forever21 – Page 10 – L'ensemble du jour

June 23, 2018 – Color Scheming (OOTD #310)

Published on July 7, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujour3 Comments

As those of you who follow my Instagram might know, I am very careful about maintaining a particular color order of my posts.

This is how it works — I post nine photos, usually three each day (or at least, the goal), that all have a very strong color story of a particular color. These nine photos form a square on my feed, allowing that entire block of pictures to be perceived as that color when someone scrolls through my profile. I go in rainbow order order, i.e, I post a block of nine bluish photos, followed by nine greenish photos, and so on.

Here’s what’s great: it makes my feed appear very colorful, and transitions from one color to another is fairly easy because I always know the order of what should come next.

Here’s what’s not great: certain colors are much harder than others to get nine photos that all work together. For example, green is a very easy color scheme — I just have to get photos that incorporate a lot of foliage or grass. On the other hand, pink or purple is very difficult, as there is not much in the natural world or the manmade that is predominantly pink and purple.

So when I do come across a pink wall or a big purple bush, I get excited because it means I have good content for my Instagram feed. That’s where today’s outfit comes in.

I had worn this outfit to my internship in Frankfort, not really putting any thought into it beyond the fact that I wanted something nice to wear because I had a naturalization ceremony to attend. Actually, I felt a little underdressed for the ceremony, like I should have worn something a little nicer than a cardigan and trousers — but that’s not important to the story.

The point is, the outfit I chose to wear had nothing to do really with my whole Instagram color scheme strategy. I hadn’t even been sure I would do outfit photography that day, since it’s not like it was a special outfit or a special occasion.

My mind was changed though, when my parents and I decided to go to Red Robin for dinner that night, and i came across this pinkish-purple wall. My otherwise uninteresting outfit then became the perfect subject for the background, as the colors worked well together.

But actually, I’m beginning now to question whether I ought to continue with this color scheme Instagram plan. It’s a lot of work to organize, and results in me doing things like I did with this outfit where I am forced to restrict myself to particular colors and backgrounds. I feel like there has to be a better way to create a coherent, visually appealing feed without limiting my creativity in this way, you know?

If you have any suggestions, please let me know! I know a lot of my readers are bloggers themselves, so I’d love it if you could share your Instagram organization strategies with me in the comments.

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!

Sweater: The LOFT

Top: Forever21

Pants: J Crew

June 19, 2018 — The Blues (OOTD #306)

Published on July 3, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Get ready, because you’re about to see about a week-worth of blue outfits.

I’m not really sure how it happened, but for some reason, I wound up wearing several predominantly blue outfits all in a row. I guess you could say I was feeling a little blue? 😉

Maybe it was a residual effect of Father’s Day — my dad’s favorite color is blue, to the point that the vast majority of his shirts are blue (though to be fair, he’s getting much better now that my mother and I have mentioned his blue fixation), so perhaps I was just following his example.

I don’t really have a proper explanation. The last time I wore this much blue was probably the 2014 March Madness when the University of Kentucky won the college basketball championship, though that was more of a royal blue shade. My point being, it’s not like blue’s my favorite color, or I have a greater number of blue clothes in my wardrobe than any other color.

Sometimes, things like that just happen in fashion — you wear several similar style shirts in a row, or you wear the same pair of shoes with every outfit (I know I definitely do this!) or you wear all one particular color. For me, what’s important is that I recognize that I’m getting stagnant and make an effort to switch things up.

Today’s outfit, though, was blue, if only because my shawl (Is that the best word for it? It’s not a jacket…it’s not a sweater…) was. Isn’t it interesting that a single colored piece of clothing in an otherwise neutral ensemble can make the entire outfit read as colored?

For real though, if someone has a proposal for what to call this blue sheer-top thing, I’m all ears. I’ve had it since my New York trip my senior year of high school, and it’s traveled with me all the way to London (in fact, it even made it to Buckingham Palace, the Pride Festival, and Platform 9 3/4), and I still don’t really know what I should refer to it as. I wasn’t even sure that I was going to buy it at first, since it’s not even my size and thus doesn’t fit the way it’s “supposed” to, at least in the designer’s mind. It was on sale though, so I went for it. Guess it was a good buy.

