Tag: october

October 3, 2018 – We All Fall Down (OOTD #386)

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It doesn’t get much more fall than this.

Fall in the Midwest is actually quite lovely — it’s everything I always wanted fall to be when I lived in the South, when all we got were a few cool days usually followed by an intense heat wave that would turn all the leaves brown instead of orange. Meanwhile, winter in the South (or at least, the part of the South I’m from) is preferable to the winters we get here South Bend, but thankfully, I have winter break to go home and keep away from the perpetual snowstorm that is December-January in Northern Indiana.

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just some dead stuff on the ground

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Fall in South Bend usually means taking as many pictures with trees as possible. It’s not like there’re necessarily that many other interesting things to use as backgrounds — and we all know (or at least, I know) I use certain locations a little more than I probably should.

I live in a boring place, what can I say? I love my school, but it feels small at times — which is a pretty far cry from when I began here, and it felt massive. I suppose I’ve just gotten taller, or something.

Speaking of looking taller, I wrote a blog the other day about my preferred pose to make my legs look longer. There are some prime examples of that pose here in this post, especially the very first one at the top. I don’t pretend to be anything that my five foot tall-self (except for when I’m pretending to be a five foot one), but I do like to play with the perspective of different shots in order to find the most flattering angle. I may look like a 12 year-old boy in person, but I don’t need to in my pictures.

Just kidding. 12 year-old boys are probably taller than 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 at home 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!

Checkered top: J. Crew

Sweater: Forever21

Shorts: Forever21

Glasses: Discountglasses.com

October 1, 2018 – Recipe for Style (OOTD #385)

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Shhh…I know it’s a corny title. Just hear me out.

I’ve mentioned before that I have a formula for fashion on days when I don’t want to be creative with my outfits. The days where I roll out of bed 10 minutes before class starts, the days where I feel sick, or the days I’m just too lazy to come up with anything better — I come back to this outfit formula.

Here’s what it is: pair one (1) pair of fitted pants or leggings with one (1) loose-fitting top, such as a sweater. Top with one (1) jacket and two (2) simple black booties.

The silhouette is flattering, I don’t have to worry about shaving my legs, and I always know I’ll look fashionable — even if not innovative. It’s basic, but classic, and it works.

With this particular outfit, I even added a belt. That’s the thing with the formula — it also lends itself well to accessorizing. Jewelry, scarves, belts all look good because the silhouette of the outfit itself is so simple.

I’d recommend come up with their own outfit formula for days when they don’t feel like getting dressed up. It doesn’t have to be my formula, but it’s got to be something you’re comfortable with throwing together on those days when you can’t be bothered to stand in front of your closet contemplating what to wear. The worst is when you’re on a time crunch, and none of the pieces you’re combing seem to look good together. That’s where a formula comes in.

When back when I was a middle schooler, I had a formula. Back then, it was a floral skirt, a lacy camisole, and a cardigan, preferably from Hollister or Abercrombie. Sometimes I’d also wear Uggs and put my hair in a Snooki bump. It was a look.

The point? Being formulaic isn’t always bad, as long as you do it in moderation.

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 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!

Jacket: Thrifted

Top: Forever21

Pants: Banana Republic

October 31, 2017 – Even More Late to the Halloween Party (OOTD #149)

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Fun fact: I had to look to a WordReference forum to find out how I should word this blog title – “even more late” or “even later.”

My findings: neither one really sounds right, and no one on WordReference knew what was proper and what wasn’t. One user suggested saying “even more behind schedule,” but then I wouldn’t have the fun continuity from the October 30 blog titled, “Late to the Halloween Party,” and the October 31 blog titled, “Even More Late (Even Later?) to the Halloween Party,” so I just went for what I felt like.

Feel free to leave me a comment telling me I’m wrong.

Seeing as I already devoted an entire blog to the topic, I’m not going to whine today about the issue of my blog delay resulting in awkward moments where I’m posting about a festive Halloween outfit days after Halloween is over.

Do note, however, that it bothers me, and I’m still trying to think of a way to post topical date-specific blogs on their respective dates without giving up the comfort of not needing to rush to take my outfit photos and write about that same outfit in a single day.

