Tag: altar’d state

August 15, 2017 – See You Kentucky, It’s Been Weird (OOTD #87)

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But it’s been a good weird…I think?

It’s hard to believe it, but before long, I’ll be beginning classes at Notre Dame. By August 18, I’ll be in South Bend, IN, by August 19, I’ll be moved into my dorm, and by August 22,  I’ll be starting my first class.

Not to be cliché (but I am being cliché, and that’s totally fine with me here), but I feel like the time between the start of senior year and now has just flown by. How does that work – time seeming to move so quickly in retrospect but pass so slowly as it’s happening?

It’s hard to imagine myself as a college student, living in a dorm room with 3 other people, sharing a bathroom with like 15, and a campus with 10,000. So I’m not going to – not yet. There will be time for me to worry about my classes and my rooming situation and making friends, but now is the time for denial.

So nope, I’m not really leaving Kentucky, and these balloons aren’t really for my going away, and I didn’t wear this outfit because I wanted to look nice for going out to get ice cream with Amanda and Zach for the last time. It’s just a normal summer day in Lexington – hanging out with friends, being a little festive, and being extra fashionable.

For real though, I do rather like this outfit – I think the delicate white lace top looks particularly nice with the white wrap skirt and my white hair. Maybe I’m biased, being both the creator and the wearer of the outfit, but I like to think I’m honest with myself regarding how I look. I know when an ensemble looks good, and I know when it doesn’t, and I try not to act like things are any different.

The balloons, of course, add a nice touch. My mother brought them home “for me” – actually, she got them for a picnic she’s having at work, but I decided to pretend they were mine. Surprisingly, it’s not easy posing with balloons in photos, as any even slight breeze means they’re floating in front of your face or off in some other awkward location. I’m glad they were there though – added a nice pop of color to the shots.

Welp, guess that’s it for today! I’ll see you in the next blog post, when I’ll definitely still be living in Lexington, and I’ll definitely still be with all my friends, and I’ll definitely still be enjoying a lazy summer! Nothing out of the ordinary going on here!

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!

Top: Altar’d State

Skirt: Pitaya

 

July 29, 2017 – Anything For a Good Photo (OOTD #77)

Published on by lensembledujour12 Comments

You know, I only spent about 10 minutes at this farmer's market today.

My mother and I were on our way to Starbucks when we passed this dinky little farmer's market/nursery, and we had a few extra minutes so we decided to stop in.

It was cute, but there wasn't much going on – some plants, organic groceries, random homemade crafts. They had some natural Amish butter, which looked good, but it was like $12 for a pound, and I am much too poor for that.

The truth is, I didn't actually buy anything there, or really, even hang around for very long. But from the cute photos I got, you might think I spent hours marveling at the plants and sniffing the fresh tomatoes or whatever, but nope. Got my pictures and then went.

Writing for a fashion blog is weird that way – it's your goal to present the best version of your life so that people will marvel at you and think you're super cool, but your photos aren't necessarily a fair representation of a normal day. In the case of these farmer's market photos, I thought it'd be cute to look like I had a charming farmer's market outing, even though I really didn't and actually spent most of my day sitting in my dining room. Is that insincere?

I suppose not, because I'm disclosing it here. Besides, the farmer's market made for a really adorable background to my outfit photos, and my Instagram could use more of those.

In other news, I really love this scarf thing I'm wearing here. I say "scarf thing" – I have no clue what it would qualify as. It's thin like a scarf, but it wraps like a shawl and just generally gives me 2012 dystopian Hunger Games Catching Fire vibes . It makes any outfit instantly more edgy, like this Urban Outfitters dress that I bought 2 years ago before the shift dress was super trendy and had oversaturated the mall fashion boutiques. Still like it though, especially its pattern.

Looks like that’s it for today, so 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: Urban Outfitters

Scarf thing: Altar'd State

 

 

June 29, 2017 – Like An Onion (OOTD #55)

Published on by lensembledujour19 Comments

Good layering is the key to any good outfit.

For real, I put so much value on being able to create interesting layers in my clothing that I sometimes ignore the fact that it’s too freaking hot to be wearing a jacket and just do it anyway. 

With layers, you create intrigue because there’s a hint of mystery as to what’s beneath the jacket/scarf/sweater/whatever. It’s must like choosing to make your subject in a picture go off the page – you can’t see everything, so you’re naturally drawn in look closer at what is there. 

Granted, you can still have a good outfit without layers – it simply requires that the pieces themselves be intelligent enough designs that they are fascinating to look at. And often, that costs more money. And, since I don’t have a lot of that, I usually prefer to rely upon layers to carry my outfits rather than the design of the clothes.

(That does also mean that when I do see a piece of clothing that has an interesting design – one that “speaks” to me, you could say – I’m eager to snatch it up, especially if it’s a good price).

Today’s outfit is probably my go-to for the fall. Or the winter. Or even the summer or spring, because let’s be honest – I almost never pay attention to the weather when I’m making up my outfits. A jacket, a flowy top, skinny pants, a necklace or scarf, and my favorite pair of boots – you can bet that on pretty much any day I’m too lazy to come up with a more unique outfit and/or shave, I’ll be wearing some variation of this.

