october – Page 2 – L'ensemble du jour

October 10, 2019 – Fifty Percent (OOTD #563)

Published on November 23, 2019December 30, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

These photos were taken immediately after I took a six hour-long midterm.

I hope it doesn’t look like I had just spent hours suffering, hunched over my laptop and wrapped in a blanket, though. I made it a point to try to look nice, despite knowing I was going to have a rough day ahead of me. I don’t know if that actually helped me to get through my six hour midterm, in the end, but it made me feel better afterwards, at least.

I don’t know if I believe completely in the concept of “dress well, test well,” but I like to do it anyway. I doubt it actually helps me to do well on exams. But it does help me to ignore my exam anxiety in the morning because it forces me to focus on putting together a nice outfit and applying my makeup instead.

It was also just…kind of cathartic to get to wear something that wasn’t “work appropriate” for the first time in what felt like ages? I’ve discussed this before, but being restricted to wearing business professional attire every single day has taken me a while to get used to. As a college student, I’m used to being allowed to wear whatever I want. Going to work in a traditional office environment takes away some of that autonomy.

So, ironically, though spending all of my day working on a case brief was hardly fun, my outfit got to be more fun than most normal days. I literally hadn’t been able to wear a mini-skirt and thigh high socks on a weekday in a month and a half — and surprisingly, that was something that mattered to me.

That’s about it for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life this semester in Washington, DC. 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: Aeropostale

Skirt: American Eagle (thrifted, Goodwill)

October 8, 2019 – Khaki (OOTD #562)

Published on November 20, 2019November 24, 2019 by lensembledujour1 Comment

I’ve talked about my first job as a grocery bagger (official title: courtesy clerk) a lot on this blog, but I don’t think I’ve ever talked about my uniform.

“So then what was your uniform, Meilin?” I’m so glad you asked. Every day I went to work at this particular grocery store, I wore basically the same thing: a black t-shirt with the grocery store’s logo on it provided by the grocery store, a pair of khaki skinny jeans (wait…are they still jeans if they’re not made of denim?) and my white Converse.

I still own all three of those pieces. I actually wear the white Converse a fair amount because they’re white Converse and they never go out of style, but the t-shirt and khaki pants have been sitting in my chest of drawers for years. I just can’t bring myself to put them on again — I associate them with too many bad memories of having to go out into the dark, creepy parking lot at 11pm right before close to bring in all of the carts that customers had left in the farthest corners of the lot.

In the case of the t-shirt, who cares? It’s a t-shirt. I get those for free with every event I attend. The khakis, on the other hand, are technically still perfectly wearable.

But there’s something about wearing the same pair of gross Macy’s trousers two to three days a week for an entire summer when you’re 16 that renders them cursed. I just can’t bring myself to put them on again, even though they’d probably fit (or who knows? Maybe they wouldn’t. I did eat a lot of pasta in Italy). In fact, I bought a whole new pair of Banana Republic trousers in the same khaki color (pictured here) to replace them.

Recently, I went back to my old grocery store, and I realized that the cashiers and baggers no longer have to wear the uniforms. In fact, they can even dress up a little on special occasions, like UK football games. Honestly, given the struggles I’ve had navigating the world of professional fashion, maybe I should go back to being a grocery bagger. I may very possibly have more freedom in my choice of clothes in that position than I do now as an intern at a think tank.

Blazer: Banana Republic

Top: Zara

Trousers: Banana Republic Sloan

October 7, 2019 – Hitting the Books (OOTD #561)

Published on November 18, 2019December 30, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Here’s another blog title I can’t believe I’ve never used for any of my many, many library photo shoots.

It seems so obvious, right? Take pictures surrounded by books, come up with a book-related blog title. How many book-themed idioms are there anyway?

Apparently, not enough for my stupid idiot brain to remember them — hence, the need to “hit” the books so hard. Gotta study to make up for my general lack of brain cells.

