free people – Page 3 – L'ensemble du jour

March 22, 2018 – Untitled (OOTD #252)

Published on April 4, 2018April 8, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

I allllllllmost didn’t post this outfit as a blog.

I only have four photos, and one isn’t even very good, so it almost didn’t really feel worth it to post it as a full blog, you know?

I decided to go for it anyway though, because I really like this jacket. It reminds me of the most expensive item in my wardrobe, a similarly architectural jacket, except that I doubt this one is worth hundreds of dollars. Interestingly, though, I bought it at the same thrift shop from back home as I bought the super expensive one — coincidence?

I wore this jacket specifically for an interview I had at 9AM, and, considering I was accepted into the program I was interviewing for, I guess it worked out! While it’s not a paid job (that I’m still searching for), it is a almost-entirely grant-funded trip to Nepal to observe and aid in a research project, so I’m super excited.

You can bet that I’ll be posting a lot about my adventures in Nepal (assuming I have time), so stay tuned for that. Maybe I’ll actually be able to keep up with a regular schedule, unlike what happened to me in London, where one week in, I stopped posting at all.

Speaking of London, can you believe it’s been almost one whole year since I started L’ensemble du jour? I need to check my stats for the exact date, but I’m pretty sure I began this whole project sometime in mid-to-late April of 2017. I should do something special for the one year-anniversary. Any ideas? Leave me a comment below!

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!

Jacket: thrifted

Shirt: Free People

Pants: The LOFT

February 20, 2018 – Low Light (OOTD #229)

Published on February 26, 2018February 27, 2018 by lensembledujour7 Comments

I made this a caption for one of my posts on Instagram recently, but I’ll say it again – I think stairwells may just bit the new doorways.

A little context – I’ve said, many, many times on this blog that doorways are pretty much the only structures I get in the backgrounds of my fashion photography. For one, the shape of a door usually just makes for a very nice way to frame the subject in general (that subject being me). Additionally, Notre Dame just has a lot of really pretty doors throughout campus (there are some exceptions – I think Riley’s doorway and LaFun’s doorway are pretty average), and I like to show them off. Maybe one of these days I’lll to a list of the top 10 best doorways at Notre Dame.

Anyway, I’ve been getting tired of constantly standing in front of doors, so I’ve been trying to shake it up a little by exploring the various buildings of ND when they empty out at night for good photography locations. Thankfully, now that I’ve discovered the remote camera feature that allows me to balance my phone somewhere but then actually take the photo on my watch, it’s been easier for me to get pictures done since I don’t have to rely on having someone to be my photographer.

As you’ll see here, when I posed in a stairwell in the campus ministry building, stairwells can make for good substitutes for doors, especially if that stairwell has a window that will let some natural light in.

Unfortunately, when tried to replicate that here in these photos in a different set of stairs in a different building, I didn’t have quite as much luck, as it was too dark out to get much natural light. Instead, I got a (kind of dingy) overhead light.

While I wouldn’t say these shots are particularly glamorous, they are moody, and there are a few in here that, when I put them on the B/W filter, give off some film noir detective vibes.

Will I be returning to this set of stairs for anymore photos? Probably not, especially if it’s dark out. Like I said, I do like some of the things I got here though, so it was still worth it to me.

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, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Ralph Lauren

Top: Free People

January 17, 2018 – Conclusions (OOTD #204)

Published on January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I think this jacket is it – the last new article of clothing I bought in London that I hadn’t yet worn.

As of January 17, 2018, I have worn every single thing I bought over my summer 2017 London trip – I guess, except for a vintage riding hat I bought in Shoreditch, but I don’t think that counts.

I would say this is a bittersweet, sentimental moment, but it’s really not – I mostly just find it weird that I bought this jacket in the summer and didn’t find a way to wear it until six months later. It’s not like it’s a winter coat that just wasn’t seasonal to wear until now; it’s literally just a light jacket I honestly could have worn a day after I bought it in July in a Zara on Oxford Street.

