Bristol's finest Insta fashionistas

Here's a quick catch up with the amazing, independent Bristol fashion designers who are catching No Debutante's eye on Instagram......

Laa Woof

Kick ass feminist fashion from the outrageous and fabulous Laa Woof! 

Always repping strong women with big prints, sparkly colours & amazing photo shoots! Laa Woof is a girlboss, she is exciting & inspiring & also became my big fashion article for Bristol 24/7 this month; where you will can out more about the latest collection  'Vulva La Revolution' that mixes festival & clubwear fashion with bondage and female empowerment. This collection is on fire! Meeeeeeooooooow! 

Who runs the world? Laa Woof!
Model@antonia_purdie wearing garms from the Vulva la Revolution collection
Photography @sonnybarthley

Duvet Days

This bright & bold collection of 90s prints & streetwear garms grabbed my attention on Instagram & although upcycling retro duvet covers into garms isn't a new thing, in this amazing, upcycling world; these fab designers have taken it to a new level by only using duvets to create their amazing co-ords and cute streetwear pieces. Duvet Days are all about sustainability & ethical fashion, they collaborate with local designers and tailors Jokoto too (watch this space for more on Jokoto), who help to recreate the Duvet Days vision into super-cool, bespoke handmade shirts. Keep it local, bright & beautiful! 

Bold retro striped co-ords at Duvet Days

Tezla Designs

It's no secret that No Debutante loves Tezla & who wouldn't? This blingin' & bloomin AMAZE collection of contemporary streetwear jewellery & accessories brand is soooo on point, with the memphis style prints all handpainted onto small runs of vibrant, fresh styles. There are so many amazing designs to choose from including the original circular versions to oversized triangles and hexagon shaped earrings and rings, get yourself over to Tezla and brighten up your ears this summer! Read how No Debutante discovered Tezla. 

Custom earrings hand painted by Tezla 

She Shirts

A new collaboration between feminist fashionista Bristol Uni students who were tired of seeing fellow female student wearing mainstream 'so called' feminist style slogan t-shirts & decided to create their own, with all profits going towards female charities rather than into the pockets of fast fashion corporates. The range consists of basic but effective t-shirts printed with handwritten & drawn images with designs including the Hands Off print & Woman Up slogan tee's. 

She Shirts also gave No Debutante the greatest honour by quoting me on Instagram for an article I wrote about them for Bristol 24/7 on International Women's Day. These gals are all about empowering women, which is just so positive!!! Great photoshoot too!  

Hands Off & All bodies are beautiful feminist fashion tees by She Shirts

That Thing

These long time friends of No Debutante, never fail to impress me with their brimming collections of streetwear for men, women & unisex garms. That Thing are currently having a successful run with their newly launched Asos marketplace Vintage collection which features contemporary style shirts, jackets, denims & sportswear all from the late 80s and early 90s, repping retro style & the That Thing brand. The current contemporary collection features cuddly streetwear garms in soft fleeces, sweats, logo tees & joggers in creams, greys and monochromes, perfect for the longest winter ever! (Read more on the collection & That Thing in my Bristol 24/7 article) 

That Thing are also ambassadors for independent designers and offer many Bristol designers including (Tezla & Duvet Days) a platform at their Stokes Croft shop, to showcase their talents. That Thing are just the best! 

That Thing AW 17/18 collection including the cuddly fleece hoodie & the amazing ABC sweatshirt

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 

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 

SISTERWORKS - A female revolution

Wow! What an amazing experience it was being part of the first EVER Sisterworks Workshops event! I am so proud of what SisterWorks have achieved in the five months we have been together.
It was so inspiring to see so many different women get together & stand up for female empowerment against male corporate oppression!

We stood together to share our skills, our experiences & most importantly our self love through skills workshops, empowering talks, with motivational speakers, lots of networking & collaborating, coming together to start a female revolution in Bristol & beyond. Where are the women? Here we are!

The SisterWorks Crew

Panel discussions featuring producer Liz Horsman (worked with Emeli Sande & Rudimental) & Liz Ellis (Lizz.E vocalist with Fresh 4)

Hip Hop DJ Workshop

Fashion Illustration Workshop with Fran Moon May

How to set up turntables tutorial

Drumming Workshop

All photography by No Debutante

If you are interested in joining SisterWorks, running a skills sharing workshop or would like to attend one of the SisterWorks events. Please follow us on Facebook  Twitter  & Instagram 

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

Check out my work with Bristol 24/7 magazine here under my name 

Emma Gorton-Ellicott

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