mermaid in England Real Women photo shoot no 4 - Sept 18- Photography by Viktoria Kuti

Photography by Viktoria Kuti

Photography by Viktoria Kuti

Photography by Viktoria Kuti

The No Debutante Signature Jump!
Photography by Viktoria Kuti

Behind the scenes....

Thanks to Antonia Furlong for the inspiration, Viktoria Kuti for the beautiful photographs, Wild Thing Designs for the natural body painting, English Rose Makeup and Shari Knowles Makeup

Read Mermaid in England real model Ali Muskett's blog post Making a splash...and find out her experiences from the day. A very inspiring read! 

My naked journey - Promoting self love and body positivity with Mermaid in England

I met Mermaid in England founder and body positivity promoter Antonia Furlong after I wrote a fashion article on her for Bristol 24/7, promoting her inspiring swimwear fashion shoots.

The important thing you need to know about Antonia is that she only uses real models for her photo shoots. Y'know, people like you and me! People with lumps and bumps and scars, people with disbilities, real people who have not been airbrushed, - just real women, photographed in some swimwear, looking bloody fabulous!

A year ago, you would not have seen an image of me wearing swimwear on anything close to how naked I feel in these photographs. I have no real explanation why I wouldn't show off my body, hell, I do it at the beach and really couldn't care less, but for some reason, for me, to take a photo of my body and share it with the world, was a step too far! 

No Debutante wearing the Wild Side Halter neck top string bikini by Mermaid In England for the Majorca photo shoot

One reason, I guess, would be that my body is the body of a 42 year old woman, who has had three kids. I am not the Victoria Secret model you were expecting, I have a normal body not an instagrammable body and I am not even young anymore!

I am unhappy because, I don't have enough curves or my legs aren't skinny enough or my belly is no longer flat or I have dimples in my legs, I don't have a thin model body but I am not meeting the criteria to be a plus model either. I'm just in the middle, just normal. So, why am I making such a fuss? 

Well, another reason is that, despite taking photos of myself all the time in my fashion selfies and sharing them on my blog and social media, I , now stay with me here, think that if I share a photo of myself, in lingerie or swimwear, I am showing off! 

Honestly, how messed up is that? I think it may be a generation thing but to flaunt yourself, when I was a teenager, was showing off. We were made to feel bad about exposing our bodies, unless you were a super model, of course! 

Hell, my body looked bloody fab in my early twenties (ahem..the whole of my twenties) I even did some lingerie and swimwear modelling when I was at Uni, but I only shared that with the Uni and the hundreds of people that saw me at the fashion shows and in the photographs! There was no instagram to share my amazing body with. It was like a dirty little secret, that I had photos taken half naked! Yes, me!

With the kids getting ready to throw water over the Mermaid in England colour changing bikini which turns from pink to leopard print when wet. A-MAZE!

An unoffical photo from the Mermaid in England photo shoot

So, how did I manage to conquer my fears and get my kit off again after all these years?

After chatting with Antonia about her inspiring photo shoots, taken by the lovely and now very pregnant, Viktoria Kuti, I got caught up in a wave of female empowerment to start really promoting body positivity. Previous to the Mermaid In England article I had already seen so many amazing female motivational artists and instagrammers promoting self love and their fabulous bodies of all shapes and sizes. Getting themselves out there and saying it's Ok to not be, what society see's as perfect!

It is so important for women, young girls, my daughter, my sons, in fact everyone, to just love themselves and to be kind and positive to others too! I see all these positive role modes and just thought, what the hell am I worried about here? What can I do?

Loving this group shot of all the Mermaids from the September shoot.

Antonia kindly, gave me this fabulous pink bikini to take on my holidays so I decided to take the ball by the horns and do a fun-filled No Debutante 'how I wore' photo shoot to help promote Mermaid In England as a brand and their body positive ethos. 

Then, Antonia took it a step further and asked me to join the next body positivity photo shoot! This was way out of my comfort zone, it's all well and good taking photos of yourself, on your private holiday, where nobody except your family (they are used to this sort of thing going on) can see you but being in a room, with lots of other people you don't know including a photographer seemed to be taking things a bit too far. 