Why did I wait so long to wear it? I’m not entirely sure. It was probably one of my favorite purchases in London, so I guess I was hoping to save it for something special? A certain kind of spectacular outfit that would deserve to have my finest piece from a great trip as a part of it, you know?

But then there were no spectacular outfits that deserved to have my finest piece from a great trip as a part of it, at least, none that I could come up with. The proportions were always just a little off, or I didn’t feel like the outfit did the jacket justice. So I waited.

And then I got tired of waiting. I woke up on Wednesday morning, the second day of class for the second semester of my freshman year, and I realized it was dumb to keep waiting for some kind of magical moment to prompt me to wear this jacket I liked. So I finally wore it with a perfectly average (average for me, at least) outfit, and brought my London fashion story to a close.

I think there’s a moral in there, but I don’t feel like figuring it out/putting it into words. Instead, I’ll leave you with this fun fact: I’m actually wearing the Zara jacket here with the exact same shirt I as the one I was wearing when I bought it and fell in love with it, meaning I’d known the right piece to pair it with all along. Haha.

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: Zara

Shirt: Free People

Skirt: Abercrombie

January 6, 2018 – Amelia Earhart, Is That You? (OOTD #195)

Published on January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Ha, I wish.

Sadly, I am no pilot – I can scarcely drive a car, can you imagine me trying to fly a plane? I’m confused enough with a vehicle that turns and accelerates; I’d be a wreck in a vehicle that turns, accelerates, and changes elevation. Probably literally.

So while I will likely never live out my dream of flying an airplane – or driving a car without crippling anxiety – I can at least dress like I do, right? And by dress like a pilot, I mean wear a brown leather jacket and sunglasses.

As much as I’d love to break out one of those cool aviator hats with the goggles, that would probably take things into the costume territory, which would have been slightly inappropriate for the day’s adventures like grocery shopping and putting away Christmas decorations.

On the plus side, such everyday aviator chic as what I sported in this outfit is not likely to end up with me disappearing in the Pacific Ocean. I’m also probably not going to go down in history as a beloved female pilot and feminist icon, but you know – you can’t win them all.

I’m a little sad I didn’t have my actual aviator sunglasses on me for these pictures, but I left them at school and I won’t be flying back there for another week. No, I will not be the pilot – I’d like to actually make it back to school rather than crash landing in a frozen cornfield somewhere in Indiana.

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: Altar’d State

Shirt: Free People

Jeans: American Eagle

December 14 , 2017 – I Heart Santa (OOTD #182)

Published on December 22, 2017December 22, 2017 by lensembledujour4 Comments

I would not necessarily have bought this sweater for myself.

I do rather like it though, and I’m glad I own it nonetheless. It was a gift I received from a Secret Santa exchange that my friends and I at Notre Dame decided to do. I suggested as a part of my wishlist that my Secret Santa should get me an ugly Christmas sweater, and this is what she came up with.

I’m not typically a fan of words on clothing, especially when those words declare, for me, my adoration for something else (as it is in this case, Santa). I’d rather just tell people I love Santa myself rather than having my sweater do it for me, y’know?

In fact, I don’t really love Santa. I mean, Saint Nicholas, the actual dude who devoted his life to giving to the poor, is actually pretty cool, but Santa, the old white guy who sneaks into people’s houses at night and leaves them presents? Sounds suspicious.

In fact, I was pretty young when I stopped believing in Santa. Of the mythical lies that parents tell their kids, Santa was the last one to go for me – the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny went first – but I had given up on him by kindergarten/first grade.

Interestingly, though, I continued to believe in flying reindeer for a little longer. Even after I had stopped putting cookies out for Santa (or at least, believing that when I put the cookies out, Santa ate them), I went out with my Dad on Christmas Eve to sprinkle “reindeer food” on the grass. I’m pretty sure it was just a mix of glitter and flour, but it was cool to me, regardless.