Shawl thing: Forever21

Skirt: The LOFT

June 13, 2018 – Warm Colors on a Warm Day (OOTD #302)

Published on June 28, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujour5 Comments

Perhaps the most common criticism I hear about my fashion sense is that no matter the season, I always dress like it’s fall.

Take this outfit for example — I don’t remember exactly what the temperature was the day I wore this, but given the fact that it was mid-June in Kentucky, it’s safe to say it was hot and humid. Even if it wasn’t as hot and humid as usual, it was still hot and humid.

And yet there I was — wearing a knee-length jacket and a long-sleeve sweater. The skirt and the platform wedges give hint to the reality that it was probably 85 degrees out and sunny, but on the whole, the outfit reads more as 65 degrees and overcast.

Interestingly though, fall is not my favorite season — as mentioned many times here on this blog, that distinction goes to winter, no doubt about it. Fall is second-favorite for me, though. I like the changing leaves and the cooler temperatures, but I just like the snow and the cold even better. Plus, winter allows you to bust out the heavy coats and scarves — I love layering, which you can do in fall, but not to the same extent you can in winter.

That would make summer, with its stifling heat that prohibits anything but the most basic layering, my least favorite season. In fact, I am so deeply not a fan of summer, that I usually choose to ignore the weather, and dress however I want — and since wearing a winter coat in the summer would might give rise to enough suspicion to let a cop do a warrantless search, that usually ends up being a summer-winter hybrid. So, fall.

The thing is, though, that I’m always comfortable. I work indoors, I go to school indoors, and whenever I do something that involves being outdoors for more than a few minutes, I do dress appropriately for the weather. It’s all about dressing for the environment you’re in.

The rest is about suffering the heat without complaint too much and bringing lots of blotting papers.

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Top: thrifted

Skirt: Forever21

May 29, 2018 – Playground Fashion (OOTD #294)

Published on June 18, 2018June 20, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

We’re getting awfully close to OOTD post #300, aren’t we?

My post upload schedule has been sketchy at best recently, but hey, at least it still exists! Just a few more days, and I think we’re due for OOTD #300. Amazing.

You know what’s not amazing? The 90+ degree weather we’ve been getting these last few days in Kentucky.

I know it’s summer, and I know it’s the South, and so I should really be used to this heat by now, but I’m just not.

I imagine the reason why I’m not used to the weather yet is because I insist upon dressing in turtlenecks in late May, even though it’s already oppressively hot and humid outside. Some little voice in my head tells me that that might be the reason why I can’t stand the heat, but I don’t pay attention to it. I mean, it can’t be my fault that I’m uncomfortable when I dress completely inappropriately for the weather, right?

In fairness, the office I work in during the day is pretty chilly, and I spent most of my time sitting or standing idly, so it doesn’t make sense to dress for summer weather in the way I might want to. I can freeze in my office or burn in the couple of moments when I have to go outside, so between the two, I’d rather brave the brief heat.

Besides, shaving every day is also a major hassle. But like…my unwillingness to do that every day definitely doesn’t have anything to do with dressing in long sleeves on hot days. Nope, no way.

Top: The LOFT (thrifted)

Skirt: Forever21

May 26, 2018 – Complimentary Colors (OOTD #292)

Published on June 14, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Double complimentary colors! Look at that!

I love complimentary colors. I don’t know who doesn’t — they work so well together, and the fact that they work well together is a part of their name.

Here, I have both red and green going in my outfit, and then orange and blue in the background. That wasn’t really intentional, but now that I see how it turned out, I’m a fan.

I’m always on the lookout for new and colorful backdrops for my OOTD photography, and I thought this Mexican restaurant’s walls worked perfectly for that. Some of the most unconventional locations can make for good backgrounds, and you never know when they’re going to pop up — I once used a bathroom wall, which probably takes the cake for unusual backgrounds.

Fun fact — this is actually my second Mexican restaurant featured on this blog as a background. The first was just as colorful, though pink rather than orange and blue. I find restaurants to make for good backgrounds because they’re often painted vibrant, eye-catching colors. They may not be glamorous, but a nice colorful wall always works well on my Instagram feed.