Everyone needs their safety outfit, and this is mine. It’s particularly good for days when I want to wear leggings because it relies upon the contrast between the oversized clothes on the upper half of my body and the form-fitting clothes on my lower half.

Do you have a go-to outfit? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you wear when you feel like you have nothing to wear!

Jacket: Forever21

Pants: Abercrombie

Shirt: Altar’d State

June 26, 2017 – A Blog Is Never Late, Nor Is It Early (OOTD #52)

Published on by lensembledujour16 Comments

…it arrives precisely when it means to.


Welp, I suck, and I missed out on posting yesterday. I did still get the photos – don’t you worry – but I didn’t get a chance to sit down and actually type out the corresponding blog post.

Ah well, it happens.

In my defense, my reasoning for not getting around to posting a blog is fairly solid. I worked 2-6, and after I got off, I went out immediately to meet with a friend who was visiting from South Carolina. She was probably one of the first friends that I made when I first moved here in seventh grade – in fact, she was probably the first person to invite me, the “new kid,” to do anything with her. I still have the old diary entry where I wrote about how excited I was that someone from my new school had finally invited me to hang out – lol!


Anyway, Kirstie moved our sophomore year, but she still comes to Kentucky to visit us sometimes. So after work, I met up with her and two of her other old friends – Zach and Adrian – for pizza, and we chatted and did some catching up. It’s funny – the three of us who still live in Kentucky don’t necessarily belong to the same crowd while in school, but we always manage to get along really well when Kirstie invites us all to hang out.


Over pizza, Kirstie was discussing my hair (I dyed it blonde about a year after she moved, so she hadn’t seen it in person before!), and Adrian, who had been relatively quiet otherwise, suddenly interjected “So do you think I could go blonde?”


At first, we all think he’s joking – Adrian, this big mixed-race football player dude, wants to go blonde? But he’s serious. And he wants me to do it.


So, flashfoward two hours, and I’m standing in Adrian’s bathroom, rubber gloves on, mixing up a batch of L’Oreal Quick Blue bleach that we got from Sally Beauty Supply about 15 minutes before they closed while Kirstie and Zach cheer me on. It’s hot, the chemicals are burning my eyeballs, and I’m terrified I’ll mess up and ruin his beautiful caramel curls, but there’s no backing out now.


And you know what? It turned out okay. Not perfect, mind you – I started running out of bleach towards the back of his head, so it’s definitely lighter in the front than in the back (call it ombré, maybe?), but I think I did okay for a person who has only ever bleached her own hair before. Plus, Adrian liked it (or at least he acted like he did!), so that’s all that really matters.


Summer 2017 has been an adventure to say the least.


In other news, one week, and I’ll be on the plane to London! I’m so excited to be going – and I’m positive at least half of my excitement can be attributed to not having to work for basically two weeks. The other half is probably because there are so many wonderful Instagram opportunities and beautiful backgrounds for my OOTD posts!

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

Shirt: Forever21

Sweater: Altar’d State

June 18, 2017 – Father’s Day Fashion (OOTD #46)

Published on by lensembledujour11 Comments

Sorry for the late post, but it’s been a busy day.


It’s Father’s Day here in the US, and my family likes to celebrate by taking a day to spend out doing some things of my dad’s choosing. He opted to get lunch at a new(ish) restaurant in the Summit called Ted’s Montana Grill, and we walked around and window shopped for a while.


We also invited my grandmother (my father’s mother) into town to join us, making it a nice little family outing. I actually shared my lunch with her – it was a half chicken, and neither of us could eat the whole thing. 


I wish I had gotten a picture of the thing – it was so good! Best chicken in my life? Well, no. But pretty solid. I did get a picture of our appetizer, some homemade chips, so you can look at that instead and pretend I was a good blogger who actually documented what she ate like she was supposed to.


On a more serious note, I do rather like Father’s Day – not just because I love excuses to go out to eat, but because I rather love my father too. He takes a lot of pictures for this blog for me (including almost all of the ones for today!) and does all of the proper fatherly duties very well. I must give him something of a shoutout – he’s pretty cool.


In addition to my father, I also love my outfit from today. I layered a sheer, lacy top underneath my sleeveless dress to create a really interesting, unique look. I particularly liked the mixture of the velvet texture of the dress with the sheer top. For accessories, I added my trusty black sun hat, which seems to make any outfit look more chic and trendy. 


I also added some cute rings – I got this little bird one in New York, actually, at a street market. Only $10. The little sales lady said it was sterling silver, and my fingers haven’t turned green yet, so I guess I’ve got to believe her.


And that’s all, folks! A huge thank you to all of you for helping me reach over 200 followers! I couldn’t do it without you (obviously…)!

Dress: Kohl’s…I think. I honestly can’t remember and the tag doesn’t help!

Shirt: Altar’d State

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

Published on 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*

FullSizeRender 50.jpg

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.

IMG_2120.JPG

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!

