Fashion – Page 52 – L'ensemble du jour

October 11, 2017 – Candy Apple Red (OOTD #133)

Published on October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 by lensembledujour3 Comments

You know what I haven’t had yet this season? A good caramel apple.

Okay, so admittedly, that wasn’t the smoothest transition from a blog title to the actual blog that I’ve ever written, but I tried. I thought my outfit looked like it was candy apple red, and I thought about how I liked caramel apples, which are sort of like candy apples, so I thought I would smash them together.

Anyway, caramel apples! They’re wonderful and there are none to be had at the Notre Dame dining halls, neither at North or South. I thought maybe I’d be able to get one when I went to the apple orchard a few weeks back, but alas – no caramel apples. Not even a candy apple.

In my sorrow, I decided to create an outfit out of my desire for an apple smothered in caramel and chopped nuts. Or rather, I created an outfit Wednesday morning out of the fact that I was rushing off to Theology class and I had very little time to put anything together, and then I decided to title this blog out of my desire for an apple smothered in caramel and chopped nuts.

It’s okay though, because my dad and I are headed out tomorrow (at the time of my writing this, I’m on fall break, so I’m presently at home even though my OOTD photos are from while I was still at school) to a pumpkin patch where I know they sell good caramel apples. You readers won’t get to see that post for another week, likely, since these posts are on a delay, but no worries – you’ll see it eventually.

I’m so excited to get and carve pumpkins. Since I was a kid, my father and I have been carving pumpkins together, and each year, we try to do something more and more elaborate. Last year, I did a large pumpkin being eaten my smaller pumpkins, the year before, I did a pumpkin with an exposed brain, and the year before, I did a pumpkin with a split skull.

I haven’t yet decided what I’m going to do with my pumpkin – guess that’s what I ought to do 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!

Top: Vintage (thrifted)

Skirt: Forever21

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

October 10, 2017 – It’s Always Raining in South Bend (OOTD #132)

Published on October 15, 2017October 16, 2017 by lensembledujour2 Comments

The strangest thing I’ve encountered in the Midwest is the rain.Now, I’ve experienced rain before, don’t get me wrong, It probably rains every afternoon in early June in Kentucky. But in Kentucky, the rain falls down, upon your head. In Northern Indiana, the rain falls sideways, into your face.(Ironically, of course, it’s not raining at all in these photos – it had stopped by the time I was doing these. In fact, it was heating up a bit, and I just really wanted to take my raincoat off.)The whole “rain in your face” thing, of course, is due to the wind we get here – we are only about an hour way from the Windy City. I don’t mind a breeze, especially at this time of year, when things are only just beginning to cool off, but it scares me for the winter – a bitter cold wind is one of the worst things that can hit you when it’s 20 degrees out, and I’m certain we’re going to have a lot of 20 degree days here.The prospect of rain, however, doesn’t scare me in the least. I love the rain, and I have since I was a kid! I have two rain coats, two pairs of rain boots, a rain hat, and an umbrella (that I left at home…), so I’m always prepared with a fashionable outfit for a storm.Almost always – there was that one time I got caught in a torrential downpour at an All Time Low concert with Amanda and had to spend the extortionate $10 for a plastic rain poncho, which wasn’t fun. Good concert though.

On another note – check out my wide range of poses in these photos, lol. We have “hands in pockets and looking right” and “hands in pockets and looking left.” So diverse. Guess I should try to think up some new poses some time soon 😅

Anywho, that’s all for today! I’m actually in a movie theater right now, writing this, so I need to put my phone away. I can already see an old lady who’s just itching to yell at me.

Coat: North Face

Shirt: Some boutique in England

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October 9, 2017 – The Dress Dilemma (OOTD #131)

Published on October 13, 2017October 16, 2017 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

This blog title sounds like the name of a book in a bad YA series about being a preteen girl.

You know those books, right? They’re about middle and high schoolers, but they’re aimed more towards elementary school kids. They’re usually pretty short, follow a similar formula in which a trivial problem is presented and then solved within 200 pages, and glamorize the lives of teenagers. Think Katie Kazoo, Dork Diaries, or How I Survived Middle School – if you were a little girl in the early 2000s like me, you probably ate those books up.

So what is the dress dilemma that I, the glamorous teenager, am going to solve in under 200 pages of text (far under 200 pages, as a matter of fact)?