Anywho, I’ve barely left my room all day today, and it feels fantastic. The Meilin of October 31 was put-together, dressed for a festive holiday, and posing in front of the most beautiful building on campus (the Basilica); the Meilin of November 5 hasn’t looks like a slob, hasn’t gotten out of her pajamas, and has been sitting in the same place that she has been for several hours, alternating between doing her French homework and looking at WordReference forums.

It’s been a dull, unproductive day, but that’s alright. Some days are like that; they’re balanced out by days that are exciting and productive.

…which, you know, I can’t remember the last time I had, but I’m sure they’re out there. Look, I just want to feel justified for being lazy today, okay?

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!

Sweater: Target

Top: River Island

Skirt: Rue21

October 28, 2017 – The Frozen Irish (OOTD #147)

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Get it? ‘Cause it was cold?

(I’m not funny, sorry.)

I was so hideously underdressed for this football game, like…wow. Never making that mistake again.

30 degrees Fahrenheit is much too cold to go without a coat for three and a half hours – even if you’re wearing two sweaters, a jacket, and a scarf, even if you’re crammed into a stadium with thousands and thousands of people, even if you wear a hat and pull your scarf over your mouth and nose and put on sunglasses to block the air.

The fact that I’m already acting like a miserable wimp about the weather and it’s only FALL makes me low-key terrified for the winter. Winter has always been my favorite season, but something tells me that one winter in Chicago may make me change my mind.

I was talking to one of my friend’s parents at a tailgate about how cold it was and they mentioned that one year, while they were at Notre Dame, they came back to campus after winter break to temperatures 40 BELOW. I didn’t even know such temperatures existed anywhere in the continental US. The coldest I’ve ever seen in 10 below, and when we had temperatures like that in Kentucky, they closed school.

In better news though, Notre Dame won the game! That’s always fun. It feels like that one time in my junior year of high school our basketball time won the state championship, but on a larger scale. I’ve never been a huge college football person, but I may be becoming one.

Notre Dame may take away my will to live the wintertime, but at least they have the kindness to replace it with an interest in collegiate sports.

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!

Sweater: Forever21

Jacket: Chaps

Pants: Banana Republic

Boots: LL Bean

October 27, 2017 – Warm Colors, Cold Person (OOTD #146)

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If I wear wear colors, I’ll be warm, even if it’s cold out…right?

I wish. Rather, it was chilly and autumnal outside while I was doing these photos, and my thin orange swearer and burgundy scarf only helped so much.

I’m still getting used to how different the weather here in South Bend is compared to what I’m used to in Kentucky. The weather we’re getting right now in late October/early November is actually more like the weather we get in December in KY.

So basically, what I’m saying, is that it feels like Christmas and I’m ready for it to hurry itself up and get here.

Actually, on the contrary, I’m not one of those people that is really very interested in celebrating Christmas as early as possible. I’ve got a friend whose family puts up their Christmas tree on HALLOWEEN NIGHT – as in, they have trick-or-treaters coming to their house in their costumes as they put the ornaments on their tree and listen to Christmas music – and that to me is just too early.

I, personally, am a staunch believer that one should not celebrate Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. But when it is time to celebrate Christmas, I do it with intensity – I bust out the Christmas sweaters, the Christmas playlists, and the decorations, pretty much all at midnight on the day after Thanksgiving.

So what’s my point here? I like Christmas, quite a lot, and I’m definitely excited for it, but even though I’m excited, I don’t want it to start celebrating it for another month still. Halloween and Thanksgiving must be given their equal share of time before Christmas comes.

But when Christmas does come, you’d better be ready.

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!

Dress: Forever21

Sweater: Target

Bonus: me being interrupted by a jogger

October 26, 2017 – Plaid Is Rad (OOTD #145)

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(Alternative title: plaid is bad, depending on your opinion of plaid.)

I’m sitting here writing this blog in my Astronomy lecture.