How can I promote body positivity if I am not body positive myself? I said 'yes' straight away as I have a problem with agreeing to things without thinking them through but after doing my own No Debutante X Mermaid in England bikini photo shoot the nerves started to kick in. 

Inspiring women on the shoot

Less than a week after I had returned back to the UK from my, much needed, holiday in Majorca, I found myself sat in a room with loads of women I hadn't met before, we were all strangers and we were about to take part in a bikini fashion shoot together. This already sounds very surreal. 

The first thing I was asked was if I had done anything like this before. I realised that I was telling a stranger about my student lingerie modelling days and that yes, I had done something similar but made excuses that I don't have the same body as I had then and I'm too old to do that now! As soon as I said it, I felt silly for feeling bad about it and putting it down. 

Why would I hide that I used to be very happy with my body, of course my body has changed, I've got older and have had three children! I USED TO MODEL LINGERIE! 

I have never met such a group of courageous, honest and fabulous women, the more I spoke to them and the more stories I heard, the more I felt happy with myself, as a woman. We were all beginning to feel happy with ourselves. 

There were burns victims confidently flouncing around, girls who thought they were fat (they weren't), larger women embracing their curves, Mum's with 4 kids, a mother and daughter model team, just so many amazing women. 

I have to admit that I did not feel, at any point, uncomfortable with showing off my body, to me it seemed that none of us did in the end! We were all in it together.

I am really looking forward (half dreading) seeing the photographs taken by Viktoria for the Mermaid in England, real models shoot, just so you know, all of these photos shown today are my own, I will share the official shoot photographs once they have been launched by Mermaid in England!

Growing up in the nineties had made me very self-conscious about my body. Despite loving modelling as a uni student. I would buy fashion magazines, I loved fashion (obvs) but all the models were as skinny as hell. The influential look was waif and even worse Heroin Chic (Fucking Heroin Chic? Really?) with role models like Kate Moss and Jodie Kidd, plastered over everything, making you feel fat and giving you a borderline eating disorder to try and get super thin.

At the same time, boys at school would call me a footballer, saying I had footballers legs, which used to upset me so much as I really wanted skinny legs, like the girls in the fashion mags and I was already aware that my legs were a bit bigger than the (what I saw as normal) skinny girls! 

One moment of self realisation for me, was that those boys, whether it was maliciously or not, they were saying I was fit! I had a strong and athletic body. I WAS SUPER FIT! If anything, it's a massive compliment and I'm gonna take it!   

The real question is, am I happy with these photo shoot images of me prancing about in a bikini? Well actually, yes, I am. My body is now half toned and half curvy, I have a few dimples and lumps and I do wish I had Shari Knowles, the make-up artist from the Mermaid in England shoot for my holiday shoot, but yeah, my body is alright......OK, I'll say it, it's bloody amazing! 

I have (quite literally) bared all today, shared some stuff I am not entirely happy with sharing, but I am on the right path for my journey for self love and body positivity and I urge you all to do the same. Join a Mermaid in England photo shoot, love your body, be kind to others, accept yourself and remember how bloody amazing you are! 

Find out more about Mermaid in England and their body positivity photo shoots

Read the original Bristol 24/7 article A Little Mermaid with big ideas 

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 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, Tumblr,  Pinterest all under the #nodebutante name.

Thanks for checking in Fashionistas.   
ND xx

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

My IWD18 Diary

Phew! What an amazing week! 

Having just attended no less than three events for International Women's Day over three days, followed by Mothers Day (National Women's Day) I am feeling both exhausted & empowered! 

DeskLodge Team IWD18

The first event saw a strong group of women celebrating IWD at DeskLodge, a very successful event, that featured women who either use the DeskLodge coworking spaces and offices as a base to run their amazing companies from female law firms & tech companies to influential women, who were invited to join us, share their skills & experiences as sustainable eco-warriors, female events collectives & of course, the female empowerment group, SisterWorks! 

