lensembledujour

June 7, 2017 – Taking Pictures in Public Is Kinda Awkward (OOTD #38)

Published on June 7, 2017June 8, 2017 by lensembledujour10 Comments

It’s not easy being a fashion blogger.

First off, you don’t get paid, really, unless you have a huge following. That’s really not a big deal to me, because I love blogging whether I’m paid or not! It’s just a hobby for me that helps me de-stress.

My second complaint, though, is that it’s just really awkward taking pictures of your outfits in public.

Seriously, if you want to be a fashion blogger, be prepared for a lot of judgmental glances when you’re in public. I’m not tall or glamrorous-looking enough to pass for a professional model, and my photographer is usually just a friend or family member with an iPhone, so it must be weird to people when I’m standing at the mall posing like I’m Gigi Hadid.

My advice? Wear sunglasses. If they can’t see your eyes, their judgmental stares can’t hurt you!

For example, today I went to work with my mother, and I decided to do my photos at an old twisty staircase at the side of her office building. This was all fine and good, until someone decided to come down the stairs! It was a nurse from one of the medical offices that was in the building. It was definitely a weird encounter, but I just remind myself that the person will probably forget about the weird narcissistic teenager posing for photos within a few seconds and then go on with their life, and that thought usually makes me feel better.

On to today’s outfit: it was a fairly simple one at heart. A denim chambray shirt, slacks, and plain black booties. The fun here was in the teardrop-shaped rhinestone bedazzlements on my shirt and the emerald green of my pants. Sometimes, outfits don’t have to be complex to be cute.

That’s all for today! I’d like to give a huge thanks to the 125ish of you who have followed this blog in the last month; it really means a lot to me! ❤️

Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT

Pants: Banana Republic

That’s it for today! 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

June 6, 2017 – Wearing a Sundress Under a Heavy Jacket Makes This Outfit Seasonally Appropriate, Right? (OOTD #37)

Published on June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 by lensembledujour9 Comments

I’ve said this before, but the weather is really not the most important factor when I’m considering what to wear. FullSizeRender 54.jpg

So what it’s 80 degrees out and humid in Kentucky today? I live in an air conditioned building! We as humans have evolved beyond bowing to the will of Mother Nature!

FullSizeRender 52.jpg *Cue image of a hurricane blowing away a building*

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So the truth is, I picked out this outfit about two months ago, when I was still in school, and for one reason or another, I never actually got around to wearing it. Thus, it sat in my closet, lonely and unworn, until school ended and summer began and it was no longer seasonally appropriate. It’s not that warm, actually, like I mention in the title, I am wearing a thin sundress underneath. Then again, I did layer a knit hoodie and a thick black blazer over top, so it also wasn’t the most comfortable standing outside in the sun doing this shoot for today either.

FullSizeRender 53.jpg

In short, once I was done taking these photos, I stripped down to just the sundress.

What do you think? Do you ever wear outfits for the sake of fashion, even if they’re not the most appropriate for the season? I’ve definitely worn my fair share of sweaters in the summer and shorts in the winter, and to me, the discomfort is worth it. I definitely get it if you don’t agree though!

Jacket: Banana Republic

Sweater: Altar’d State

Dress: American Eagle FullSizeRender 51.jpg FullSizeRender 55.jpg FullSizeRender 48.jpg

June 5, 2017 – Bardstown in Black (OOTD #36)

Published on June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by lensembledujour14 Comments

Kentucky’s a pretty cool state.

I do still find it hard to consider myself a true Kentuckian, though I’ve spent almost all of my life here – all 18 years of it, actually, excluding the 8 months that I spent as a baby in China. My father’s a true New Jersey guy and my mother’s from Chicago, so none of us have ever truly fit in to the southern lifestyle. Still, while Kentucky’s a little on the boring side, it has its merits. It’s always been my dream to move to a big city like New York, but I do rather like the small town feel that Kentucky’s got.