But if this is a library photo shoot, what library is this? It’s not the familiar Club Hes or architecture library. I’m miles and miles from those. This is the library at my workplace — much smaller than any of the libraries back on campus, but honestly, maybe I like that. It’s almost never crowded, and I never have to fight someone to get a table like I do around midterms and finals at Notre Dame.

The downside, though, is there are a lot fewer places to take photos given the smaller location. I have 24 hour card access to the Brookings building (yay!) but there aren’t a lot of places that make for good photography backgrounds. There’s a nice lobby, but there’s always a security guard there, so it’s not a good place for photos. Otherwise, there’s the small library featured here and then just a bunch of offices.

What do you think — should I do a cubicle photo shoot? Pose with my landline telephone that I don’t know how to use? My broken roller chair? The leftover bag of trail mix that the last intern who had my desk left in the drawer?

Actually, maybe there’s a way I could make it work — kind of like the trendy unconventional photo shoots in laundry rooms or Hobby Lobby floral departments. Let me think on that.

Jacket: Zara

Turtleneck: Thrifted (Goodwill)

Skirt: Forever21

October 4, 2019 – Work in Progress (OOTD #560)

Published on November 16, 2019 by lensembledujour1 Comment

I thought for certain I would have used that blog title before, but I guess not.

I think I’m finally getting into a groove with creating interesting but work-appropriate outfits. It took me a while to figure it out, but I believe I’ve got it down pat at this point. I’m finding that the key to success is good accessories, like this bolo tie-style necklace that I got for Christmas from Forever21 years and years ago.

I find it interesting to think about the pieces in my wardrobe that have wound up being enduringly stylish, especially when I didn’t expect them to do so. Like, I knew when I bought this maroon blazer that I would probably have it for a while — blazers take a long time before their design starts looking dated. Same goes for the black button-down. The bolo tie necklace, on the other hand, could have very easily been something that I ended up giving away a year later.

But it didn’t, and I still have it and like it. Sometimes, you never know.

And sometimes, things you thought would be in style for years become unwearable. I may or may not have three pairs of Uggs hidden in my closet that I purchased as a middle schooler and I now feel too guilty to give away (I spent a lot of money on them! At least in my sixth grader mindset). I thought for certain that they would be a worthwhile investment for years and years to come — guess not.

Blazer: Forever21

Trousers: Zara

Shirt: Banana Republic

October 2, 2019 – Meilin v. Mosquitoes (OOTD #559)

Published on November 14, 2019November 16, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

The worst part of DC has been the mosquitoes, hands-down.

They love me, which means by extension, I absolutely hate them. They attack me whenever I stand still for more than two minutes at a time; I’m never safe. It’s the worst city I’ve ever been to for bug bites in the US. It’s in the same category in Kathmandu, and that was near the Himalayan Mountains.

For example, taking these pictures — it was maybe 7pm at night, so not too late, and in a busy part of town. It was not the place or time where I thought mosquitoes would be on the prowl. I was wrong.

Within about two minutes of setting up my phone to take some pictures, I noticed the first bite on my leg. It’s like a barely noticeable prick, almost like brushing up against an evergreen with needles.

One bug bite isn’t a problem. When I go outside for a walk in the neighborhood and I come back with ten new bites, then I have a complaint.

I guess that’s what happens when you build a city in a literal swamp. Thanks a lot for that, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. We could’ve had our capital in New York or Philadelphia, but no, we had to go to the swamp.

Jacket: Forever21

Top: ASOS

Skirt: Banana Republic

Thursday Musings – October 2019 Bullet Journal Spread

Published on October 31, 2019December 15, 2020 by lensembledujour1 Comment

I think this may be my first time actually completing a whole month’s worth of bullet journal pages?

I believe the closest I’ve ever come before was April 2019 — and I never even posted pictures of that particular spread! Let me know in the comments if that’s something you would like to see; maybe I can do a retrospective or something featuring bullet journal designs that never made it onto my blog!

Apart from this month and last April, though, I often fail to even come close to completing all of the pages in a bullet journal monthly spread. What gets me every time are the habit tracker and mood tracker pages — they’re deceptively difficult to keep up with! You wouldn’t think filling in a square in the grid every time I go for a run would be hard, but apparently, it is, because my habit and mood trackers are almost never up to date. And they almost never get completed.