DeskLodge IWD18 Talks including SisterWorks, Kecks Clothing, Concrete Jungyals & Womens Tech Hub 

This was no corporate event, all the women told inspiring stories on how they got to where they are now, baring all the struggles they faced and the determination to carry on to get where they are today. It was so heart-felt and inspirational, I am really proud of them all and let's add a little self-love here, I am proud of what I achieved too, bringing all of these wonderful women together! Needless to say I had a large glass of wine or two that evening to celebrate! 

Print clashes for the SisterWorks club night

The second event was the SisterWorks Club Night on the Friday, where we promote the talents & skills of local female DJs & women in music. We are so proud to have so many fabulous female DJs on our books at SisterWorks, that we have been able to have lots of different female DJs play at each event. The IWD club night featured a dub set, followed by grime set into a DJ & singer/ rapper female double act, then into house & techno beats. We had a blast! In true Kathleen Hanna style I found myself encouraging girls to the front to dance, enjoy the DJs & feel part of the SisterWorks vibe, in a safe space run by girls. Of course, we love men too so they were most welcome & really supportive. What a fantastic night! 

Female DJs at the SisterWorks Club Night 

By the third event, on the Saturday evening, I was a little washed out but it was all about feeling empowered & representing females in music & the SisterWorks DJs! Myself & Lua Jones (SisterWorks founder & Dutty Girl DJ, Diss Miss), played a mixed set of riot grrrl, punk, alternative 80s & electro (obviously my set) & super-cool soul, funk & hip hop from Diss Miss. We were celebrating the launch of the Bristol brewery Wiper & True's XX beer, which was created & brewed by women. This beer had a strong kick, there was nothing feminine about it, which was great! There were so many people supporting the XX Beer, it was a great event! I banged into mum's from my kid's school & my old partner in crime from Venue Magazine, Ruth joined me for some late night drinks & chats about how great women are!

SisterWorks Djs at the Wiper & True XX beer launch

I think that I actually celebrated 4 days of IWD this year, as there was no better way to celebrate how amazing women are then with Mothers Day! My kids showered me with gifts including amazing pom-pom & perspex earrings from Mango Tango Jewellery (another amazing Bristol based designer), The Breeders latest album on vinyl (of course) & a lovely big bottle of Sailor Jerry's rum! I was truly spoilt again! Feeling rather sorry for myself & my rather hungover visit to the hair salon to get my hair did by girl boss Vikki Mac, it was then off to meet my wonderful Mother & celebrate Mothers Day with the Fam! IWD18 ended with pizza, wine & a family film night watching La La Land (which I actually loved!). 

Mothers Day pampering and new hair! 

Mothers Day gifts!

Thank you to all the amazing women who made IWD18 so great for me, from everyone who shared the love at the DeskLodge talks, DJ'd & helped out at the SisterWorks Club night, to old & new friends, the inspiring women who created the XX Beer at Wiper & True & finally to my family for making the perfect ending! 

Women are still fighting for their rights to be heard 100 years after the suffragettes won the right to vote! Equality is what we want, not world domination! They say 2018 is the year of the woman, let's hope so.

#wherearethewomen

Three generations of strong females and below the equally strong men in my life! 

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 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 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 

International Women's Day 2018 - The No Debutante Power List

It's really hard to choose just a few of the women who have inspired me. I'd like to include just a few names from my very, very long list of fabulous female influencers from fashion designers, musicians, actresses & writers who have influenced me in my adult life up until this point & have inspired me think, I can do it too! 

As teenager I was not as confident as I am now, I would dream of doing all of the things I do, like DJing, being a journalist, a fashion designer, writing and performing my own music, I honestly was a small town girl with no aspirations except that I needed to leave the small town as soon as I could & do something creative with my life! 

My six year old daughter, Sylvie reminds me every day, how a young girl is easily influenced by the world around her & that I need to make sure she feels safe, confident & strong enough to conquer the world! As I have also done for her two brothers. 

Feminism is often wrongly associated with men hating, which is ridiculous. I am a feminist & I am married, I have sons, a brother, a father, nephews & as many male friends as females. For me feminism is about empowering females, helping them to love themselves & equality for all. Feminists love men too! Any female who tells you that you cannot like men if you are a feminist, is not a feminist. 