While I live in one of Kentucky’s biggest cities (though I usually think of it as more of a really large college town rather than the small city it touts itself as), it is pretty cool to go in to visit one of small country towns. Today, my family and I headed into Bardstown, KY, at the request of my visiting uncle and cousin from New Jersey. They’re both super into vintage stuff, so we figured this was a pretty nice place to get lunch and do some antique shopping.

And it really was. We had lunch at this really cute burger place, and spend the rest of the afternoon wandering in and out of the little boutiques and consignment shops that lined Bardstown’s downtown Main St. area. I didn’t find anything I really wanted (except for a cute little Burberry sweater in a second-hand shop for $100; sadly, it had a tear that wasn’t going to be easy to fix), but I think my uncle and cousin enjoyed themselves.

Today’s outfit was actually inspired by my uncle’s style, funnily enough. I wish I had some pictures of him – he’s a really interesting dude. He’s into hot rods, skeletons, local bands, and likes to wear workers’ shirts with random people’s names on it. Though I don’t have any shirts that label me as a Jerry or an Andres, I do have these fun hair clips that look like skeleton hands. I paired them with a black sweater with detailing on the neckline, maroon pants with detailing down the legs, and, for extra detail, I added a black velvet choker.

(Look, writing is hard sometimes, especially trying to avoid sounding repetitive)

And apparently, my uncle liked it because he said I looked cool, in particular the skeleton hair clips.

Sweater: Francesca’s

Pants: Ann Taylor LOFT

Shoes: Converse

That’s it for today! 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

June 2, 2017 – Not Quite Pastel Grunge (OOTD #35)

Published on June 2, 2017June 3, 2017 by lensembledujour15 Comments

I’ve always liked the concept of pastel grunge.

Ever since I was 12, setting up my first Tumblr and Pinterest accounts and getting into the world of Internet fashion, I found that the concept of pastel grunge was glamorous. It was such a fascinating concept – blending the soft, feminine look of pastels with the hard, dark look of grunge. Though I like not to associate myself with any particular style (it’s no fun being only a “preppy” style blog, or just a “hipster” blog; why put those limitations on yourself?), pastel grunge is probably up there with my favorites.

So today’s outfit is inspired with my middle school obsession with pastel grunge, which, by the way, I never got to fully embrace, as middle school for me was spent wearing exclusively Abercrombie and Aeropostale – no other brands were socially acceptable. I called it “not so” pastel grunge, though, as I figured it wasn’t quite a Tumblr-level quality of the aesthetic, as I lack the Doc Martens or flower crown that is necessary for the look.

But what I lacked in flower crowns and Doc Martens I made up for in floral skirts and layered chokers! Today’s outfit was all about the accessories, as without the high-neck black lace bralette peaking under the pink sweater, the layered choker worthy of a Hot Topic employee, and the black booties, it would be a pretty vanilla outfit. But that’s what pastel grunge is all about – making a soft look more edgy.

Today’s outfit was also rather focused on comfort, as I spent my day resting at home recovering from the accident and waiting for a refrigerator repairman to show up. My neck is still sore, but in all honesty, I was expecting much worse for the second day. People always say the days after a car wreck are the worst in terms of soreness. All I feel is some achy bones and a minor headache, as if I got a really terrible night of sleep on the floor.

That’s it for today – it was a pretty uneventful day, with very little to report. I hope you enjoyed the outfit, and I’ll see you in the next one!

Sweater: Altar’d State

Chokers: Hot Topic (I wasn’t kidding about them being worthy of a Hot Topic employee!)

Skirt: Aeropostale

Bralette: Aerie

June 1, 2017 – What to Wear When Your Crash Your Father’s Car (OOTD #34)

Published on June 1, 2017June 1, 2017 by lensembledujour10 Comments

I don’t mean that title ironically, folks.

Though I wish I did. Yeah…so I had an interesting phone call or two to make today. Long story short, I was involved in a car crash this morning while I was headed into Louisville for Lexington. It was a scary experience, but thankfully, I’m alright.

