Nicola McLaughlin leads her own fashion fairytale. As Sequin Cinderella, she is a blogger, fashion designer and runs her own boutique in Buncrana.
Her latest spring/summer printed women’s collection had its catwalk debut last week at Fashion Fest 2016 in Derry, which was all about bold prints. Not many people can say their favourite part of the day is getting dressed in the morning, but if we had her style we would be the same.
DW Style Study
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style differs according to my mood. I really don’t have one specific genre that I slot into. If I want dress like a rock chick then I will or I might feel like dressing more lady like and elegant. It really depends on my how I feel that day.
Who is your style icon?
I try not to have icons as such, I prefer to take influence from designers and artists rather than people who actually wear the clothes. My favourites being Vivienne Westwood with her “kickass” attitude and the late Alexander McQueen who wasn’t afraid to break boundaries.
What is your favourite piece of clothing?
That literally changes from week to week but I suppose one that I will never get fed up with is my school formal dress. It’s a floral Versace gown and to this day I love it as much as I did when I got it, I just wish it still fitted me!!!!
What inspires you when choosing an outfit?
Again it depends on my mood. Sometimes I decide on one piece that I want to wear and I work around that, and others I just throw lots of things together and hope they look good.
My favourite part of the day is getting dressed in the morning as it gives me a chance to express myself – I always try to wear pieces differently each time I wear them, especially with having a style diary on my blog as people see my looks each day.
How would you accessorise a look?
I love accessories and feel that they can make or break an outfit. Sometimes a big statement necklace is all a look needs to make it stand out from the crowd, or a splash of colour with a handbag can really brighten up an otherwise plain outfit. I love accessorising.
What is your most recent fashion purchase?
Since opening my boutique – Sequin Cinderella, I tend to find new pieces every day which is amazing but also could be a problem as I am my own best customer lol. Outside of that, I went a bit crazy on the Kenzo for H&M collection. Kenzo would be one of my favourite brands so when I saw they were doing a high street collaboration, I knew my bank balance would suffer accordingly!
Where do you usually shop for clothing?
At the moment, almost everything I own is from my own boutique but I am also a huge fan of the high street stores such as Zara, River island etc. I always loved quirky little boutiques where I would find one off pieces and would still hunt them down when I travel to different countries.
Do you have any favourite local fashion boutiques?
Sequin Cinderella of course 🙂 I do love supporting local boutiques and have a wardrobe full of pieces from Identity in Buncrana. There are also a few in Derry that I love such as Boudoir Boutique and Yellowmoon.
What are your wardrobe staples?
Black clothes – I literally live in black and on days where I am lacking imagination or maybe not feeling too adventurous I always put my hand to black. You can’t go wrong with a nice pair of black skinny jeans or black tights and a nice dress. Literally my “go to” looks.
Do you follow trends?
Since opening the shop I definitely need to be more on top of the trends but before that I tried to ignore them as much as I could. I don’t like to jump on the band wagon and dress like everybody else.
Often, if I like a trend, I will buy it but wait until it has died off before I wear it. With having my blog, I don’t want to churn out repeats of what everyone is wearing, I like to keep my readers interested with new and creative looks.
Heels or flats?
Both – flats for day and heels for night!
Shoes or handbags?
Both please – literally my two obsessions!
What is the best piece of fashion advice you’ve ever heard?
Don’t buy something because it is in fashion and don’t judge yourself on how others look! If something looks good on one person, it may not work on you and vice versa!
We all need to dress to suit our own look and confidence rather than trying to be something that we aren’t. Not everyone likes every look that I put together but if it makes me feel confident than I really don’t care what others think.
What do you think about the fashion scene in Donegal?
Contrary to what city folk may believe, us Donegal Women certainly know our style. It is such a fashionable county and that is clear to be seen on any night out.
I find that Donegal women are very dressy and always make an effort to look glam. Other big cities sometimes have a more casual approach to dressing for a night out whereas here, more is more and I love that! I love when people feel confident enough to get glammed up and rock the OTT look.
What has been your best investment piece?
For investment pieces I tend to go for a really nice handbag, simply because you will wear it over and over again! I have a Louis Vuitton “neverful” handbag which I wear every single day. It holds my laptop and everything that I need to throw into it for work etc and goes with everything. Definitely a great investment.
What’s the wackiest item you own?
There are definitely a few of those lol! I have a crazy cartoon jacket from my boutique with different characters such as Lisa Simpson on it, I also have lots of bright faux fur jackets that really catch attention – I design my own collection of printed fashion and the colours and designs are very bright and bold. I love wearing those as they are very distinctive to my style.
If you could wear only one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is such a hard question… I honestly don’t know what I would do if I could only wear one outfit! But I suppose if I had to choose it would be black jeans and a leather jacket. That way it could be dressed up or down and would never go out of fashion.
What has been your biggest fashion faux-pas?
I can’t even cope with thinking about it but lets just say it involved pink velvet & jelly sandals – I was only about 14 but that look still haunts me to this day!
If money wasn’t a factor, what would you buy?
EVERYTHING! lol there would literally be no controlling my shopping if money was no object…
How do you feel when you’re in your favourite outfit?
Clothes give me confidence… if I am dressed nicely and feel good in what I am wearing then I literally feel invincible.
Keep up with Nicola’s style on @thesequincinderella
Want to share your fashion secrets in the #DWStyleStudy? Email us on news@donegalwoman.ie
