lensembledujour

January 5, 2018 – Welcome To The Matrix (OOTD #194)

Published on January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Red pill or blue pill?

I actually didn’t much like the Matrix films; the first one was alright, had some good action scenes, but the ones afterwards were so bloated and wordy that I think I fell asleep halfway through the second one and I skipped the last one. To be honest, I can’t actually remember which pill was the one you’re supposed to take to go back to normal life and which one takes you to the Matrix – talk about a fake fan.

If nothing else, the Matrix series certainly had style though, in a leather duster coat and sunglasses kind of way. And I feel like this outfit is definitely something of a Matrix-y style – for good or for ill.

For good in the sense that it has that post-apocoyptic cyberpunk feel, which was honestly probably the best part of the Matrix films, and for ill in the sense that I feel like my haircut plus this jacket plus the shades gives off a 90s vibe.

Is it retro or just dated? Honestly, I’m not sure.

At any rate, it is all black, and I do love an all-black outfit. I think I’m trying to make up for having worn so many colorful outfits during Christmastime; I can only do so much color during the cold months at once, you know? I’ll bring out my bright colors again come spring.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! 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: thrifted

Sweater: Francesca’s

January 4, 2018 – Do The Locomotion (OOTD #193)

Published on January 7, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Still haven’t learnt my lesson about playing near train tracks, I guess.

This lovely set was located somewhere not far from the Keeneland stables in Versailles, Kentucky. My friend, Amanda, had been there before, so she suggested we go as a cool spot for photos. She was right.

We were planning on going out at 9:00AM for the lighting but, being lousy teenagers whose only greater love than pictures of ourselves is sleeping in, we ended up going out more like 10:30. From there, it took us about another hour to actual find the place – as it turned out, Amanda had been before, but she didn’t really remember the location.

It was all alright though – country roads in Kentucky make for pretty drives, so neither of us were complaining. Amanda’s a fun driver as well, or as fun as she can be in her Prius. I’m glad I’m too short to see the speedometer on her car though. I’m pretty sure it often reaches numbers much higher than what the speed limit calls for.

Several wrong turns and a consultation with an actual physical map later (who knew? they still exist), and we finally found this spot of train tracks over the water that we had heard of.

It was a pretty easy climb to get up to the tracks, but once we were up there, it was significantly more nerve-racking. For one, the wooden ties were each like, six inches apart, which wouldn’t be a big deal if the tracks were just on the ground except, you know, they weren’t. They were ten feet off the ground, and at the bottom of the drop was a shallow creek. A wrong step would mean a potentially broken ankle.

There was also the what if a train comes and we actually have to jump into the water bit, which could also result in some broken bones, depending on how deep the creek actually was. I guess, also there was the what if the train comes and we actually get hit by it or something bit, which would have been a lot more than broken bones.

Basically, the outdoors are dangerous and I should probably just stay inside and never go out again.

Thankfully no one died and no one broke their ankle and no train ever came, meaning the only outdoors-related trauma we encountered was the miserable cold. Seriously, it was like 15 degrees out and snowing. That’s nippy.

Forgetting the cold and the slightly dangerous location, this was probably one of my favorite LEDJ locations to shoot at. We got some really fun stuff at a distance on top of the train bridge, as well as under the bridge and by a nearby horse farm. Honestly, these photos are probably up there with Shoreditch and my Dad’s and my canoe trip as some of my all-time favorites.

Sweater: Forever21

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Fickle Flatlays

Published on January 6, 2018January 6, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Flatlays are hard to make.

I do them both for these posts and for the sake of having something other than just pictures of my face for my Instagram. I do find that they’re worth the effort, though they don’t get nearly as many likes as my outfit posts – it would just be boring to have a feed filled with nothing of pictures of me, so the flatlays break up the monotony.

They also look very nice on my Instagram page in terms of aesthetics, which, to me, is very important. I know there are some fashion bloggers out there who can do well with nothing but posting pictures of their outfits, and good for them, but I feel like maintaining an aesthetically pleasing feed is just as important.

You’ve got to be able to scroll on someone’s Instagram page and be struck with how pretty the colors and patterns all work together without giving each post more than a half-second glance. I mean, sometimes that’s all you get on Instagram – a half-second of someone’s time – so everything needs to look beautiful from a glimpse.

So flatlays are significantly less “authentic” snapshots of my life than my outfit posts – I mean, I do wear all of those outfits, but for flatlays, I usually just set them out, take pictures of them, and then put them away.

Because let’s be honest – I never have this many pretty things laid out prettily on a pretty background at once. I’ve never even used some of those things – the Blick Art materials book is only there because I liked the mint color, and the Christmas cactus is actually my mom’s and not mine. I’m significantly less organized than my flatlays would have a person believe, but what else is new?

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one. 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!

January 3, 2018 – The Game Is Afoot (OOTD #192)

Published on January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 by lensembledujour6 Comments

This jacket is giving me Sherlock Holmes vibes, and to be honest, I really don’t mind.

Alternatively, I guess I also look a little like Nancy Drew – another comparison I don’t mind.