And that’s why it’s so exciting to have finally almost finished everything that I drew out for myself for October! In comparison, last October, I didn’t even draw up a bullet journal spread — I just pasted it in from a sheet of Halloween-themed stickers that my parents bought me. And despite cutting that corner and getting a fall break (which I didn’t get this year in DC) to work on bullet journaling, I still didn’t get everything filled out — hence, the gap in bullet journal posts on this blog from September 2018 to January 2019.

But I’ve been on the grind for all of September and October, and I’m hoping to keep that trend going. I love bullet journaling as a way to keep my life organized in the present, to provide a record of past events in my life for the future, and to give me an avenue to practice my art skills even if I haven’t been in an art class for over a year. To be honest, I don’t know if I can rightfully say I have a better quality of life when I keep up with my journaling…but it makes me feel put together even if I’m not.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one. 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!

Bullet Journal Supplies (with Amazon links)

Bullet journal: The Scribbles that Matter Pro, A5,

Pens: Pilot Frixion

Markers: Prismacolor Brush Tip and Copic Brush Tip

October 31, 2018 – I Know What You Are (OOTD #401)

Published on November 26, 2018November 26, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Edward: Say it. Out loud. Say it!
Bella: Vampire.

I don’t remember quite what I thought about Twilight when I was 11 and I first read it — I don’t think I thought it was any kind of great literature, but I also don’t remember thinking it was as bad as people said. I didn’t really want a boyfriend who acted like Edward…maybe just one who looked like him. I also thought the vampire powers were cool.

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i was always more of a team edward person

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Oct 31, 2018 at 2:07pm PDT

As someone cleverer than me once put it, everyone had a Twilight phase. You were either weirdly obsessed with it, or weirdly despised it to the point of obsession. Either way, you cared way more about it than you should have. 2008 was a simpler time.

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the vampire power couple you didn’t know you needed

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Nov 1, 2018 at 11:48am PDT

Anyway, this Halloween, my friend Lan Anh and I decided to channel our inner 2008 vampire personalities for these outfits. We went to a cemetery and everything for our photos. It’s about as extra as I’ve ever gotten for an OOTD post.

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sending you some *~sparkly~* vampire vibes on this here tuesday

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Nov 13, 2018 at 10:49am PST

But this outfit seemed to call for it. Plus, whenever I’m with Lan Anh, I know with confidence that I’ll get some good pictures. She doesn’t blog, but she likes to have a colorful, aesthetically-pleasing and up-to-date Instagram, so we’ll often go out and get pictures together.

Today, I wound up as her shorter but sparklier vampire counterpart. We didn’t plan out outfits to coordinate like this, but when we realized they did, we knew we needed to go out and get pictures together. I would have gotten photos by myself anyway, but I’m glad I had a friend with me. I’m mostly used to having a feed full of just photos of me at this point, but I like it when I can get others in it with me. Feels less lonely.

Plus, when you’re a million year-old vampire like me, you need as many other vampire friends as you can get. Why do you think Edward lives with the rest of the Cullen family?

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 home. 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!

Jacket: Anthropologie

Top: River Island

Skirt: Zara

Tights: Target (apparently Target is the source of all of my Halloween pieces!)

October 30, 2018 – Pre-Halloween (OOTD #400)

Published on November 25, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

The day? Halloween. The socks? Spooky.

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the day? halloween. the socks? spooky.

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Oct 31, 2018 at 7:03am PDT

I know I’m really behind with these OOTD posts (it being late November and I’m just now posting a blog for Halloween) but I’m hoping to get a little more caught up soon. I haven’t been taking pictures necessarily every day recently in anticipation of catching up, so hopefully, if I keep on posting blogs everyday, I’ll eventually get a little less behind.

Anyway, I know this is late, but happy Halloween! I have two Halloween-themed outfits for you: this one and tomorrow’s. Like last year’s Halloween outfits, the October 30 outfit is colorful and features the ghost socks and the October 31 outfit is black and sparkly. The black sparkly one will be tomorrow’s post.

