No Debutante - Yeah! Crop Tops!

I have been real busy over the weekend planning and then holding a 40th wedding anniversary get together at my house, for my parents, who recently hit this massive milestone, which is a rarity these days. A massive congratulations to them for sticking together all of these years!! Lots of love and hugs!!! We had a great time at the (very windy - bloody weather) BBQ and then hid away inside the house listening to music, drinking lots of wine and champagne which was followed by Karaoke and playing the Michael Jackson dancing game on the Wii, which got quite competitive if I'm honest!

Since my last post was on another blogger I now have a back log of what I wore, personal style images. I am going to attempt to do a couple of looks a day until we catch up with my latest outfits. The outfits I am showing today are from my working days Wednesday and Thursday last week, the weather was good, loads of sun and the crop top was my favoured item of choice. I have had both of these crop tops for a few years and they are from New Look (striped top) and Primark (blue top). I wore my crop tops with denim bottoms and Converse, I honestly would go mad if I couldn't wear what I wanted to work everyday and I know I am very lucky that I can!!

I have been attempting to try out different hairstyles from my pinterest hair board each day - check it out here  http://pinterest.com/nodebutante/hair/  I generally use the images as a guide and interpret the hairstyle to suit my hair, I am not looking for perfection, I just like different looks. I took the victory roll close ups as I walked through the city on my way to work, not an easy thing to do but I managed it! The second hair style was a backcombed quiff at the front and tied up at the back, real easy to do but looks effective. I encourage you all to get styling your hair and to try out different looks, practise makes perfect!

I shall be back tomorrow with more of what I have been wearing and other fashion dilemmas. A big thank you to Mind The Mustard for getting in touch and liking my blog post! I will deffo be purchasing some Mind The Mustard gear in the near future. Watch this space!!

Thank you for reading!

ND xx

No Debutante - Let's Go To The Hop!

Morning! I am feeling a little bit more alive than I was feeling yesterday and have decided to wear some bright colours and prints to make myself appear a little more awake! Inspired by a rockabilly image sourced on Pinterest, I put this 1950s Rockabilly style outfit together for the morning school run and was rather happy with the way it looked, I even got the wide headscarf look working on my small head which is a fashion result for me! 

I am still swinging between my grungy/punk style, dungaree obsessions and my rockabilly 1950s looks. I am wondering whether I should really just stick to one look, but where's the fun in that?? I'm intrigued to know what on earth I shall be wearing next year, whether I will have totally embraced one of my main styles or maybe I shall have a totally new look altogether. When I first started my blog I was just coming out of an edgy, 80s punk phase with my undercut hairstyles and an obsession for bodycon and then I had a baby which pretty much throws you off your current style as you are still trying to pull it off but with a massive belly and a swollen face, it's not the best look!! I love it that fashion is so fickle, it suits me, just fine!

Hopefully, the next blog post should be about another one of my favourite bloggers with great style. It can't always be about me!

Thanks for reading.

NDxx

 

No Debutante - Sick Sick Sick

I have been feeling unwell again and have been zapped of energy.....but nothing stops this girl from blogging for too long!! This really is a short little post, but I just had to show you my fashion moments from the past few days, I couldn't resist it. I always feel guilty about just resting up, even if I'm ill, I still see it as time wasting! It is no wonder I am often ill, is it?? 

Today's photographs start with me taking photos of my forward rolling victory roll on my way to work on Friday, I have no evidence of my actual outfit, I seriously did not have the time and was not feeling too good either, I was, however, rather pleased with the forward victory roll so had to get some quick evidence of it, so yes, I am that person on the bus, taking pictures of herself......It's all for fashion daaaaarrrrllllliiiiinnng!

Next comes a quick snap of me at the zoo over the weekend, I went to write a review for work, perhaps if I have the time (and more energy) I can do a post on the family zoo visit as we got loads of cool photographs, alas, not today. Check out my zoo outfit, more festival, grunge than zoo with the kids, I did get a few stares, of course, I'd expect nothing less!

