October 2017 – Page 3 – L'ensemble du jour

October 4, 2017 – Another Generic Autumn Outfit (OOTD #128)

Published on October 10, 2017October 10, 2017 by lensembledujour1 Comment

And other generic blog title…

Look, I’m going to keep this not-waxing-poetic-about-fall trend going for this blog too, because the world does not need another white girl (well…white enough) yapping about how much she loves fall, but lemme just say – it’s going to be hard.

I put this outfit together with the intent that it embody fall. I mean, just look at that color scheme in the sweater – does that say “spring” to you?

See, this is what I get for wearing two too similar outfits one right after the other – I get stuck with repetitive blog topics. Note to self: keep things more varied in the future.

Well, if I’m going to hold myself off from talking about how much I love fall, how my outfit is so clearly the physical manifestation of my love of fall, or even how much I’m looking forward to fall break so that I can do dumb American fall stuff like carve pumpkins and get high off of the fumes the Bath and Body Works fall candle collection, allow me to give the story behind today’s set of photos:

So my Wednesday photographer is usually my friend, Odalis. Why Odalis over other people? I don’t know, She’s willing and doesn’t seem judgmental, and we’ve established a routine at this point.

After lunch, Odalis heads to class, so I follow her until I pass a building or location that looks good for posing in front of. It’s a super scientific process.

The building du jour (l’immeuble du jour?) here is Alumni Hall, one of the residence halls here at Notre Dame. It’s really quite a pretty building, the only problem is – it’s a residence hall. People live there.

Meaning, people are likely to come walking out the door while you’re standing there posing for your fashion blog. And if you’re not paying attention, some guy might come walking out as you’re leaning against the door, pushing you over and ending your photo shoot session prematurely.

He said sorry, at the very least.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Top: Forever21

Skirt: Abercrombie

Scarf: The LOFT

Hat: Forever21

October 3, 2017 – Generic Autumn Outfit (OOTD #127)

Published on October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 by lensembledujour7 Comments

You know how I went on waxing poetic about how much I loved falling the last blog?

I’m going to spare your ears (eyes?) and not do that again here, even though my outfit is so painfully obviously a manifestation of my love of fall. I mean, just look at those oranges and greens – is there even a doubt in anyone’s mind in what season I bought this at Target?

(Plot twist: it was actually spring, and my parents got it for me for Easter. Pretty sure it was on sale…but the point still stands)

Lol, fall’s not even my favorite season – winter is. I guess I just really love the changing seasons and getting to talk about it. I can even get into summer a little at the very beginning in June when it’s just getting warm enough to start wearing shorts and flip flops without being chilly in the mornings.

Midterms week is beginning to kick in here at College ™ , and it’s beginning to kick my…my parents read this, so I’m going to say “butt” to spare their mentalities. I don’t even have that many midterms this week – my godawful testing week actually fell about two weeks ago, when I had a few papers and a few pre-fall break exams all at once. I do have one in Astronomy, which I am 4394308% not looking forward to as well as a short essay for my Chinese history class, but that’s really not bad compared to what some people have. One of my roommates has five exams this week – bless her soul.

I think it’s just the overall vibe of stress that’s getting to me. Like I said, I don’t really have much of a reason to be stressed – especially since it’s October and October is a part of the holy trinity of holiday months – but seeing other people be stressed makes me feel like I ought to be as well.

In a few days though, it’ll be all over and I’ll be back home in Kentucky for fall break, which should be fun. Not sure what I’ll be doing for that whole week – probably just contemplating how unappreciative I was of Lexington and its status as a city. I used to complain about how Lexington was small and there was nothing to do, but I see now I was wrong: South Bend is small and has nothing to do. Lexington might as well be New York City in comparison.

I’m exaggerating of course – but I do rather miss being just a short car ride away from things like the mall, the movie theater, downtown, etc. South Bend, I assume, has all of those things too, but, without a car, I would never know that. You’re saying there’s a world outside of Notre Dame’s campus? Are you sure?