 

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

Jacket: Banana Republic

Sweater: Altar’d State

Dress: American EagleFullSizeRender 51.jpgFullSizeRender 55.jpgFullSizeRender 48.jpg

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

Published on 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

May 22, 2017 – First Day of Summer Break

Published on by lensembledujour2 Comments

Okay, maybe it’s not the actual first day of summer (that’s June 21), but it was good enough for me!
Today was my first day of summer break, and it certainly feels lovely. I had nowhere in particular to be until the evening, I got to sleep in, and I even got to go running this morning. I’m doing a 5K with my friend this Friday, so while I haven’t exactly been training for it very hard, I do want to be prepared.
But in truth, it was also a lazy day. There was a dishwasher to unload, which I didn’t do, some clothes to put away, which I didn’t do, and my room could use a cleaning, but I also failed to do that. In part, I was just excited to have some time to myself now that school is out, but the other part, I’ve been preparing for an interview.
So that is what my fashion today was all about – this interview, for which I took to heart the quip “dress for success” Admittedly, I am no expert at job interviews, and I definitely don’t feel experienced enough to discuss what people are looking for in potential employees, but I do know how to dress to make myself look more impressive than I am.
Today, I opted for something bright and colorful, to show that I have a bright and colorful personality. My skirt has a vibrant pattern, which I highlighted through the bright color of my coral blouse. To look extra classy, I layered on top my mother’s pearl necklace.
Wish me luck on this interview! I’ve actually got another tomorrow, so I do have another option going if this doesn’t pan out, but of course, it would be wonderful if I had some choice.

Skirt: Ann Taylor

Shirt: Altar’d State 

May 17, 2017 – Hunger Games Style

Published on by lensembledujour7 Comments

Good evening my friends!What a dull day it’s been. I guess that’s rather to be expected, as it’s the end of the year, and none of my teachers have anything else to teach. 


In previous years, the end of school meant getting whole classes to cram for other finals or play card games with friends, but now, as a senior, I’ve exempted most of my finals and half of my friends are just skipping. My senior year is going out, not so much with a bang, but with a quiet cough.


Still working at getting a summer job. I’ve applied to way too many places to count – so far with little success – but that’s the way it is when you’re a kid with little more than a high school diploma and a year of experience working in an office to her name. Something will come up though, I’m sure of it!


Actually, I tried to work more at applying for jobs today while I was in class doing nothing, but the stupid school WiFi was acting up. Not that it isn’t usually acting up – but it was being particularly ornery as there were so many kids trying to use it all at once, as we all sat in class bored with nothing to do but play on our phones.


But you know me, and a boring day doesn’t not equal a boring outfit! I rather like this one, mostly because I simply adore each piece I’m wearing individually. My top I got as a gift from my parents for Christmas gift last year, and it is quite possibly my favorite piece in my entire wardrobe – and that’s saying something. I call it my dragon slayer shirt, as it has these super cool leather scales that go up the right sleeve. I always get so many compliments on it, and I love it for how unique it is. On top of that, I layered this fun, steampunk-like scarf shawl – not necessarily the most practical thing ever, but very necessary when you’re trying to look like a dragon-slaying, abandoned city-wandering Katniss. And on bottom, I wore distressed motorcycle leggings – again, definitely more fashion than utilitarian, but I’m into aestheticism. 


All in all, I definitely was feeling a post-apocolyptic, steampunk, Hunger Games vibe. How fitting for high school.

Shirt: I wish I knew! It was a gift, and it has no tag 😕

Leggings and scarf: Altar’d State

May 15, 2017 – This Outfit Is A Luxury Sedan

Published on by lensembledujour3 Comments

T-minus four days until the end of my high school career!


I feel like that’s all I’ve been able to talk about these last few blogs, but it’s one of the only things on my mind. I can’t believe that after four years of hard work and a fair share of crying, it’s finally all over.


Today, I went out with the other Senior class officers to check out the location of our graduation ceremony – Rupp Arena. It’s pretty sweet to be able to graduate in this huge venue where concerts and sports events take place, but it can really make you feel small. I have no idea how I’m going to deliver my speech to 5,000 people without vommitting – fingers crossed for the best, though?


I’ve also been pretty busy today working on finding a summer job. The job I thought I was pretty much guaranteed to have didn’t pan out, and now I’m in an awkward position trying to find full-time work within the next few weeks so I can start earning money to pay if Notre Dame. I’m thinking retail, maybe? 


I don’t know, honestly I’ll take about anything.


But on to more positive topics – like today’s outfit! Again, my ensemble was inspired by something I came across on Pinterest – black pants, black shirt, and a camel colored faux suade nacket. I absolutely adore the contrast between camel and black, it reminds me of the interior of a nice car, like a BMW. In a way, you could say today’s outfit was inspired by a luxury sedan?


Welp, thats all I’ve got for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Jacket: Forever21

Top: Target

Pants: Altar’d State

No bonus mirror selfie for today.  I may just end up dropping this portion of the blog altogether – I figure there are already enough pictures of me throughout each blog, and it doesn’t really need another one, lol.