 Lastly comes today's personal style pics. I went for mix prints and Sylvie joined in with a bit of leopard print, again there were not many photographs to choose from since I look real tired and a bit ill in most of them! I hope you can appreciate that even when I am rushed off my feet or poorly I still manage to make the effort, in the name of fashion!!

I just thought I'd let you know that whilst I am writing this post and feeling poorly, I am also ordering my online weekly groceries shop, don't tell this mother and sista fashionista that she cannot multi-task! 

Thanks for reading fashion lovers, I shall hopefully be back and blogging very soon....Tomorrow, if I have my way!

ND xx

No Debutante - Pump It Up

It is so sunny outside and I have just got the baby to bed and done a few house chores and I am actually longing to get outside in the sunshine, so here's a quick personal style post from me where you can find out what I wore on the family excursion to see Elvis Costello (first outfit) on Sunday evening and what I wore yesterday on the first day back on the school run. I'm still wearing denim, there are infinite combinations although it appears I cannot stop wearing those dungarees, they're back again!! Expect more big hair, ankle socks and wedge boots!

 I'm off to get me some sun before the baby wakes up. BTW I'm still no closer in getting shoes and accessories for this wedding, Baby girls like trips to the Mall don't they?

Thanks for reading y'all.

ND xx

No Debutante - In a west end town in Denim World

My denim week continues and I am very happy that the weather is now warm enough for me to wear my dungarees without a massive cardigan or loads of layers thrown over the top. My rockabilly 1950s hair is getting bigger and more out of control and I can't wait to get it pinked up again for Phil's sister Dawn's wedding on Saturday!! I am also looking forward to wearing the new Zara dress and still need to find some shoes, maybe some earrings, a necklace, a bag! Little Sylvie still needs some shoes too and time is running out!! More shopping, you say? Oh, go on then!

Here are my outfits from the weekend which I mostly spent in our very warm and sunny garden (yes, the tights and creepers did have to come off as it got hotter). I also went out last night for a family trip to see Elvis Costello (who is so cool and rocked it) so you shall have to wait until next time to see what I wore. My parents had bought me and my brother Mike tickets as surprise birthday presents (it's my birthday next week!! Yey! I'm nearly, really old!!) We go and watch old bands together that are family favourites and these bands were generally the soundtrack to my childhood, where in my head, it was always summer! I hope my kids have the same memories!

I have been posting personal style pics everyday for a month on Instagram, check them out and follow me here http://instagram.com/nodebutante#  I also have fashion stills and photographs of my kids on there so I am planning a post of all my favourite Instagram photographs from the past month (mostly the ones without me in), I'm sure this will take me some time but watch this space!!  

Thanks for reading, following or just checking out my blog, I am so happy that you are interested in what I have to share!! Especially all you facebook followers who silently follow me through Facebook and then I bump into you and you tell me you always read my blog and I had no idea you did!! You make me right happy!! Yey!! 

ND xx

No Debutante - Upfest

Yesterday, was a good day! My lovely friend and fellow blogger Selena came to visit and the sun was shining! As I had mentioned in the previous post there were four festivals on in Bristol this weekend, we chose to go to the free street music and art festival Upfest and started at Dean Lane skate park where there were graffiti artists creating live art displays to a soundtrack of old school hip hop and dub which was blasted out from a live DJ soundsystem. My kids particularly enjoyed playing in the highly graffiti'd skate bowl as you will see in the photographs below. After a brief meet up with my brother Mike in a rather packed pub and viewing various bits of live art, Phil took the children home and Selena and I hung out in the city, we discussed blogging, kids, fashion and generally laughed a lot. We ate good food and drank in various cool Bristol hangouts before heading back to babysit swap with Phil who was playing at Upfest with his band The Relay Rips. I had so much fun, thanks for visiting Selena, I miss you already!!

I couldn't decide on my outfit for the day and went for a rockabilly 1950s vintage look in the end. I was under strict instructions by Selena that I must not wear platforms, only flats, as (in her words) I am already ten foot above her,  so I didn't wear my creeper wedge (ridiculous) boots and wore my animal print Converse instead. I wore these with my vintage Americana dress from Topshop and my pink headscarf and was delighted to see that Selena had gone for a vintage rockabilly look too with big hair, big sunglasses, a lovely printed dress from River Island's Vintage range and some baseball style boots. It did look like we had asked each other what we were going to wear which was pretty funny but this is why she is such a good friend!! We even had photographers taking photos of us at Upfest, like we were wearing costumes, which we thought was funny. At last we are Harujuku Girls!!