Dress: Target

Sweater: Altar’d State

October 2, 2017 – OCTOBER (OOTD #126)

Published on October 8, 2017 by lensembledujour7 Comments

OCTOBER. THAT IS ALL.

Can I just end the blog here? I’ll still show you all the photos at the bottom, but I think I just summarized all of my feelings about this month in those four words.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? October is a great time. It’s the start of the Holy Trinity of holiday-centered months – October, with Halloween, November, with Thanksgiving, and December, with Christmas. You can’t help but feel festive for the entirety of these 90 or so days. From pre-Halloween to post-Christmas, everything just feels more exciting.

For me, October is a particularly lovely month because it means the end of September, which, as I mentioned in a previous blog, is my least favorite month. By October, I’m usually in an established pattern with my classes, and the uncertainty and nervousness that I associate with September has passed.

Plus, the weather in October is arguably the best we get all year in the…Midwest? I guess I’m in the Midwest now – I forget that I’m not in the South anymore sometimes. Anyway, the air gets cooler, the leaves are turning beautiful colors, the nights get longer…yada, yada, everything cliché about October that you’ve already heard and already know.

Since it’s October, I felt justified in breaking out the spooky all-black clothes. Not that I don’t wear all-black in other months and seasons – even mid-summer – but I definitely wear it more often in the cooler months.

The highlight of this day though – even more so than getting to wear all-black – was that my friend Wendy asked me to help her with a photography project she’d been assigned. She had some portraits to do, and since she’d been kind of enough to take some of my OOTD photos after our Astronomy class let out on Tuesday/Thursdays, she knew I was comfortable with having my picture taken.

I met her in the photography studio in the art building, and we got to work. Or rather, she got to work. I just sat there and did what I was told. And I’m glad I did, because look at these results! I know it’s my face, and so it’s weird for me to praise pictures of my own dumb face, but still – these pictures look pretty nice. If not because I’m in them, then at least because it was a really nice camera that could capture excellent details.

Anyway, I’m going to go back to brewing potions, sleeping in graveyards, and doing October stuff. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Top: Unknown (thrifted)

Skirt: Zara

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Wonderful and Autumnal

Published on October 7, 2017December 28, 2017 by lensembledujour7 Comments

Meta, right?

Lemme tell you a secret: I don’t actually take these pictures on Saturdays. They still usually come from the prior week, and I still usually write the actually post on Saturdays, but I don’t always have time to do the photo-taking and the coffee-drinking on Saturday. Thus, whenever I have a chance during the week (in today’s case, Friday) I go off to some pretty location, take some photos of my laptop and coffee, and then save them until Saturday.

In fact, the drink I’ve got here in this mug (which, by the way, I stole from the dining hall because I’m such an badass) isn’t even coffee – it’s black tea.

There are so many lies being revealed in just these first few paragraphs; how can you even bear to continue reading? The next thing you know, I might be revealing I don’t even like fashion, summer is my favorite month, and Shoreditch was my least favorite part of London.

For real though, check out how cute and fall-like these photos are. I even risked sitting on a bench on God Quad surrounded by grass (which, by the way, the tradition is that if you touch the grass on God Quad you’ll fail Theology) to sit under this pretty tree and take pictures of the leaves.

I’m pretty I was judged by everyone who passed by me sitting on my bench taking photos of my planner and my computer, but I’m used to it now. I just don’t make eye contact with them, and I can pretend I don’t see them.

It also helps using an actual camera rather than a phone; that way, people might think I’m like, a legit photography student working on a project rather than a pretentious fashion blogger trying to take photos so I can look cute.

Maybe one of these days I’ll actually be as organized as my photos make me look, but as my home boy Aragorn once said, “it is not this day.”

Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com.

September 30, 2017 – The Fighting Asian (OOTD #125)

Published on October 6, 2017October 6, 2017 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Look! It’s a Friday blog and it’s going up on time because I didn’t take an four hour nap after classes were over!

Last Saturday was the first game day we’ve had at home for a few weeks, so as you might guess, people were pretty excited – even me, The Social Recluse ™ herself. I still haven’t figured out tailgating, or post-victory partying, or even apparently what things you’re allowed to bring into the dumb stadium (fun fact: metal water bottles are a no), but I like to think I’ve figured out game day fashion.