So no, I cannot say I particularly love the myth of Santa. Reindeer on the other hand? I’m still not convinced they can’t fly.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life as an idiot college student. 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: Free People

Sweater: Thrifted

Skirt: Forever21

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November 9, 2017 – Cher Horowitz Wannabe (OOTD #155)

Published on November 13, 2017January 15, 2018 by lensembledujour11 Comments

I actually haven’t seen Clueless since I was 11, so I can’t exactly discuss that movie in this blog, but I felt like this outfit was definitely a Cher Horowitz aesthetic anyway…so I hope you enjoy the title, at the very least.

I love to be unexpected with my fashion choices, and that includes going with vastly different styles on different days. So, if you have a look at November 8’s blog, you’ll notice that I dressed in a completely different manner than I did on November 9 – notably, yesterday, I looked like a emo teenager, and today, I look like a preppy 90s it girl.

This is actually one of my favorite outfits I’ve done for a while – I dunno, I’m just a sucker for long coats and short skirts. Plus, the color palette is just nice and pastel…it makes me look much more put-together and chipper than I actually am, which is great when you’re a tired college student who wants to look friendly and approachable so people will talk to her.

Actually, this “coat” isn’t really a coat at all – it’s a wrap dress that I left unbuttoned. So basically, you should put me on the unconventional materials challenge of Project Runway right now; I’m too creative and innovative for this world.

The one bad thing about my short grey hair is that it doesn’t really work so well anymore with my preppier outfits, like this one. It looks spectacular with anything hipster-like, but it just looks a little off with things like mauve tweed skirts. My grey hair is like a constant, conspicuous mark of my self-proclaimed alternativeness – unlike my long blonde hair, which pretty much went with everything. I do rather miss it, but sadly, it was just too hard to maintain and it was really looking awful there at the end. Maybe I’ll go back to it one day.

Dress/coat: NastyGal

Top: Free People

Skirt: Forever21

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

September 8, 2017 – I Think They Call This A Pop Of Color (OOTD #107)

Published on September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 by lensembledujour5 Comments

I don’t usually even like wearing color.

I mean, look at my blog posts – it’s pretty much a sea of neutrals. Black is probably my favorite, followed by camel, grey, white, and navy. Though I’m probably never going to be one of those people who can create a minimalist capsule wardrobe out of only neutrals, I must admit – they do look pretty chic.

Unfortunately for the part of me that wants to rock the all-black everyday emo look, or the part that wants to look like a chic Parisian whose wardrobe only knows the occasional hint of red, I still come from the South. And the women in the South rather like their color.

Just look at the quintessential Southern brand, Lilly Pulitzer. It’s nothing but color. Is black ever a major component of her patterns? Does she even know that black is?

So every once in a while, I have to give into my Southern roots and go for some kind of color vomit outfit. And what better day to do that than a rainy day, when the rest of the world is grey? Talk about a pop of color.

This rain coat is one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe, even though it’s not 100% my style. I just get so many compliments when I wear it; I can’t help keeping it around even if I personally find it a little too bright for my comfort. I’ve actually had for years, since I was in 7th grade or something ridiculous like that. If I remember correctly, I think it came from the children’s section of Target; I was with my parents, and we were just about to check out, when I glanced it out of the corner of my eye. I just had to have it.

It may be one of the oldest pieces in my wardrobe, but it just never seems to stop getting attention, and it has yet to go out of style.

The rain hat and boots are newer additions to my wardrobe. I’ve been dreaming of owning a yellow rain ensemble – yellow raincoat, rain boots, and hat – for ages, and I’ve finally managed to gather each piece. I have yet to wear them all together though; that’s for another rainy day.

No worries, though. Living in South Bend, rainy days should hardly be a scarcity.

Coat: Target

Skirt: Forever21

Boots: Ralph Lauren

Shirt: Free People

August 23, 2017 – Bringing Shoreditch to South Bend (OOTD #93)

Published on August 25, 2017 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Can you believe it’s already been basically two months since I was in London?

Yep – on this day, two months ago, I was preparing myself for my trip and beginning to plan out what I wanted to do with Amanda. That all already feels so far away, though – like another lifetime.