It’s one that I have actually come across before on this blog. If you’ve been following me for a few months, you might remember that, back in mid-June, I wrote an extensive blog post about not knowing how to wear this dress. I believe I rather creatively called it “Tim-Gunning it,” as it was something of a “make it work moment.”

Here, we see another instance of me “Tim-Gunning it” – how was I supposed to wear this dress that was different from the way I wore it before? It’s oversized and drape-y, making it difficult to layer anything under it.

My solution? Layer underneath it!

Okay, so there admittedly isn’t anything super brilliant going on with this layering work – it’s just a bralette and some chokers (which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find since I wore those outfit on Monday) – in fact, I wore this bralette-choker combo a few months ago in the summer too.

But some attempt at creativity is better than nothing, and I’m pretty happy with this outfit regardless of if it’s nothing wildly transformative. The dress by itself it beautiful – I love the mixing of the complimentary colors of blue and orange as well as the mixing of the shimmery and soft textures. It’s just a nice design.

Anyway, that looks like it’s going to be it for today. 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!

Dress: Anthropologie

Bralette: Aerie

October 6, 2017 – In the Midst of Midterms (OOTD #130)

Published on October 12, 2017October 16, 2017 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Concept: an AU where I’m never late to post a blog, and I’m not constantly stressed about getting my crap done.

Actually, if such a universe were even to exist, I don’t know if it would be me anymore – I’m pretty sure part of my inborn character to be running late for everything. And by running late, I mean it – I’m not sure a day passes where I don’ have to book it to at least one of my classes. I’ve yet to be late for anything though…let’s not jinx it.

Today, I had my first and only midterm exam of the midterms week – Descriptive Astronomy. It was…eh. It wasn’t the hardest exam I’ve taken in my life, but it was also far from easy. Parsecs far from easy, I guess you could say. It’s whatever though – I’m mostly just glad it’s over. My grade’s not too much in jeopardy, I don’t think, as I’ve raked up a lot of extra credit points already, but still.

I do have one more exam, Intro to Anthropology, after Fall Break, but I’ll worry about that then. Probably, I’ll be cramming for it the night before I had back to school, kicking myself for not preparing for it sooner (like now), and wondering why I’m always late doing things.

But like I said, it always gets done, and it always gets done on time. Well, on time enough. Like this blog – it’s going up later than my preferred 5:00pm time, but at least it’s getting done by the end of the day.

Also like the friend who’s waiting for me downstairs so we can go to dinner together – I told her 10 minutes, and it’s been more like 15, so whoops to that, but at least I’m still going to make it. 5 minutes late is still on time enough, right?

I feel like this entire blog post is just me asking potential future employers to never hire me, lol.

Dress: Forever21

Jacket: vintage (thrifted)

October 5, 2017 – The Most Expensive Item in My Wardrobe (OOTD #129)

Published on October 11, 2017 by lensembledujour15 Comments

I’m a little bitter here because in half of these shots, my hair is covering up the lovely bow detailing on my jacket. Ah well, if you’re really dying to see this jacket in more detail, check out this post from a few months ago when I wore it last.

This jacket has an interesting story to it – I bought it from a local thrift shop for about $30, which, compared to the rest of the prices at this particular store, is kind-of high. Still, I absolutely fell in love with it, and $30 is hardly extortionate, so I was willing to pay extra for it. I loved the way the large bow detail was incorporated into the collar in an intelligent way; it struck me as something that was created with artistry and not just salability in mind.

Anyway, I liked it so much that I decided to look up the brand online after I purchased it, figuring that, if this jacket was so unique, surely there would be other things for sale by Lela Rose that were of similar quality and design.

Welp…I was right. There were definitely plenty of things made by Lela Rose that were of great quality and intelligent design – and also very high price. Lela Rose, apparently, is a legit designer – legit enough that her pieces sell for over a thousand dollars each on her website. For just a simple polyester sweater, you’re going to pay $800.

I have no idea what the retail price of this particular jacket was, but I assume it was quite a bit more than $30. Apparently, the $30 they were asking for it was not at all an unreasonable price – it was an absolute steal.

Which makes me think – whomever sold this jacket to a thrift shop probably did not get much for it at all, not even close to what they must have paid for it. I would feel badly for them, but their mistake ended up benefiting me…so…thanks, I guess?

Sorry for the short post today, but I’m in the midst of midterms, so I really ought to get back to work.

Jacket: Lela Rose

Jeans: Abercrombie

Top: Free People

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.

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

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