If nothing else, at the very least I can now show up to a game dressed like a proper Notre Dame fan, I can say the correct chants, and I can sway and sing the Alma Mater at the end. Still haven’t tried crowd pushups though. Guess that’s the next thing to cross off the list.

Another thing to cross off the to-do list should probably also be “find more ND apparel,” because I’m running out of ways to wear the same two shirts. I have this scarf now, which changes things up a bit, but I’m always happy to buy more clothes.

Whoa, a fashion blogger who likes to buy clothes, what a novel idea.

One of the nice things about Notre Dame is that we have a wide range of school colors to choose from. Our official colors are blue and gold, but green is often thrown in there because we’re the Fighting Irish (hence the title, the Fighting Asian). Thus, when making football day outfits, I have a whole range of appropriate blues to choose from, from a bright royal blue to navy, a whole range of gold-tones, from metallic gold to tan to yellow, and a range of greens, from dark emerald to a bright leprechaun shade.

The only downside to that is that the student section doesn’t usually look very cohesive (the exception being the first home game, when we all wear The Shirt), because you have people dressed in a whole rainbow of variations on the same three colors. And as far as I know, we never have something like a “Blackout” or a “Whiteout” (well, how could we, considering that we don’t have black or white in our color scheme at all – but you know what I mean), so I guess the ND section is doomed to look like a mishmash of colors. Not that I mind – it’s more fun to have the variation, if you ask me.

Notre Dame also gets kudos for having a very easy color palette to work with. Navy and camel? That’s a classic combination; you can’t mess it up. Unlike other schools I looked at (*cough cough* a hideous orange and black for Princeton), Notre Dame colors are highly versatile and yet still consistently classy. Plus, we have some really good sports teams, so it’s actually worth it to go out to games decked out in the school colors.

Turtleneck: Forever21

Skirt: J. Crew

Scarf: Notre Dame bookstore

September 29, 2017 – Feeling Witchy (OOTD #124)

Published on October 5, 2017 by lensembledujour6 Comments

Wow, okay, I love this dress.

If I remember correctly, I purchased it from Altar’d State in one of their after-Christmas-Thanksgiving-Independence Day sales. Actually, I think I found it in a lone size medium first, misplaced in the size small section. I really liked it, but I knew it wouldn’t fit, so I sadly put it back – only to find the same dress in a size small misplaced in the size medium section. Isn’t it nice how life turns out sometimes?

My only complaint is that it’s not the most versatile dress in my wardrobe – I can really only wear it by itself. Sure, I can add accessories – different shoes, different jewelry, etc. – but due to its billowy structure, I can’t really layer it under or over any shirts or jackets. This makes making outfits out of it very simple, but at the same time, kind-of boring.

Not to repeat myself for the 3432nd time, but I really like layering.

Though it’s not the most versatile in its wearability, I do find it very versatile for different seasons and styles. In the summer and spring, it makes for a nice boho gypsy look, with tousled hair and tons of jewelry. In the fall and winter, it can lean for a more witchy, boho goth look, with boots and tights.

In this styling, I didn’t fully commit to either the summer or the fall version of this dress – kind of like how the weather here hasn’t committed to summer or fall yet. The hair screams summer music festival; the boots scream fall festival.

A more snobbish fashion devotee may call that inconsistency; I call it versatility.

You know what else I love? This photo location outside of SDH with nice red flowers. I’ve used it once before, so I’m trying not to overuse it, but it’s just such a lovely backdrop. The plants both frame the photo nicely and add a pop of color against the plain brick, and I wish there were more photo locations like this on campus.

I’ll close this blog with a picture of some of my friends and me at an Applebee’s off campus. One of my friend’s parents were visiting for a football game, so they offered to take us all out for a meal. Better than the food itself and even the company I ate with was getting off campus – ND is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and unless you have a car, you’re kind-of stranded on campus. It was nice to remember that there’s a world outside of here.