In a way, it feels like I’ve passed through at least two separate lifetimes since I was in London. My time working at the hardware store over the summer was definitely a unique experience, and of course, Welcome Weekend at Notre Dame was another thing entirely. London, my summer job, Welcome Weekend – they literally only happened within about two months of each other, but I’m pretty sure I was a different person entirely during each era.

Now classes have begun, which feels like another existence in and of itself, completely separate from Welcome Weekend. I remember complaining a lot during Welcome Weekend about all the activities we had to do and all the forced socialization. Now I realize I should have been grateful for the time when it was just freshmen on campus whose only job was to mingle and get acclimated to life.

Because, of course, now I still have the job of mingling and getting acclimated to campus life, but with the added responsibility of being a semi-adult who attends six stress-indcucing classes.

So today, my second day of class, I decided to bring back a little bit of the London Meilin, the one who had a mean fake British accent and could use the Underground like a local. I bought this denim dress in a thrift shop in Shoreditch, which was probably one of my favorite days of the entire trip. And that’s saying something, given how London was perhaps some of my favorite days of my life.

For real though, just wearing my Shoreditch dress made me feel a little more relaxed and at home here at Notre Dame. I wasn’t quite able to transport myself back to London and the mentality I had there, but it helped.

One of these days, I’ll really have to make a point of taking a day trip into Chicago. South Bend is, if I’m honest, pretty lame as a city (even more so than Lexington), and I’m craving the urban vibe. I think there’s a way I can grab a shuttle into a train station, and then catch a train into the city. At some point when I’m not laden with homework (Will there ever be a point when I’m not laden with homework? Hopefully lol), I need to figure that out.

Dress: Blitz (vintage)

Top: Free People

August 9, 2017 – “Don’t Play Near Train Tracks,” They Said (OOTD #84)

Published on August 15, 2017 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I swear, I’m not dabbing in this photo – goodness knows I’m not cool enough for that – I’m just tripping on the train tracks.

My friend, Amanda and I went on a final trip to our favorite restaurant, The Local Taco, before we head off to college, and afterwards, we couldn’t think of anything to do. We drove around for a while listening to 2012 throwback songs (“Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz is still such a bop, by the way) before finally deciding to go for a walk at a nearby nature preserve.

Interestingly, the place where we went, McConnell Springs, was actually the location of both of our senior portrait sessions. It’s such a beautiful place – not too many trees as to be distracting, and a paved path that was easy to walk – meaning we both went into photography mode, scouting out the best locations and the best lighting for taking mainly mediocre and occasionally very nice pictures of each other.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but I rather like those friends who are cool with taking lots of photos together. Maybe it was the way I was raised – as a kid, I remember my dad often carrying a camera along whenever we went places – but I love being able to capture memories and events with the click of a button.

For a while there, I was pretty self-conscious of taking photos out in public; in fact, when Snapchat was first getting started, I was dismissive of the whole concept because it relied upon taking selfies while out and about. Taking a selfie in public? To 14 year-old me, there was no greater social faux pas, and no greater display of narcissism.

But I’m over that now – after all, I do have fashion blog, and where would I be if it weren’t for the public displays of narcissism that I put on every day taking my OOTD photos?

Anyway, along our little nature walk, we encountered some trees, a cave, and a graffiti-covered wall that made for good photo spots, but by far, our best photos were taken along a set of train tracks.

Being on what I assume was a still used train route, I was a little nervous taking photos there. Granted, there was plenty of room for us to get out of the way should a train come rolling by, but “don’t play near the train tracks” was, for whatever reason, a lesson that was as heavily stressed in my formative years as “don’t take candy from strangers” and “don’t walk out into traffic” – despite the fact that I lived nowhere near any trains.

I always get a little nervous near them, but I think the cool shots we got were worth my panicked glances every time I heard a sound in the distance. But hey, what’s life without the constant anxiety of death to keep you on your toes?

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: Free People

Shorts: Abercrombie