My list of super influencers consists of a lot of punk icons, riot grrrls, feminists, activists, musicians, fashionistas & journalists, it pretty much sums me up, my style & ethos on how I live my life; with each amazing female adding a little to bit of magic & inspo to my life in their own way. 



The Power list 2018

Kathleen Hanna

Feminist, female activist, band member & vocalist from  Le Tigre, The Julie Ruin & the most influential riot-grrrl band ever Bikini Kill! Kathleen started performing her outspoken poetry at open mic nights, shouting out heart-felt, strong & passionate messages about life experiences & how she felt as a feminist. The poetry naturally moved into starting a punk band 'Bikini Kill', where Kathleen would shout out 'girls to the front' to create a safer space for girls to enjoy the band, knowing from her own experiences of going to gigs & being shoved around (& often groped) by the male gig goers around her. To get a better idea of Kathleen Hanna's world you must watch The Punk Singer, it's an inspiring film about an amazing lady. Kathleen Hanna is the queen of my world! 

Caitlin Moran

Outspoken & hilarious! Caitlin Moran became a journalist for Melody Maker aged just 16 & wrote a book about being home schooled , The Chronicles of Narmio in the same year , by the time she was 18 she was a TV presenter on Channel 4's music show Naked City. Caitlin came from a very large family, who were all crammed into a three bedroomed council house in Wolverhampton, her unusual upbringing influenced her honest & raw writing style. I became motivated after reading her book, 'How To Build a Girl' which is loosely based on her life at the time of her journalism career with Melody Maker. This hilarious & honest book inspired me to write more, for both articles & lyric writing for my band  & to just do what I want to do as often as possible; at 40 years old I was a little bit behind with starting my journalism career. Keep at it, it's never too late, I am now a Fashion Editor! Thanks Caitlin Moran, I owe you! 

Chloe Sevigny

Chloe has been one of my style icons & girl crushes since the nineties. She was the coolest kid on the block & seemed to be living the life that I would have liked to be living! I wasn't  jealous of her despite her featuring in Sonic Youth's Sugar Cane video or having a 7 page article written about her in The New Yorker, who called her 'The coolest girl in New York' at just 19 years old! This was a positive thing happening to a young girl who also seemed like me, normal & most importantly, I related to her. During the nineties Chloe was modelling for Miu Miu & acting in her then boyfriend Harmony Korinne's films 'Gummo' (Chloe was also the films very on-point,fashion stylist) & Larry Clark's controversial film, 'Kids'. Despite no formal training in acting Chloe managed to win the Independent Spirit Award for her role as Jennie. This girl just kicks ass doesn't she?? 

Debbie Harry

The beautiful front women of Blondie, who found fame in her early 30s when the bands disco influenced record 'Heart of Glass' launched her into international fame. Debbie confidently crossed punk & new wave with disco & hip-hop with streetwise sass & glamour. Blondie records were part of the soundtrack of my life as a kid! I walked down the isle to marry Phil to Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' (I don't have a heart of glass, this track just has good beats to strut down the isle to) & you may or may not know that the No Debutante name came from the Blondie track 'Dreaming'. In this record, Debbie Harry sings 'you could tell I was no debutante'. I choose these words to name my blog as I needed a name that explained my situation; here I was a pregnant fashion blogger in her mid thirties, I wanted to be honest, 'yeah, I'm older, I'm no debutante but so what? Read my blog!' Did you know Debbie Harry was also the first ever white female rapper back in 1980 with the Blondie track Rapture??? Debbie Harry is still touring with Blondie in her 70s! A total legend! 

M.I.A

M.I.A inspired me through her music. This girl used to sit in her room experimenting with sounds and beats using a Roland MC-505 sequencer, a drum machine & a radio microphone, creating the foundations of what would become her signature sound, mixing electronica, hip hop, dance, rock & world music. M.I.A not only composes her own music she also writes the lyrics, sings vocals, raps & produces her work.  I love it that M.I.A is influenced by many of the same bands as me including The Slits, Malcolm McLaren & The Clash and in turn I have been influenced by her music for my own band Mono Dots. M.I.A isn't just about the music, this girl gets stuff done, she is a mother, an activist, studied fine art, film and video at Central St Martins College, she's an artist & film maker. M.I.A is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! 

