Tag: forever21

January 22, 2018 – Little Miss Grey Cloud (OOTD #207)

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“On this grey Indiana day, you look so bright and colorful!” Shouted my friend, MaryKate, as she passed me on the way to class.

“Thanks!” I responded. “It totally matches my personality, how I feel on the inside, and is not at all ironic!”

If I actually dressed for how I felt every day, I probably would look like this – head to toe black, edgy hair color, sunglasses to avoid eye contact with people. But, as days like this one illustrate, I sometimes like to dress differently from how I actually regard myself. It switches things up, keeps things fresh, and prevents people from making generalizations about me too quickly.

That’s not to say I’m uncomfortable or somehow less genuine than usual when I dress brightly and colorfully – it’s just a different outfit, after all. The way I see it, fashion should be used for whatever you feel like doing with it, and, contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, it doesn’t always have to be about self-expression. Sometimes it’s more about self-creation – with each unique outfit, creating new identity, slipping out of yesterday’s personality and into some new character each morning.

In a roundabout way, maybe that is a form of self-expression – an expression that fashion can be both a reflection of your identity and a costume to try out different versions of your identity with. It’s a mirrored shield.

That, or maybe I’ve just too much time reading my philosophy textbook, and I’m trying to turn this into my next essay. This should at least be worth a little extra credit though, right?

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!

Coat: Target

Sweater: Forever21 (thrifted)

Skirt: Pitaya

January 12, 2018 – Snow Place Like Home (OOTD #200)

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It finally happened! We got snow in Kentucky!

It didn’t really do much for me personally, as I headed back to school at Notre Dame a few days after it fell, and if there’s anything we in Northern Indiana are accustomed to, it’s snow. That and corn fields.

Kentuckians, on the other hand, are significantly less familiar with that white fluffy stuff that falls from the sky – in fact, I’m pretty sure we see more falling cotton from the cottonwood trees than snowflakes.

Winter has always been my favorite season in Kentucky because it’s fairly mild. Not so mild that it doesn’t feel like winter at all, like what you get in warm places like Florida or California, but not so bitter cold that you get tired of it quickly. Snow in Kentucky is a pleasant rarity – the sort of thing that you only get a few times a year so it never outstays its welcome.

Though, once, my sophomore of high school, it rather did outstay its welcome, and I wound up staying home from school for weeks. I think I only went to classes a few days out of the entire month of February (which is, interestingly, why February is now my favorite month). That’s fairly unusual though; Kentucky snow is usually either only a slight dusting, so little that it barely impacts anything, or when it is more substantial, it’s gone within a few days.

Life at Snotre Dame has yet to kill my love of snow and winter weather – though it was getting a touch old by the end of last semester. I have months to go before the start of spring, so I hope that my favoritism for the cold stays around. If it doesn’t, I don’t see how I’m going to manage to stay around campus.

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: American Eagle

Sweater: Altar’d State

Skirt: Forever21

Shoes: Target

January 11, 2018 – Looks like Kentucky (OOTD #199)

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When you think of Kentucky, what do you think of?

Probably some mix of horse farms, hillbillies, bourbon, coal mines, and bluegrass bands. Maybe throw in some University of Kentucky/Louisville sports for good measure?

I wouldn’t disagree with any of those descriptions, but for me, Kentucky is best represented by its small towns, which are usually less exciting than the stereotypical image- coal-mining hillbillies riding horses and drinking bourbon while bluegrass music plays in the background – would suggest.

Admittedly, I’ve never lived in a small Kentucky town, so I can’t really speak to their character, but I do like to visit them sometimes for little day trips to get out of the city. There’s usually not a lot to do, maybe some antique shops, a café, and if you’re lucky, historical site of some famous settlement or battleground or birthplace.

A few days before I went back to school, my parents and I went out to Harrodsburg and Danville KY to pass an afternoon. Like most small towns, there wasn’t a lot to do in either place, but that was sort of the point.

In Harrodsburg, there was an old pioneer settlement that had been converted into a park that we visited for an hour or two and where I did my photos. Being winter, it was pretty empty. The most exciting bit was honestly a cat that was roaming around and some friendly sheep that let us pet them.