Running a fashion blog isn’t always as fabulous as it may seem, then. As much as I’d love to take my OOTD photos at an exotic Paris café every day, more often, they wind up being taken outside of Kentucky Mexican restaurants as random families pass by and wonder why some Asian chick is having a fashion shoot in public.

I’d say it’s a living, but I don’t get paid very much or very often, so it’s really not. It’s a…hobby?

Sweater: Forever21

Top & Shorts: PacSun

May 25, 2018 – Flower Clocks and Frankfort (OOTD #291)

Published on June 13, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

You ever have one of those experiences where you think something exists, but you aren’t positive if it’s real or if you imagined it?

For me, that was this flower clock in Frankfort, Kentucky. I thought I remembered reading about it a long time ago while doing research into things to do in Kentucky (spoiler alert: there’s not a lot), but no one I ever mentioned it to knew what I was talking about.

It was never something I cared enough about to Google to confirm its existence, so for many years, I pretty much just forgot about it. I figured I’d made it up, or otherwise, it was somewhere other than Kentucky, and since I never had any reason to go to Frankfort, I never bothered to search for it.

That was until I began my internship in Frankfort — now, I’m there every week, so the mysterious elusive flower clock was on my mind again. I figured, maybe I’d come across it one day, or otherwise, go searching for it sometime after work — you know, not really something I would actively search for or think about, but if it happened to be convenient to check out sometime, I would.

Interestingly, it wasn’t even me who found it. It was my dad. He came to pick me up from work, and I asked him to take some OOTD pictures for me before we left for home. I suggested some potted flowers outside of the Capitol building to serve as the background, but my dad said he had something better in mind. We got out of the car, walked about two minutes away from the Capitol building, and…

There it was! The mystical flower clock of my dreams!

Truth be told, it wasn’t that great. It’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but there were a lot less…flowers than I thought there would be. There were really only one kind of purple ones concentrated around the middle. It was cooler as a giant raised clock than as a floral arrangement.

Mostly, though, I was just excited to find out that the flower clock was real. Now, on to prove the existence of Sasquatch.

Jacket & skirt: Forever21

Top: H&M

May 24, 2018 – How To Wear a Maxi Skirt as a Mini Person (OOTD #290)

Published on June 12, 2018June 13, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Call me mini, fun-sized, hobbit-like, or petite, the fact of the matter is, I am very short.

Bar a brief period in second grade when my fellow peers’ growth patterns just happened to result in me being average-sized, I have always been very small for my age. Mostly, though, that doesn’t bother me. Being small gives me an extra cute-ness factor, which, at least for now, I appreciate.

What I don’t appreciate, though, is clothes that are made for tall people. There’s nothing wrong with being tall — some days I envy those with height — but the reality of the situation is that I simply cannot wear some kinds of clothing because of my height. I like being short, but I don’t like looking disproportional, and not everything is going to be flattering on me.

Thankfully, just because I can’t wear every shape and style of clothing doesn’t mean I can’t find a way to make most things work. If there’s a trend that you like, but that you don’t think will work for you, chances are you can still incorporate that style into your wardrobe — the key is simply to find the one piece of the particular style that works for your body. Even if not everything works, something still must, right?

For my trip to Nepal later this summer, I’m required to wear loose-fitting pants and skirts that cover at least my calves, so I’ve been experimenting with more modest styles that will be compatible with the fashion there. Unfortunately, as a petite woman, long, loose skirts and pants don’t always look flattering on me, instead making my legs look even shorter than they already are.

The solution I have found to wearing a maxi skirt as a mini person is a high-waisted skirt paired with a form-fitting top, creating the illusion of longer legs and a skinner waist. It’s also important for me to ensure that the skirt doesn’t have too much volume, or else I just look like a cupcake (a look which, while cute for my high school prom, I don’t know if I’d want to do on the daily).

In the end, though, my best piece of advice is just to try stuff on. I know it can be discouraging to keep trying on clothes that don’t look flattering, but if you don’t try, you won’t know what will work for you. If you’re willing to put the effort in, chances are, something is bound to work.

What kinds of styles do you guys find to be tricky for your unique body shape? What tips do you have for making that style work for you? Let me know in the comments below!

Sweater: Forever21

Skirt: The LOFT

May 18, 2018 – That’s Capital, Governor (OOTD #284)

Published on June 4, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

I’m very proud of this title.