And by that I mean, of course, I’m not paying attention at all to my Astronomy lecture. My poor Astronomy professor is horribly sick, and every five words he manages to wheeze out, he’s interrupted by a 30 second coughing fit. It makes listening to him rather difficult – he sounds like he’s dying. It doesn’t help that he wears a microphone, and every time he licks his lips or exhales a rattling breath, I have to hear it like he’s right next to my ear.

It all just makes you want to fall asleep, if only to escape the horrible, pained gasping. Or maybe write a blog.

The Meilin of today (Halloween, by the way – happy Halloween!) is rather jealous of the Meilin of October 26 – the Meilin of October 26 was wearing pants, and today’s Meilin is not. And now, as a result, today’s Meilin is cold.

It, of course, doesn’t help that I’m drinking an iced coffee from Starbucks – yes, I’m one of those people. Allow me to explain myself – I like to have something with a bit of sugar in it in the afternoon to wake me up. However, I don’t enjoy things that are both hot and sweet, and thus, I’m not a fan of Starbucks’ hot, dessert drinks. I’ll go for one every once in a while  – see my blog about pumpkin spice lattes – but in general, hot drinks are best bitter, and cold drinks are best sweet.

And so, even though it’s 30 degrees out outside, I don’t mind the cold drink. Or rather, it’s not that I don’t mind it, but I need it, and so I grimace through the negative effects. Is this what addiction is?

Anyway, happy Halloween! Even though the post that depicts my ~sPoOky~ Halloween outfit isn’t going to come for another few days, because that’s what happens when you have your blogs on a several day delay. I hope you have fun doing whatever festive things you’re doing tonight, or, if you’re like me and you did your festive stuff over the weekend and now that it’s Tuesday you have too much homework to do to bother doing any more festive stuff, I hope you have fun being non-festive!

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: Vintage (thrifted)

Turtleneck: The LOFT (thrifted)

October 25, 2017 – Short Sleeve Sweater Weather (OOTD #144 )

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Short sleeve sweater – isn’t that kind of counterintuitive?

See, I’m wearing one here, and I don’t really know why. My body was warm, and my arms were freezing. A short sleeve sweater would be too warm to wear in the summer, when you typically wear short sleeve shirts, and yet too cold to wear in the winter, when you typically wear sweaters. How does this design even make sense?

One of the cool things about fashion is that it’s fairly close to pure design. Unlike, say, cars, where the designers have to work with the engineers to make their ideas practical for use, fashion designers have fewer restraints to work within. Sure, in the mall, the designs sold are more likely to conform to trends in order to sell, but head to a local boutique, and you’ll get something more unique, like a short sleeved sweater. It’s not practical, it’s not trendy, but it’s some designer’s vision, and that’s what makes it special.

Special, or maybe just difficult to wear. Welp, at any rate, I own it now, and, as with all of my clothes, I see it as my duty to wear it.

Thankfully, it went nicely with a new pair of trousers I got over fall break. Less thankfully, the trousers were made form a fairly thin material, so my legs were cold, my chest was warm, and arms were cold. It’s alright though – I looked fashionable, despite freezing half of the surface area of my body off.

Who needs arms and legs anyway? If Chuck Close manages, then so can I.

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!

Sweater: The LOFT (which is admittedly not a local boutique – but my point still stands)

Trousers: Forever21

October 24, 2017 – On Trend (OOTD #143)

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Look and me – grey hair cut into a lob, oversized cardigan, crop top, boyfriend jeans…just make me Instagram famous already; my ability to follow trends deserves it.

If that painfully millennial statement didn’t make you run away cringing, then congrats! Here’s your medal.

(In all actuality, I don’t consider myself a millennial – I believe I fall more under the definition of Generation Z, as I have been using the Internet since a young age, and it has almost always been a large component of my life. That’s the key component that distinguishes millennials from Generation Z, and it kind of peeves me to be lumped in with millennials…but that’s a rant for another blog).

Anyway, I am, admittedly, quite a fan of the Fall 2017 trends. It was no secret that Summer 2017 didn’t particularly impress me – firstly, because summer fashion never impresses me because it tends to rely upon pieces that are worn alone, rather than intelligent layering that winter and fall fashion revolves around, and secondly, because I felt like it had nothing new to offer. Off-the-shoulder tops and high-waisted denim shorts have been in style since Summer 2016; Summer 2017 just seemed like a re-hash of old trends we had seen before (and seen very recently).