Dress: Altar’d State

September 28, 2017 – #Artsy (OOTD #123)

Published on October 4, 2017February 14, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

I’d just like to let you know that as I’m sitting here writing this blog, I’m listening to a YouTube video called “the music of memes,” so that’s where the money my parents are spending on my tuition is going.

Anyway, other than getting distracted and wasting my life on the Internet, I’ve been spending a lot of time recently reading. I think that’s about the only kind of homework I receive anymore. I can’t decide if I like this development or not – in one sense, it’s nice not never having to pull out my hair over math problems or chemistry formulas. In other sense, it’s kind of quiet and boring spending so much time in isolation looking at words on a page.

What I probably miss most deeply though is having an art class. I wanted to be placed in one this semester, but it didn’t work out into my schedule. At first, I didn’t think I would even notice the absence – in fact, at the end of high school, I felt like I was getting kind-of burnt out on art classes, and that I needed a break from them.

But alas, I was wrong. Without question, I need art in my life. I mean, it’s not like I’m dying or anything, and it’s also not like I am completely without it either – I do like to doodle a little in boring lecture classes – but I can definitely feel its absence.

Notre Dame’s a lovely school, full of brilliant and talented people, but for whatever reason, it’s kind-of lacking in art kids. I discussed this issue a little in a previous blog, in which I was the most goth kid on campus by simply wearing all-black and Wednesday Adams braids, so I’ll save you the repetition here. Let’s just say that, while I’m very happy here and wouldn’t change a thing about that, I am the teensiest bit jealous of my friends who went to large state schools where the arts programs are more prominent.

It’s alright, though. I’ll make it into my art class next semester, and then I’ll have to find more things to complain about to fill space for these blogs. If you couldn’t tell by the My Chemical Romance t-shirt and billowy burgundy scarf, I consider myself quite the tortured soul.

(Erm…that was meant to be sarcastic, by the way. I assume you could probably tell that, but like, just in case…)

Anyway, my video about the music of memes is over, so I guess I ought to get back to work now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Forever21

Shirt: Hot Topic

September 27, 2017 – Waiting On My Growth Spurt (OOTD #122)

Published on October 3, 2017December 28, 2017 by lensembledujour10 Comments

It is no secret – I am very short.

I’m not going to bother telling you my actual height, but suffice to say – it’s not a very big number. I’m still waiting on my miracle growth spurt to push me up into the six foot range, but something tells me I shouldn’t hold my breath.

Actually, as a kid, I never thought I was going to be short my whole life. My parents were both pretty tall, so I figured I’d grow up and eventually be of equal height to them. The problem with that logic, though? They’re white, and I’m Asian: I was adopted. And unfortunately, when you’re adopted, you don’t get any share of your parents’ genes, including their genes for height.

So alas, whomever my Asian parents were, they did not offer me any genes for height. Even with heels, I’m just barely pushing “average petite” height – without heels, I’m on the more extreme end of the short spectrum.

RIP my burgeoning career as a runway model.

Where am I going with this? I’m really not sure. Maybe I was thinking I looked I little short (ba-dum tshhhhh…) in the photos for today’s post, likely due to the way the billowy blouse is too long next to my pants, making my legs look shorter.

Eh, whatever. The colors look lovely next to each other – bright and vibrant and classy – so I can deal with some awkward proportions. Besides, that’s what sitting poses are for! No one can tell if you’re short or not.

In other news, fall break is in a little more than two weeks, and I’m slowly becoming excited to go home. Notre Dame is wonderful, especially now that the leaves are beginning to turn, but it’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed. I want to do nothing/be a social recluse at home rather than doing nothing/being a social recluse at school.

I didn’t think there was any conceivable way I could possibly miss Kentucky, but yet…here I am, missing Kentucky. I even, in a strange way, miss the Southern accent. It used to annoy me, but I’ve gone without hearing one for so long, that it’s like I’m developing an affinity for it.

Also, if I hear one more Midwesterner call soda “pop,” I’m going to lose it.

Shirt: Altar’d State

Pants: The LOFT

September 26, 2017 – Vaguely 60s (OOTD #121)

Published on October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 by lensembledujour6 Comments

I love vintage-inspired fashion.