Poly Styrene

X-ray Spex vocalist Poly Styrene is awe-inspiring! She screamed out her soulful wail of bubblegum punk with the most creative, fun & thought provoking lyrics about popular culture, consumerism and life during the 1970s, with a dark undergrowth, covered in day-glo paint! This young Londoner, seemed to observe life in a different way to the other punks, she turns up on Top of The Pops with braces on her teeth, singing about hygiene obsessions & Warriors in Woolworths, looking a little jaded by her fame & naively unaware how powerful her lyrics really were. I love Poly's style, of bright colours, mixed with punk militaria & granny style polyester twinsets and flats, with either a military hat or big knitted hair-wrap. Poly was also one of the very few black women in punk. Sadly this inspiring lady died of cancer in 2011, aged  53. I play her records nearly every time I DJ! 

The Slits & Ari Up (centre) 

The Slits are an all female punk band who formed in London in 1976, the year I was born. Their dubby punk sound was real experimental & had an energetic pulse that had a live, raw feel. The band was fronted and formed by Ari Up, a 14 years old girl who was taught to play guitar by Joe Strummer of The Clash, Ari was no stranger to the punk world, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols) is her step dad. The DIY punk ethos inspired young people to pick up an instrument & 'play it your way', The Slits did just that. Ari Up had a big influence on The Slits music with her love for reggae & dub coming through strongly. Their album Cut, controversially, featured the band covered in mud wearing only loin cloths, giving a strong amazonian female aesthetic without sexual connotations. Their record Typical Girls featured on this album, it talks about girls who conform to acting the way they have been told, to wear make-up, get a boyfriend, don't rebel! It's such a great record, that tries to encourage women to be themselves & not conform to the ideals of men (at the time) & the media. sadly, I'm not too sure much has really changed on this in the past 40 years! Ari Up has an usual way of delivering her lyrics, she seems to weave up & down the verses, leaving pauses in random places & screams out vibrato noises with her very own singing style, which I find fascinating. Perhaps it was to do with English not being her first language (Ari was from originally from Germany) but her delivery was unique, it was amazing! Sadly Ari Up also died of cancer in 2010, aged 48. "Ari was the most dynamic woman I have ever known, the way she carried herself was a revolution." Viv Albertine, The Slits.

Viv Albertine

The guitarist of The Slits, Viv Albertine already had my approval of a being a strong, influential women. Last year I read her autobiography Clothes Clothes Clothes, Music Music Music, Boys Boys Boys, to be honest, she had me at the title! This book merged her life as a member of The Slits, her fashion obsessions including detailed descriptions of what she wore, her boyfriends (including Mick Jones from The Clash) , the grotty side of the London punk scene & her struggles as a women in the music industry. I read this book & it opened a window in my brain, to write & create music & collaborate with other like-minded people. Viv Albertine has recently written a follow up book named 'To throw away, unopened'. I shall definitely be purchasing a copy when it is released! 

Vivienne Westwood

The Queen of punk, Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer, feminist, activist! My ultimate life goal! Creator of punk alongside her then partner Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne created the punk style & a hang out for young punks on the Kings Road at their shop Sex, controversially selling bondage gear with Edwardian teddy boy clothes and Vivienne's own DIY punk creations. After putting together the Sex Pistols alongside McLaren the two were unstoppable. Vivienne & McLaren collaborated on the Pirate collection which launched them into the fashion world with fans that  included Lady Diana!  The pair opened their shop Worlds End in 1984. Following her departure from Malcolm, Vivienne went on under her own name, as the queen of new romantics, conquering the fashion world as she went. I am fascinated by Vivienne when she talks about cutting fabrics & styling, the women could (& probably did) make a bin liner work! Influenced by traditional pattern cutting of the past & completely messing with it to create a mix of traditional & contemporary shapes & styling, with a bit of punk thrown in. This amazing woman is knocking 80 years old but is still showing garments every season, changing her hair more than me, stomping around in the highest platforms & wearing garms from her latest collection like their were made for only her, whilst saving the planet!! This woman can do no wrong! 




Women are great aren't they? Happy International Women's Day 2018! 

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 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 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