Look at little Sylvie's outfit, I fell in love with this cute printed tshirt, bloomers and heart knee leggings all from H&M. Sylvie had great fun running around the bowl with her brothers!

All photographs taken by my husband Phil.

Thanks for reading!

ND xx

No Debutante - Victory Rolls

My new favourite hair style that I have been challenging myself to perfect is the 1940s Victory Roll. I have fine hair so after much deliberating with the whole backcombing issue (ruins your hair and my hair is already bleached-yikes!) I have embraced backcombing (again) and I tell you what, backcombing does wonders for the Victory Roll, even in fine hair!

 

I've been practising Victory Rolls for about 3 years and I'm glad to say, I think I've got it!! My hair is still growing out the god damn undercut and although it is now pretty long, I still cannot wear it down without the appearance of the mullet! So, I have soldiered on with these mad layers and I wear my hair up everyday - usually with a hair scarf (I really must buy more of these I must be boring you with the pink or the red one!) -  and I'm finding it pretty easy to style. I used to be obsessed with my curling wand and although it made my hair look great, I just didn't have the time to do it before the school runs and work, I'm sorry but I just refuse to get up at 6am just to do my hair, I like, and need, my sleep!!

 

On this occasion I have tried out the reversed Victory Roll where the roll goes forward instead of back, it was a bit of trial and error but this is the finished product. By pulling at the sides of the Victory Roll it kind of became a barrel or a long quiff. I am quite pleased with the result - see what you think.

I Love Victory Rolls!

If you like what you see please remember to nominate me - No Debutante in the Company Style Bloggers Awards  2013 in the Best Personal Style Blog Category follow link here http://www.company.co.uk/magazine-hq/stylebloggerawards2013
Thank-you!

ND xx
 

Grow Grow Grow!!!

As you probably know by now, I have been painfully growing out an undercut for over a year. In hope that you feel my pain I am being brave and showing you how my hair looks down, with no styling, which I never do. The reason being my hair currently resembles a mullet! Now, about 10 years ago I confidently pulled off a mullet hairstyle but it ain't happening now, no way! The reason I have the mullet is that I have been encouraged to keep growing my hair fully, by my lovely hairstylist Vikki Mac and not to cut it into a one lengthed bob, (which would be the obvious mid length haircut choice) as the sides are still not very long and my hair would still look like a short style -which I do not want! I like to give (myself) the illusion of longer hair....Oh, the possibilities!!!

 

Here are some photos of my hair down and how I style my hair to make it look better! I have followed a few tutorials on youtube on how to style up short hair into 1950s / rockabilly styles, all you need to know is backcombing is your friend!

 

Uh oh! Here come's the mullet!

 

Before

(not straightened and due a cut)

 



 

After

( a bit of backcombing and many hairgrips later)

 



I just twist the ends up and pin the hair in place using hairgrips quite randomly, we are not after perfection here but it still needs to stay up and manages to look good.

Add a headscarf and after backcombing the fringe until its massive I then smooth it down a little and victory roll it up! Easy!

My head is pretty small so I need alot of volume in there to keep the headscarf in place, I backcomb the whole head!

 

The above photos were taken after a visit to Vikki Mac for a trim, my usual platinum colour followed by a peach toner this time!

Vikki had also straightened my hair and  insisted I wear it down in this style as this hair worn behind the ear look is very cool at the moment........I'm still seeing mullet!

However, the colour is cool and it's a vast improvement on the top images!!

 

Here's the peach toner rocked up into the victory roll and clashing up marvellously with my pink headscarf and the Louise Gray dress! I performed in the Bang Band after this photo was taken.....but that's another story!

 

Hope you enjoyed this post of the good and the bad hair moments from No Debutante. I hope you are inspired to style up your hair!?

Expect lots of my latest fashion moments from the next post. Enjoy your hair! ND xx