Second most exciting was probably this cool old tree just outside the park. If I’d been wearing something other than a mini pencil skirt (which, interestingly, was ruined in the wash immediately after this trip) I would’ve climbed it more extensively because it was honestly one of the most perfect climbing-type trees I’d ever seen – knotty, twisty, and with thick branches in all the right places.

In Danville, about 20 minutes drive from Harrodsburg, we saw an old dollhouse museum, an antique shop, and got dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I don’t have any pictures from that part of the trip because the sun had started going down and the lighting made it so it wasn’t worth the effort, but it was more of the same: old buildings and old trees and old back roads.

I am not and will likely never be a country girl, but every once in a while, it’s nice.

January 9, 2018 – Strange Requests (OOTD #197)

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“Hey, uh…would you mind taking some pictures in front of your garage door of my outfit? It’s just the uh…light is fading and I need pictures from today…”

That might have been one of the strangest requests I’ve ever made for the sake of this blog. But sometimes it’s 5:30 at night in the middle of winter and the sun is setting and you haven’t had any pictures taken of your outfit yet – and if you’re like me and you do outfits of the day every day, that’s a problem.

So I swallowed my pride and made the awkward request, tolerated the awkward look from my friend Amanda when she repeated “you want me to take pictures of you…in front of my garage?”

She agreed, thankfully – not that I really expected her to say no, but it could’ve been worse. I’ve had a few times at Notre Dame when I’ve asked someone to do my pictures for me and they’ve actually had a class to get to, so they agree but with reluctance. That’s always super awkward.

I’m not looking forward to next semester in the sense that I’m going to have to find all new people who are free during my lunch break to indulge my narcissism and take pictures of me. There’s that sort of weird conversation where I have to bring up that I have a fashion blog, and they give me that “oh, so you’re that pretentious type…” look, and then I have to prove that I’m not that pretentious type. Or admit that I am but that I’m still a tolerable presence.

In other news, Amanda and I went to the outlet mall in Kentucky, and it was a nice little day trip. We went on a weekday afternoon, so it was super quiet and almost eerie – but not in a bad way. Made me want to be a retired old lady so I can go to malls on weekday afternoons whenever I want.

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

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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.

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!

Sweater: Forever21

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

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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.

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: Ralph Lauren (thrifted)

Skirt: Forever21

Sweater: Forever21

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

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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.

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: Forever21

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

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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.

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: Forever21

Shirt: Thrifted

Leggings: The LOFT

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

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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

December 25, 2017 – No More Christmas Captions (OOTD #185)

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Christmas Outfits Challenge 2017: Day 15

My goodness, do you even know how hard it was to keep making up Christmas/holiday-related titles for these blogs and my Instagram posts?

It was hard, okay? I mean, honestly, I wound up with one blog so-cleverly titled “Candy Cane Costume.” Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. I’ve had some lame blog titles before, but that one was, to me, particularly lame. Like, I couldn’t have even titled it “Candy Cane Couture,” and made it sound a little classier?

Speaking of fashion, this, I admit, was not the outfit I actually wore today on Christmas day. Rather, I wore this when my friend Amanda and I went hiking the other day at a nearby woodsy area. In fact, I don’t even have curly grey hair any more…but more on that in tomorrow’s post. I may have a new haircut to show off.

The thing, though, is that I just don’t usually get dressed up on Christmas day; I’m lucky if I even make it out of my pajamas, especially if my family doesn’t go out. I mentioned this in yesterday’s blog, but my family doesn’t really do much exciting on Christmas – we don’t really have visitors, we don’t go to midnight mass, we don’t have a big fancy dinner.

We do usually have my grandmother over, but my mother was sick, so we had to postpone that meeting. It’s alright though – we had a fun Christmas anyway, and we’ll see my grandmother some other time.

Anyway, I’d like to wish anyone reading this a very merry Christmas (or, as it’s likely this won’t be published until late Christmas day or even the day after, a very merry December 26t)! And thanks to everyone who’s kept up with this blog since I started it a few months ago. It means a lot.

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!

Coat: Juicy Couture

Sweater: American Eagle

Shirt: Forever21