ootd – Page 27 – L'ensemble du jour

September 5, 2018 – Business Casual (OOTD #366)

Published on September 28, 2018September 30, 2018 by lensembledujour4 Comments

Guess what college student isn’t going to wind up scrambling for a summer job at the last second this year?

This girl! Hopefully!

Rather than getting caught in a late-April panic with the sudden realization that I have no prospects for summer employment again, I figured I’d be proactive and head to the Fall career fair at Notre Dame.

Granted, most companies there had no use for me, a history and peace studies major — they wanted engineers, or businesspeople, or even researchers — but like, it was good to walk around anyway. I spoke to a few organizations that seemed interesting, and there are now a few internships that I’m definitely looking at applying for.

It was also useful in that it cemented for me the reality that if I don’t go into law, politics, or government, my major isn’t really that desirable to anyone. Which I already knew, but like, going to the career fair definitely made it clear if it wasn’t already.

In other news, this outfit is made up of two of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe: this jacket, the so-called Most Expensive Item in My Wardrobe, and this dress, my favorite purchase from my Shoreditch, London trip.

So even if no one will ever hire me and I wind up going into consulting like every other humanities major who can’t find a job with their degree, I’ll look nice doing it.

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: Lela Rose (thrifted)

Dress: Vintage, Brick Lane Market in Shoreditch (thrifted)

September 4, 2018 – Finalities and Fatalities OOTD #365)

Published on September 27, 2018 by lensembledujour4 Comments

Oh man, am I behind with the dates of these blogs.

One of these days, I’ll get caught up a reasonable amount on these blogs, and I’ll only have a week-long delay on them. One of these days, I’ll also have my life together enough to not post a blog at 11:30PM on a Thursday night, and instead post it at a reasonable time of the day.

As the kids say these days, “it be like that sometimes.”

My so-called “Hell Week” is finally over, and while my sleep schedule and general mental health definitely took a hit, I’m hoping that my GPA didn’t. Okay, I know it did but I’m hoping that the hit wasn’t too hard.

One of the most stressful aspects of a college course versus a high school one is that you often do not have any idea of what your grade will be until it’s posted after finals. With how much finals can be worth and with so few graded assessments over the course of a year, one failed exam can tank your grade for the whole semester. Which is lousy.

But I can’t do anything about the exams and papers I’ve handed now — they’re over, and all I can do is wait for my grades. If they’re bad, I’ll just have to try harder next time.

I got a nap for the first time in ages today, and it felt fabulous. Meanwhile, that means that I’ve got a lot of work to do now since I was unconscious all afternoon, but I think it was worth it. Typically, I’m of the belief that rest is for when the work is done, but it turns out that work is never done in college — so I guess I should either never rest, or come up with a new work-rest philosophy.

Top: Forever21

Bralette: Aerie

Jeans: Hollister

September 3, 2018 – Panic! at the University (OOTD #364)

Published on September 22, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Midterms, midterms, midterms!

It’s been about a month since I’ve been in school, and the exams and papers are piling up, as they always do. I suppose there’s no way around it, but every time it happens, I’m surprised with how seemingly quickly it sneaks up on me. How dare they, am I right? If I’m going to be stressed out and dying in school, then at least I should get a notice.

And by notice, I don’t mean a syllabus. I mean like, a sign from God or something to let me know when I have a particularly bad week coming up in my life. I know weeks like this happen and I’m cool with that — no resentment here — but I wish there was a way of knowing when they were coming, so I can make sure to stock up on instant coffee and bags of potato chips to take my stress out on.

I don’t remember the beginning of the school year being quite this busy for me last year. I think that I must have made an effort to keep things chill for myself my first semester as a freshman; and now I’ve decided to make things extra busy for myself now that I’m a super experienced and wise sophomore.

If school concerns me more this year than it did last year, at least I don’t have the stress of trying to figure out how to navigate campus or make friends or live on my own.

I’ve mentioned this a little before, but without fail, September ends up being one of my least favorite months of the year. It always correlates with a stressful time in the school year, when the novelty of a new semester has worn off and I come to the slow realization that I’ve got three more months of this kind of pressure. It’s not until October when I finally start getting used to the school year and learn how to properly manage my time.

Or do I ever do that? Maybe ideally, I do. But in reality, I think part of the college experience is basically just always functioning in some kind of baseline stress existence, at least until I hand in the last exam or essay for finals week.

On the positive side, Halloween and Fall Break are approaching! I’ll spare you details since I know I’ll probably be talking about how excited I am for the next month or so. In the midst of midterms, it’s always nice to have a light at the end of the tunnel.

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Top: Hot Topic

Skirt: Aeropostale

September 1, 2018 – Fall Football (OOTD #363)

Published on September 21, 2018October 6, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Here we are, the first home game of the year!

It’s hard to believe that’s been a year since my very first home game at Notre Dame. I remember when I first wrote about that — how I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it, and how I thought that the fanfare surrounding a football game was a little hard to comprehend.

And you know what? I still find it hard to comprehend. I wholeheartedly participate in the fanfare, but admittedly, I don’t truly understand it anymore than I did this time last year. No matter how many games I go to, how many iterations of “The Shirt” I buy, how many times I watch Rudy on the field — it’s still just a game of football to me.

They’re fun games of football, though. I sometimes resent how they take up literally an entire day, with the tailgating, band concerts, and parties on top of the already four-plus hour long game, but I go each time without fail. Except that one time I missed the USC game because I lost my ticket after a harrowing Greyhound bus ride, which apparently ended up being the best game of the year.