But oversized sweaters combined with oversized pants – now that’s something that’s a little more unique. And also, way more comfortable than tight skinny jeans! It’s all very 90s, which is a decade that’s been trending for like, four years, making me think it’s possibly on its way out, but in the meantime, I’m enjoying it. I feel like skinny jeans have consistently been in-style since I was about 11 (I don’t believe I owned any other fit of jeans from 6th grade to senior year), so it’s refreshing to see something new.

I was just recently in a Forever21, which, to me, is the epitome of trendy fashion, and for the first time in a while, I actually liked a good deal of the things I saw. Forever21 clothes are all pretty cheap, meaning they’re really good at churning out pieces as soon as the Instagram influencers and fashion magazines declare something to be in style. They also tend to lean trashy and juvenile, but I saw less of that there than usual.

I’m optimistic for this winter’s fashion scene. I like the 60s and 90s influence we’re currently seeing, as I’m always here for vintage fashion, and I think it’s quite possible I could go a few months without complaining about the state of the fashion industry. Because you know, I, a teenager with no connections to the fashion industry and no educational background in fashion, am the de facto authority on what should and shouldn’t be trendy.

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!

Sweater: Forever21

Top: H&M (thrifted)

Jeans: American Eagle

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Gonna Make It To The Game This Time

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Considering the fact that I’m sitting in the ND stadium right now, I think I’m going to make it to the game against NC state today.

For context, last week, after rushing to get back to campus in time for the USC game, I missed the game regardless because I couldn’t find the email with my tickets. Instead of going to the game, I sat in my dorm and folded clothes – so in other words, it was kind of a bummer.

This time, I made sure to have my tickets downloaded the day before, so I could definitely be there for the game.

In exchange, I might have lost my camera (with the last several days of OOTD photos on it too!) because I have no idea where it is currently, but hey, at least one thing went right today. Little victories.

It’s currently 35ish degrees right now in South Bend, Indiana, which is, to me, way too cold for October. That’s like, December weather to my Southern brain. And furthermore, that’s like, much too chilly to be standing outside for hours in a stadium without a coat.

And with a wet butt to make matters worse! It was drizzling this morning, so all the stadium seats are damp. I’m actually fairly warm right now because I dressed in so many layers, but my butt is having a different experience from the rest of my body.

Anyway, kickoff’s in 10, so it’s time to devote my attention to field. Go Irish! Beat Wolfpack!

October 23, 2017 – Ketchup and Mustard (OOTD #142)

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I mean, those are kind of the colors I’m wearing in these photos, right?

Alternatively, I guess you could see them as USC colors, but they’re losers, so why would you want to see them like that?

In my opinion, actually, ketchup and mustard are kind of losers too. I don’t know, I’ve just never liked them together? They’re fine by themselves – macaroni is excellent with a touch of yellow mustard, and french fries wouldn’t be complete without ketchup. But together, I just get flashbacks of those tiny McDonalds cheeseburgers I used to get as a snack before karate practice as a kid, that I always sort-of disliked because I didn’t know how to request no condiments.

These two pieces – the fuzzy mustard sweater and the carpetbag ketchup skirt – are actually brand new. I got them over fall break when my mother and I went shopping at the mall for new clothes that I absolutely don’t need. In fairness, I did get rid of quite a lot of clothes before I went off to school, but admittedly, I do have more clothes than I need.

I think I do a fairly good job of wearing them all though. I think of all of my clothes with the same kind of low key fondness that I do for all of my stuffed animals – I like to think they like being worn, and that it’s my duty as their owner to wear them so they don’t become sad.

That’s probably a little weird, but the way I see it, some people humanize their cars, their plants, or their pets – I humanize my clothes. And in return, my clothes make me look good. What do plants do? Give you oxygen to breathe? Pfft.

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!

Sweater: Forever21

Skirt: Forever21