The car’s definitely not though 😅. I can’t really go into any details here, of course, but let’s just say I’ve had better days. Though, in truth, as car crashes go, it was about one of the best car crashes to have. I got out of the car with nothing but a minor burn on my hand and some whiplash, which is, as I understand with car crashes, something to be very thankful for.

So instead of heading into Louisville, as I had planned (and as I had dressed up for), I ended up spending about half of my day sitting in the Emergency Room, as the doctors wanted to make sure I was alright and hadn’t suffered anything more serious, talking with the insurance company, and the second half sitting in bed watching YouTube videos and doing some work on the computer. In particular, I watched Shrek 2, which is a much cleverer movie than I remembered.

Anyway, outfit – sadly, this ensemble didn’t get much visibility today, unless you count EMTs, cops, firefighters, and a few kind people who stopped on the road to help. Which is really too bad, because it’s a pretty cute outfit. This faux suede skirt from Abercrombie is probably one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe, as it instantly makes any outfit more trendy and more classy. I paired it with this fun mesh top with a twisted pattern along the chest, mixing both sheer and opaque fabrics for a look that’s just a touch sexy (oh, and btw, that’s a nude bra underneath to keep things modest). To finish it all off, I matched some camel-colored suede booties to my skirt and felt like I was ready for a very stylish day.

Whoops.

But okay, who am I kidding? I can’t complain about my cute outfit being seen; I’m alive, and that concept’s actually quite exciting to me at the moment.

Welp, thanks for reading! Sorry if today’s post sounded a bit like a downer, I’ll try to be a bit more chipper in the next one. In fact, there’s a lot to be chipper about in terms of this blog – I’ve seen a huge increase in page views the last few week, and of course, it’s due to all of you wonderful readers. See you in the next one!

Shirt: Unknown. It’s got no tag, sadly

Skirt: Abercrombie

And 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

May 31, 2017 – Matchy Matchy (OOTD #33)

Published on May 31, 2017June 1, 2017 by lensembledujour14 Comments

These summer days all seem to run together.

Summer is weird. For me, personally, I like to sleep in late and wake up late, meaning a large portion of my “day” is often spent at night, and a large portion of my “night” is in the morning.

For example, today, I woke up around 11:30, after having been out late until maybe 1 the prior day (the graduation party that I mentioned in my last post was interesting, by the way. It was quite the sausage fest, making my outfit from yesterday quite the interesting choice). After that, I had a meeting at Starbucks to do some part-time work for one of the real estate agents I had worked with in my previous job (so hooray for that!) From there, I had about an hour at home before I had to go out to pick up my dad from work, and now here I am at my local Harry’s restaurant, waiting for my sushi to arrive and typing this blog on my phone.

Was it a busy day? Maybe not in a traditional sense. I sure did a lot of tuning around though.

Today’s outfit was much more conservative than yesterday’s since I had that meeting, not to mention much more comfortable. I based it around this fun sweater with bright reddish coral bows down the back, and from there, I pulled from the coral color to match with my coral pants and coral necklace. I feel like coral was a very 2012 color, but it’s not like it’s gone out of style or anything since then. In my optinion, it’s as cute now in 2017 as it was 5 years ago! I tied it altogether with these tan booties, just to add some variation to the color scheme.

So that’s it for today! Not the most exciting ever, I know, but some days are like that.

Also, I’d like to thank all 60+ of you for following my blog! It means a lot. I can’t believe it’s been a month since I started L’ensemble du jour, and it’s already grown so much.

Sweater: Grace & Mila

Pants: The LOFT

May 30, 2017 – In A Barbie World (OOTD #32)

Published on May 30, 2017June 1, 2017 by lensembledujour11 Comments

I used to play with Barbies all the time as a kid.

In fact, I’m certain that my fascination with Barbies is how I got into fashion. I was never super interested in having my Barbies reenact scenes from my imagination, but I loved to dress them in different outfits and comb out their hair. My favorite Barbie was not the one with light up wings, or with a singing voice box, or a mermaid tail (though trust me, I owned them all), but one that was simple, with normal hair and a normal body for wearing all of my clothes.