I had a detective novel phase as a younger kid brought on by my parents buying me a few Nancy Drew books for Christmas that year. I later graduated to Sherlock Holmes and then some Poe, and that’s about when the mystery phase stopped – simply ran out of time to read anymore. I personally count Harry Potter as something of a mystery series as well, just without the typical mystery story setting.

Anyway, I found this jacket at Goodwill for $5, which is more than a steal considering it’s Ralph Lauren. The fit is also amazing, which isn’t normally something I can say about my Goodwill finds. It’s typically a place more suited to finding oversized sweaters than well-fitting jackets, you know?

I paired it with a camel turtleneck (that I probably were too often…), a black skirt and black tights because apparently color is too much for me. Actually, looking back at the last week’s worth of outfits , it appears that I haven’t really worn much color at all in the last few days. I should probably do something about that tomorrow.

On the plus side, I haven’t fallen back on my old crutch of wearing all black like the 2006 emo kid I once was, so that’s something.

Jacket: Ralph Lauren (thrifted)

Skirt: Forever21

Sweater: Forever21

January 2, 2018 – Goodwill Glamour (OOTD #191)

Published on January 3, 2018January 3, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

One of the best parts of this whole fashion blog thing is the sheer variety of how many locations I’ve been to trying to find a good background for my photos.

I’ve been from places as glamorous as Abbey Road and the Tower of London to as un-glamorous as a public dumpster. Today’s location, the outside of a local Goodwill, probably ranks up there with the unglamorous locations.

But you wouldn’t necessarily know it’s the outside of a Goodwill unless I told you, and that’s part of the fun of it. It’s something of a challenge trying to find new and unique backgrounds every day to go with my outfit; I can’t just have the plain white of my garage door every day, can I?

It’s been terribly bitter cold recently in Lexington – like, 5 or 10 degrees every morning and only going up to the teens during the day. To do today’s pictures, I threw off my coat for about three minutes to get my dad to do these shots, and as soon as they were done, I put my coat back on as quickly as I could. I guess that’s nothing compared to how cold it is at Notre Dame right now, though. I think it was -15 the other morning.

Speaking of Notre Dame, how about that Citrus Bowl win from the other day? Alright, so admittedly, this isn’t a sports blog, and I have no legitimate insights to offer about their plays. The fourth quarter was certainly exciting though.

Or so I heard. I actually napped through it.

So I’m a lousy Notre Dame fan. So I’ve only ever gone to the football games, and so I didn’t even go to all of those. I still like to wear the clothes and pretend I’m a passionate devotee. If I’m going to be a fake, at least I know it.

Sweater: PacSun

December 31, 2017 – To Grandmother’s House We Go (OOTD #190)

Published on January 2, 2018February 14, 2018 by lensembledujour5 Comments

Grandmothers are the best.

If you’ll remember, I mentioned that over Christmas, my parents were too sick to visit my grandmother like we usually do. Instead, we hung around home and opened presents by ourselves – which was totally valid, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t quite Christmas without my grandmother.

On Sunday, we made up for that by driving over to Louisville to see my grandmother and doing something of a “Christmas part 2.” We exchanged the last of our presents, ate the cheesecake we were supposed to eat the weekend prior, and watched the Eagles lose to the Dallas Cowboys (at home, of all places). That last bit was a little depressing, but otherwise, it was a fun day.

Seeing as it was New Year’s Eve, when I made it back to Lexington, I went party-hopping with all of my 500 friends and had a crazy fun time until the dawn of 2018.

What? Does that really sound so terribly unlikely to you?

Yeah, so in actuality, I had no real New Year’s Eve plans – so instead, I went over to Amanda’s house and cooked dinner before playing some old video games and watching Eclipse with our other friend, Zach. I’m not sure it was what the kids would call, “lit,” but that’s about what happens when you put three introverts in a room together and tell them to have fun on the last day of the year.

We did venture outside once to pick up some ice cream, which was such a terrifying and harrowing experience that I think I’m going to hide myself in my room indoors for the entirety of 2018.

While it was no exciting party, it was still a perfectly fun night with friends. Also, I fell asleep shortly after midnight, meaning I spent the first moments of the new year unconscious – which is arguably the best way to spend any year.

Jacket: thrifted

Sweater: Forever21

December 30, 2017 – Resolutionless (OOTD #189)

Published on December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Happy New Year’s Eve!

I guess this will be the last blog I publish before 2018. In that case, I hope you have a lovely time partying tonight or whatever it is you’re doing, and I hope you start of 2018 right, whatever that means for you.

My New Year’s Eve will consist of eating an obscenely unhealthy pasta dish I found on Pinterest, and watching old Disney Channel movies with my friends. I’ve got no parties to go to, or else I’d have a more exciting, glittery outfit to show you. As it is, I do have this fun Hollister sweater I found at Goodwill for $4; it may not be glittery enough to pop champagne in, but it’s fuzzy enough to keep warm.

I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions; I personally feel there’s no need to designate certain goals for yourself at this arbitrary time when you could be striving for improvement at any time during the rest of the year. If I were to set one, though, I guess I should post more and more consistently to this blog.