See, because I’m visiting the Capitol building in Kentucky (capital? capitol? I’m pretty sure it’s an “o” because it’s a legislative building, but I could be wrong) and that’s also where the Governor’s office is. And it’s a play on “capita,” as a adjective, and “governor” as…a thing that old timey people say in movies.

Anyway, I visited the Capitol building in Frankfort the other day in order to begin orientation for my internship at the Secretary of State’s office. Or, I was supposed to — they ended up pushing my orientation until the next week, but I was already all prepared to go, so I ended up driving there anyway to make sure I knew where I was going.

I hadn’t been there since I was in 5th grade as a part of a field trip, but I’m pretty sure that’s just about every Kentucky student’s experience. Frankfort’s cool, but there’s no reason really to go unless you’re touring the government buildings.

Anyway, my dad and I wound up in Frankfort with nothing in particular to do after we found where the building I was going to be working was, so I got some pictures and then we went to lunch. It was a nice, relaxing day.

Coat: Juicy Couture

Shirt: Forever21

Pants: The LOFT

May 15, 2018 – Throwing Shade (OOTD #283)

Published on May 30, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

We’re getting pretty close to three hundred outfits of the day, aren’t we?

I surpassed my blog’s one year anniversary a month ago, but it still astounds me that this thing is still tooting along nearly three hundred outfit posts later. That of course doesn’t count Saturday Musings + Coffee or review posts, so in truth, I’m probably a little over three hundred posts already. Thanks for the continued support that keeps me motivated to continue writing.

Anyway, now that summer has begun (basically, at least — I guess the summer solstice isn’t for another month, but it’s basically hot enough here in Kentucky for me to consider it summer), I can feel justified wearing sunglasses again like 24/7!

I love sunglasses — it means I can put less effort into my face makeup. Since they cover my eyes and sometimes, my eyebrows, if I know I’m going to be in a place where I can just leave my shades on, I can do minimal or no makeup. And since I’m lazy and usually don’t have time to do a full face of makeup even if I wanted to, I am happy to take any opportunity to go minimal.

This outfit has a sunhat too — which means no hair to worry about either! Not that that’s really a problem for me anymore with my short hair, since there’s not really enough of it there to have a “bad hair day.”

Still, even ignoring their hair covering functionality, I rather like hats. They make me feel classy.

Dress: Forever21

Jacket: thrifted

May 1, 2018 – Pop Punkish (OOTD #277)

Published on May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

One of these days, I’m going to accidentally miscount these OOTD numbers and I’ll never notice because I never check.

I love fashion because I can go from feminine and soft one day to punkish the next. I don’t really have any claim to the title of a real punk person, but I like the aesthetic.

I’m pop punk, if you will — an easily digestible and more mainstream version of the real culture.

For as much as I like my punkish fashion and my pop punk music, I’ve never really gotten into a real punk scene. Maybe it’s because there really wasn’t one in Kentucky — and there certainly isn’t one at Catholic School ™. If I was ever to shave my half of my head and participate properly in the punk renewal of the 2010s, I’d probably have to move to London where I’d feel less alone about it.

Besides, I have no tattoos. Can you really be punk without tattoos covering at least one of your appendages?

I can’t imagine having a sleeve of tattoos at Notre Dame. Not that it’s against a dress code or anything — there is none — but I would certainly be alone in that fashion statement. I’ve complained about this before, but Notre Dame students are about as vanilla as it gets, which is interesting, given how much money a lot of their families have. If they wanted to dress more interestingly, they certainly have the resources to do so, but you don’t really see anyone flaunting it in that way.

High school fashion is, in my opinion, still where it’s at. You get a nice mix of neon-haired emo kids along with the Lilly Pulitzer-wearing preps (did I just say “prep” to designate a culture? Is this 2006 MySpace?). It’s a good, diverse environment for creative expression.

Of course, most people still just wear yoga pants and sweaters everyday…but I can’t blame them. The diversity of cultures in public school (at least in mine) was nice, but that was about it. My school was also freezing 99% of the time, and you never knew which teachers were going to be sticklers about dress code, so dressing up wasn’t always the most practical option.

Anyway, 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!

Top: River Island

Pink top: Forever21

Skirt:

Boots: Doc Marten