You know, as “normal” of a body of that tiny Barbie doll could have.

I’m admittedly pretty jealous of little girls these days and the wide variety of Barbies they get to play with – even though I grew up just in the early 2000’s, The doll aisle of the toy store was still 90% the blonde, blue-eyed classic Barbie. Now, I see that the doll aisle is filled with Barbies of all shapes and sizes and ethnicities, which is a reallycooo thing to see for me. I always wished there were more Asian-looking Barbies as a kid, and I usually ended up having to settle with some tan brunette with features that could’ve passed for Latina, Eastern European, or Middle Eastern.

Plus, Barbie has the best movies. Princess and the Pauper was my jam, but Mermaidia and Fairytopia were close seconds. I remember seeing Rapunzel as an infant and being instantly hooked on the franchise. To this day, I still think of Barbie as Rapunzel as a more definitive Rapunzel than the Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled.

I wound up with a lot of spare time on my hands today, so I ended up doing a very elaborate hair and makeup look – bright lips, prominent highlight and contour, false eyelashes and curled hair – much like the glamorous look of a Barbie doll. Thus, I modeled my outfit after this concept, going for a lowcut pale pink top, short denim shorts, and wedges. It was pretty comfortable for a summer day like this, where a slight breeze makes it a bit too cold for short sleeves in the morning, but the heat of the afternoon makes it much too warm for pants.

Plus, I’ve got a graduation party to go to this evening, so it’s nice to show a bit of skin in the presence of people who usually saw me bundled up in leggings and coats due to the freezing cold temperatures my school’s AC brought about.
I had quite the playday with taking my pictures today. Be prepared for quite a few shots down below!
As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one!

Shirt: H&M

Shorts: Abercrombie

Choker: Charlotte Russe

And 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

May 29, 2017 – Memorial Day Fashion (OOTD #31)

Published on May 29, 2017May 30, 2017 by lensembledujour15 Comments

Happy Memorial Day my friends!

Of course, Memorial Day is a holiday we Americans take to honor the men and women who have served in the military. Granted, that’s not what the majority of the people do on Memorial Day – it’s become a day for shopping good sales at the mall and holding barbecues for friends. Personally, I fall more into that majority category, who takes this holiday off as a shopping opportunity, as I don’t know anyone close to me who has served, but I do think it is an important day for our country to recognize.

Today, my family and I hit the Kentucky Horse Park to check out a vintage market they were holding. It was pretty cool! There were plenty of vendors with some really cool products (and plenty of cute clothes), and I would definitely go again next year. There was this really adorable pink taffeta dress from the 50s that I really liked, but sadly, it had what looked like moth holes in it, so I had to pass. It was only $15 too!

Oh well.

Being at the Horse Park, I got some nice photos with the horses that were out and about. I live in Kentucky, so I see horses A TON (like seriously, you can barely drive anywhere without seeing some horses out grazing in a field), but I don’t necessarily get to go up and touch them, as (obviously) they’re someone else’s property and you don’t know how friendly they are.

These horses at the Horse Park were very friendly though, and quite happy to be petted and stroked. I am always so stricken by how large and beautiful horses are up close.

It’s Memorial Day, so obviously, I had to do the red, white and blue thing for my outfit – very stereotypically American, I guess, but in the best way possible. I’ve had these shorts for years, and I always love to wear them on patriotic holidays because I think the pattern resembles little stars. My shirt is much newer – actually, I just got it a few months ago at a vintage shop! It came with a matching midi skirt, so together, they look like a swing dress, but I also enjoy wearing them separate. All in all, I definitely got a vintage vibe from today’s oufit – though perhaps a little less than my outfit from last Friday!

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

Shirt: Vintage

Shorts: Forever21

And 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
Also, as promised, here’s a really ugly picture of me from the 5K! I did it with my friend Amanda – we definitely weren’t the fastest ones there, but we did okay. And it was a lot of fun!

