Sometimes, it’s the little things that motivate you to get dressed up.

In this case, it was the fact that my hair was still curly following a school dance the previous night. Because my hair is bleached, I don’t have to wash it every day — in fact it gets dried out if I wash it every day. So when I curl it, the curls can actually last a few days.

So when I woke upon April 6, hair still curly from the night before, I felt a little fancier than usual. Rather than just throw on a sweater and leggings like I normally might on a weekend where I have a lot of homework to do, I decided to put on a dress and pearls. Very 1950s Southern dinner party.

I don’t often dip into my Southern heritage for fashion inspiration when I’m at school in the Midwest. Lilly Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines aren’t exactly crowd-pleasers here the same way they are at home in Kentucky. That’s not even to say that I’m really into the Southern prep look when I’m home in Kentucky — I just like to have a diversity of aesthetics to work with.

And in fact, one of the things I like best is to switch up the aesthetic in unexpected and unusual ways. Sometimes, that means dressing like a 1950s housewife. Sometimes, that means dressing like a Catholic bishop.

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

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (Thrifted, Clothes Mentor)

Coat: Thrifted (Goodwill)