I’ve had these socks for ages, since maybe 6th grade. I think my mother got them for me from Target. I didn’t wear them much back then because I thought they looked too childish, but now that I’m older, I realize that I was being stupid. These are lovely socks.

It’s not like I have a lot of other Halloween pieces to wear, anyway. Everyone has Christmas sweaters but no one has Halloween sweaters. Since I don’t really go out and get dressed up anymore, I’ve got to celebrate Halloween with some kind of festive fashion, even if I can’t do a costume and trick or treating anymore.

I really do miss trick or treating. Now, all anyone my age does is go out and party. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but I wish we could party and trick or treat. I don’t miss the candy, but I miss going out and walking around at night and seeing all the decorations.

Notre Dame doesn’t decorate for Halloween. I guess I shouldn’t expect them to, but with all that gothic architecture…it’s definitely a missed opportunity. Can you imagine a giant spiderweb draped across Touchdown Jesus? Seriously Father Jenkins…get on that.

Jacket: Hollister

Top: Hot Topic

Skirt: Forever21

Socks: Target

October 29, 2018 – Mad Mod (OOTD #399)

Published on November 23, 2018November 25, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Up next in blog titles with Meilin: blog titles named after Teen Titans villains.

I got this dress as a part of my trip to Nepal. It’s one of the last purchases I made before I went home — but it actually wasn’t purchased in Nepal. It was actually purchased in Bucktown, Chicago.

I wound up with a nine hour layover in O’Hare before I was allowed to fly back home to Kentucky. Initially, I was going to just wait it out in the airport, but after some advice from a friend, I decided to make something out of my nine hours and head out into the city for a few hours. While there, I came across a few vintage shops — my only weakness — and I bought this dress.

It actually came with a matching hat, but I haven’t come up with a way yet to wear it without looking super costume-like. Stay tuned to see if a green and yellow hat makes an appearance on this blog.

I am a big fan of the dress by itself, though. It’s vintage and 60’s-like — my two favorite adjectives to describe clothing. If you got rid of the racism and sexism and lack of WiFi, I would absolutely transport myself back to the 60s. I could start a ladies’ fashion journal instead of a blog.

By the time the early 2000’s rolled around, L’ensemble du jour would already be a huge name fashion news source. I’d get in on the big dotcom bubble of the late 90s, and I’d be set for life.

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!

October 27, 2018 – An Apple A Day (OOTD #398)

Published on November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I have done so many apple-related things within the last month, I might as well just get myself a sponsorship from Apple.

That’s how it works, right? Apple sponsors people who like apples. I’ll take my brand new Macbook anytime now, thanks.

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rare indiana sighting: a slight slope and a field that isn’t filled with corn

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Nov 14, 2018 at 5:46pm PST

If you’ll remember, last year, I went out apple-picking with my dorm. The whole blog, I complained about how hot it was, and how the heat prevented me from fully enjoying myself. A trip to the apple orchard is supposed to be a nice way to go out and experience the fall weather, you know? If it’s 90 degrees out, it’s hard to experience fall weather.

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take your *pick* of apple adages for this caption: apple of my eye, an apple a day, how do you like them apples…

A post shared by Meilin || L'ensemble du jour (@lensembledujour) on Nov 3, 2018 at 3:35pm PDT

Thankfully though, this year’s dorm trip to the apple orchard was much cooler and more fall-like. We went later in the year — late October versus late September — which meant the weather was so much nicer, but there were also fewer apples to pick. It was okay though. I don’t need apples. I just needed an enjoyable fall outing.

And this year’s trip was, thanks in part to the fact that I have more friends this year than I did at this time last. Last September, I remember I was still in the awkward phrase of trying to figure out who my friends were. I’d made some acquaintances, but I hadn’t really gotten close tot anyone. This year, I’ve kind-of found myself a stable friend group within my dorm and so I had them to hang out with during our trip. That always makes things more fun.