May 26, 2017 – Like Something Out of a Soda Pop Shop (OOTD #30)

Published on May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Actually, I suppose it doesn’t really begin until tomorrow, Saturday, but the end of Friday certainly feels like the weekend anyway. Plus, my parents took off from work today, so it definitely feels like it should be a Saturday.

We had planned to take a family trip out hiking today, but after all the rain we had yesterday, it just didn’t seem like a practical choice.

Instead, we decided to head to the brand new Summit at Fritz Farm shopping center in Lexington.

Now, I have something of an interesting background with the Summit – The Summit was originally an outdoor shopping mall in Louisville, and I used to go all the time as a kid. Something happened though, and ownership ended up changing hands, so the Summit in Louisville ended up becoming the Paddock, and the owners of the “Summit” name ended up building a new outdoor shopping center in Lexington.

And it was definitely very nice! A little different than the original Summit I knew – less standard retail, and more upscale boutique. I found a lot of things I liked in the shops, but not a lot I could afford. Still, it was fun to walk around and stretch my legs and window shop.

Who knows, maybe one of these new boutiques is hiring?

As for outfit, today’s shirt actually comes from New York – it was purchased in the H&M on Times Square! I remember back as a kid I visited that same H&M and bought two jackets (both of which I still own and can fit into) , so I felt like I just had to buy something there again! I paired it with some high waisted denim shorts and oxfords wifh calf socks. For good measure, I threw my hair into a ponytail withn a scrunchie to go for the ultimate 50s vibe (though the shorts I was wearing probably would’ve qualified as a bathing suit rather than street wear in the 50s!)

Later this evening, I’m running a 5K with my friend…wish me luck. I don’t really have a problem running 5K straight, but it’s not exactly a walk in the park either, so I’m kind of hoping my friend doesn’t want to sprint the whole thing. I’ll definitely post some pictures tomorrow, assuming I’m not hunched over trying to catch my breath in all of them!

And 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
Shirt: H&M

Shorts: PacSun

Shoes: Target

(bonus: here’s a pic of my dad photobombing me)

May 25, 2017 – Little Yellow Raincoat (OOTD #29)

Published on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 by lensembledujour10 Comments

Weather-wise, things were both lovely and awful today.

It was lovely in that here we are, late May, and it’s only 60 degrees out. And that’s the high. I personally hate the heat, so this cooler weather is a blessing for me and my taste in layered clothing, long sleeves, and pants.

But in terms of ickiness, it was rather chilly and rainy today. I went running this afternoon; that was an adventure trying to keep my eyes open as the misty, spitty rain kept falling in my eyes. Not to mention my wet hair.

Otherwise, it was a pleasantly dull day today. I slept in, after having been out so late last night, and worked on this blog. I set up a Twitter account for L’ensemble du jour, which I highly suggest you check out. I admittedly don’t have much in terms of posts yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a hang of it soon! Social media shoudln’t be that difficult of a challenge to conquer for a Millenial like myself, right?

No news on a job yet, but that’s okay. Worst case scenario, I know places like Panera and Home Depot are always hiring, so I’m sure I could get in somewhere like that if I was desperate enough.

Which I’m not, yet. Something will come up, right?

Since my life today consisted of sitting at home on the couch and eating ramen noodles, it wasn’t a particularly fancy day in terms of fashion. I did, however, find it rather appropriate to go for my classic yellow raincoat and forest green rain boots. Now, I’m not cool enough to have actual Hunter rain boots, but I do have these nice Michael Kors ones, so I’m still trendy. Kinda, sorta?

The rest of the outfit was fairly simple – some black leggings, a printed sweater that reads C’est la vie (I’m a fan of French, can you tell?) and a sparkly J. Crew necklace to dress things up. Can’t be too casual, even on a lazy day off!

For real though, that’s it. I wish I could tell you about all my exciting adventures and all the crazy things I did today, but in truth, it was just a lazy, sit at home and watch the rain fall type of a day. It was nice.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! Shout out to my dog, Juliet, for being an excellent model.
Coat: North Face

Necklace: J. Crew

Sweater: Forever21

Boots: Michael Kors

And 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