In fairness, it’s far from my main priority – I do have to put school first – but I definitely could do better. I feel like I’ve got to give myself a little credit, though: 500+ followers on WordPress and 6000+ on Instagram over the course of a few months isn’t half bad. If nothing more, this is a hobby I enjoy, and I enjoy that some of you like to follow along with my hobby.

Anyway, here’s to hoping you have a wonderful 2018, and that you succeed in whatever your resolutions may be. And if you’re like me, and you consider the concept of resolutions that you probably won’t keep inhibitory to progress, then I hope you enjoy not making resolutions and moving on with your life like normal!

Sweater: Hollister (thrifted)

Skirt: Zara (thrifted)

Shirt: the LOFT (thrifted)

December 28, 2017 – Not A Bowling Outfit (OOTD #188)

Published on December 30, 2017December 30, 2017 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

If you’re wondering: yes, I did make it out of bed before 2PM today.

Look at this shirt. Doesn’t it just scream “bowling?” Or maybe “Hawaiian vacation?”

Unfortunately, I did neither of those things yesterday. Instead, I tried to go bowling, just to find there was an hour long wait (on a Thursday night of all times!), followed by driving around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do before finally giving up and going home and watching The Cheetah Girls 2.

That’s all fine and good, but I’m still a little disappointed that I didn’t get to go bowling with my bowling shirt on. I mean, honestly – it looks like something straight out of The Big Lebowski. Alternatively, one could also say that I look like I should be selling knockoff Rolexes out of my coat in a dark alley, and that would be equally valid.

Actually, I didn’t buy this shirt with the intent of looking like a bowler or a street vendor a or even a 90s Leonardo DiCaprio – it was inspired by this one girl in my art class my freshman year of high school. She used to always come into school with these really cute, vintage-y outfits usually consisting of a jacket, some sort of patterned shirt, and leggings. There was some variation of course – a scarf or other added accessories – but it was always very chic.

Also very formulaic, which I was less a fan of, but I’m nitpicking.

Anyway, I have no idea what this girl is up to, or if she’s still wearing the same outfits because she was a few years older than me and graduated my sophomore year, but I guess you could say this outfit is a tribute to her. Also bowling.

Jacket: Forever21

Shirt: Thrifted

Leggings: The LOFT

December 27, 2017 – A Very Lazy Day (OOTD #187)

Published on December 28, 2017 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Wanna hear something disgustingly indulgent and also mildly impressive? I didn’t get out of bed until 2pm yesterday.

I can’t even argue that it’s because I was up late the night before, or because I’m recovering from the lack of sleep I’ve had for the last four months of college – I’m just indulging in a little extravagance and privilege because I can.

In fairness, I wasn’t asleep until 2pm: I did get up and do some work on my computer before finally crawling out of bed and shamefully pondering if it was even worth the effort to get out of my pajamas. Ultimately, though, I decided that it was worth it. I have a fashion blog to maintain, after all.

Since I didn’t have anywhere to go today, it wasn’t really necessary that I get dressed up or make any sacrifices of comfort in the name of style. My outfit, then, was put together so that I would be comfy and warm while still maintaining some personal flair.

I call this my tent shirt because it’s huge and billowing and surges out like a tent when I twirl. Conveniently, it’s a very good outfit for when you do that thing where you don’t eat all day and then you suddenly realize you haven’t eaten all day, so you consume like, 2000 calories in one sitting.

It’s a staple of any lazy day; anyone who’s ever had one can probably relate.

Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll actually make it out of the house, if only to go for a walk or something. Even though I personally believe that this time between Christmas and New Year’s is liminal space, where nothing really exists and time doesn’t go on, I do feel like I ought to be doing something more productive than sitting at home and blogging.

Shirt: Altar’d State

Scarf: The LOFT

December 26, 2017 – Liminal Space (OOTD #186)

Published on December 27, 2017December 27, 2017 by lensembledujour8 Comments

The time between the end of Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a liminal space.

Do we even exist here? Is life progressing between December 26-31, or are we simply in limbo? What even is time?

I don’t know the answer to those rhetorical questions; my point is just that December 26-31 is a really weird time when nothing’s really happening and life is trying to continue like normal but failing wildly. I think we’re all still recovering from our food comas from Christmas.

So what better to do during liminal space, the time between what was and what’s next, than change up my hair? Again…

This is the second (arguably third) major haircut of 2017, and if you ask me, the most drastic. I don’t know if I’ve ever had such short hair before; not even as a kid. I’m pretty sure I had that bob with bangs that every preschooler had, and I hated it so much that as soon as my mother let me grow my hair out, I did. And I kept it that way until a few months ago when I decided to cut it short and dye it grey.

And then, a few days ago, I decided to cut it even shorter and go back to brunette. It’s not quite my natural color, but it’s closer than it’s been for years, since I dyed it blonde when I was 17. The bleached bits were just starting to look really awful, so I had to do it for the health of my hair. I have always wanted a pixie cut as well.

I might still dye it darker, but for now, I’m keeping it how it is. Besides, if I do end up changing it, as long as I do it before liminal space is over, it’ll be like it never happened, right?

Sweater: Thrifted

Jacket: Forever21