Take a little glance through the “vintage” tag here on this blog and you’ll see – there’s no shortage of old clothes in my wardrobe. I love the exhilaration of a hunt for a good piece in the bargain bin of a second-hand shop; alternatively, I also love the feeling of walking into a trendy vintage shop full of high-end designer items. There are so many ways to enjoy vintage clothing; there’s no “one” way of doing vintage.

Unlike, say, trendy fashion, in which there is usually has a very clear and defined method of wearing the trend, vintage fashion throws the rules out the window. You can do whatever you want, as long as you make it work.

And how does one make it work? My preference is to pair them with contemporary pieces to create a remixed look that’s stylish without being too basic. Current trends tend to borrow from history, so, given the right vintage piece, it’s no trouble at all to make it look modern.

Take this outfit, for example. This dress comes from the greatest vintage fashion market I’ve ever seen – the Brick Lane Market in Shoreditch, London. I talked about it extensively on the blog from day that I visited there, and I have been talking about it extensively ever since. I’m pretty sure I’m going to still be talking about it when I’m on my deathbed.

Anyway, the dress is vintage, but the styling is not. My bag, thigh-high socks, sunglasses, and shoes are all contemporary, and thus, the outfit doesn’t come off as a 60s costume.

For extra flair, I went for the closest thing to a 60s-inspired Bridgette Bardot ponytail that I could get without a curling iron and without teasing my hair. In other words – it was a pretty sad excuse for a Bridgette Bardot ponytail, but it’s the best I could do. Do I get my participation medal now?

TL; DR: Vintage pieces are such a great way to stand out from the standard fashion trends, while still being stylish. I like them and you should too.

Dress: Vintage

September 23, 2017 – How Do You Like Them Apples? (OOTD #120)

Published on October 1, 2017 by lensembledujour7 Comments

You know…I have absolutely no idea what that references.

Obviously, I’m sitting here in front of a computer, so I could totally look it up and solve the mystery (well, the mystery to me anyway), but I don’t really feel like it. It kind of spoils the magic of the thing. Ignorance is bliss, as they say…though I’m pretty sure that’s not how that saying usually is usually meant…

Anyway, I’m back with the photos that I wasn’t able to post on Friday! For a more detailed description of the conundrum, you can read my post from a few days ago, but the short version is that I had to post my outfit from September 25 before my outfit from September 23 because I hadn’t received the Sept 23 photos from the photographer yet. That’s all behind us now, though – on to the description of my apple-picking adventures.

As I mentioned in the Saturday Musings + Coffee post from September 23, I went out with a group of girls from my residence hall to pick apples at a local farm. And you know what? It was absolutely heavenly.

Okay…well…maybe it not. It was swelteringly hot, and that kind of ruined the “heavenly” effect, but it was still a lot of fun, especially considering that September 23 was actually the second day of fall. And what better place to spend the beginning of fall than a farm?

Maybe a farm with air conditioning, but that’s beside the point.

It wasn’t a huge farm, not like the kinds I’m used to in Kentucky, but it was charming anyway. As far as I could tell, they had a couple of rows of apple trees, some grape vines, and maybe some other fruits that weren’t currently in season. No pumpkin patch, corn maze, or hay rides, unfortunately. Guess I’ll have to wait for fall break when I’m back in Lexington for that.

But what they did have in abundance were good photo-taking opportunities, and you can bet that I took advantage of as many of those as possible. My roommate, Mariana (in the orange dress next to me in the second photo below) had her DSLR camera with her, meaning I was bothering her every three minutes to take pictures of me. I think she was perhaps more interested in taking pictures of the scenery and the plants…but she was still willing to indulge my narcissism every once in a while, and for that I’m grateful.

I’ll be sure to get her a nice Christmas present or something.

I wish we could have spent longer there, but sadly, the sun was getting higher in the sky and it was getting hotter with every passing minute. Honestly, you can probably even see the beads of sweat on my face in some of these photos. It’s okay though – it just makes me all the more excited for fall weather and for the chance to go home and do even more fall weather things.