I’ll actually be missing another game this year too, but this time, intentionally. I’m going to see Fall Out Boy in Chicago with my friend Amanda, and I consider that more way important than going to see Notre Dame inevitably beat Ball State on a rainy day.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though — I’m supposed to be talking about the first home game.

It’s always a challenge to find an interesting way to wear “The Shirt,” which all students (and a good portion of fans) wear to the first home game of the year. The thing is, it’s just a generic shirt. Sometimes the print on it is cool (this year it wasn’t really), but in terms of the actual cut and fit of the Shirt itself…it’s a t-shirt. And if it’s hot out, like it was in early September, you don’t really want to do anything but wear it on its own with a pair of shorts.

I’m a fashion blogger, though, and I’m not about to just wear it with a pair of shorts. No, I had to add a scarf, a skirt, and thigh-high socks. I then of course proceeded to sweat all day and regret my commitment to fashion.

Notre Dame beat Michigan though, so maybe it was worth it. #MuckFichigan, amirite?

(No offense to the Michigan fans out there. I didn’t actually know we had a rivalry with Michigan until this game so…there’s no bad blood for me)

Top: Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore

Skirt: Abercrombie

August 31, 2018 – Living on a Prayer (OOTD #362)

Published on September 20, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

What, is this the third day in a row I’ve taken photos at Bond Hall?

I’m not really sure what’s up with that; it hasn’t exactly been intentional. Believe it or not, I actually do my best to get a variety of locations for this blog. It’s a little hard when I live on a college campus and never leave though, y’know? There are only so many gothic-style tan brick buildings here.

If it makes you feel better, I didn’t exclusively take photos at Bond, though — I also went out to the basilica! There’s some variety for you.

One of these days, I almost want to go inside the basilica and take pictures. I think that toes the line of disrespectful though…which is too bad, because it’s really lovely inside of there. It’s a beautiful, quiet space, and I wouldn’t want to disturb it with a photo shoot but…well, it would make for some lovely photos. Maybe the next time my parents come to visit campus, if we can find a time when no one else is inside, I can sneak a few pictures. I think God will forgive me.

Also contrary to the norm here at L’ensemble du jour, I didn’t take photos exclusively by myself. I’ve got friends today! Or maybe they’re just people I paid to model with me…

Just kidding, I don’t have the money to pay people to model for me. I hardly have the money to afford the photo storage on WordPress. Or like, my tuition.

All the more reason to go to the basilica, right? I’ll just pray for more money — as an educated intellectual who attends the most prestigious Catholic university in the world, I can say with certainty that that is how prayer works.

Top: Zara

Bralette: Aerie

Jeans: Hollister

August 30, 2018 – Denim-Denim-Denim (OOTD #361)

Published on September 19, 2018November 18, 2019 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Hey, here’s a joke: what does Mario wear?

Denim-denim-denim…denim-denim-denim…get it? Like the tune of the Level 1-2 underground theme?

It’s okay if you don’t get it; it’s a joke that’s better suited to being told aloud.

For some reason, my blog has been full of Mario references recently. I’m not sure if there’s any meaning that can be derived from that — apparently I’m just super into mushrooms and denim outfits right now.

I do have a Luigi costume hat somewhere in my closet back home that I got back in 2013 during a Year of Luigi promotional event. One of these days, I’ve got to actually incorporate it into a Halloween costume. I’ve got all of the individual pieces — the hat, the overalls, the boots — I just need to put them together. Oh, and maybe find a friend who’d be willing to play Mario. That might be the more difficult part.

Today’s pictures were taken inside Bond Hall, which is notable in that I’ve only ever done the outside of Bond before. It actually took a surprising amount of effort to get these shots. I felt like every few seconds, someone was walking down the steps and getting in my way. Or rather, I was getting in theirs.

If there’s an alternate reality where I don’t feel awkward posing for photos in public, I’d sure like to discover the portal to it. I’m definitely getting better, and I’ve come a far way from where I was this time last year, when I felt anxious literally every time I had to take pictures for my blog. I’m still not quite shameless yet, though.

At least, in regards to photography. I am shameless with my jokes. Hey, you wanna hear another Mario one?

What did the green mushroom say to Mario? Get a life!

Top: The LOFT

Jeans: American Eagle

Scarf: American Eagle

August 29, 2018 – Back To Bond (OOTD #360)

Published on September 18, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Back to Bond, and back to the best building on campus for photos.

Even though I’m not an architecture major and thus don’t have any classes in Bond Hall, I’ve got to appreciate it for being one of the most unique-looking buildings on campus. In the midst of dozens of golden-tan brick gothic buildings, it stands alone as the singular neoclassical-inspired structure.

Plus, it’s white, which makes it excellent for fashion photography. It’s a nice blank slate — not too showy as to detract from the subject, but not boring either. I’m a fan.

You know what I’m not a fan of? The pre-midterms exam boom. It seems that, for some ridiculous reason, professors feel the need to schedule a ton of exams and papers just a few weeks before midterms, when they schedule a ton more exams and papers. I’m pretty resigned to the idea of being stressed out during midterms and finals, but I’m a little more opposed to the concept of a “hell week” that’s separate from the designated midterms/finals sequence. I didn’t sign up for this, you know?

But yeah, if you can’t tell, it’s currently my pre-midterms “hell week.” It doesn’t help that we’ve literally had three football game weekends in a row (be on the lookout for those posts soon, plus a special post from a Chicago trip), which means that I haven’t been able to use my weekends to catch up on the work I was unable to get to during the week as usual.

I’ve also got study abroad and summer internship applications to do, which complicates matters. Not to be cliché, but it’d be nice if life could slow down a little, you know? Or, rather, if it could speed up and I could get to the part where I’m an old retired lady with a lot of cats who goes to farmers’ markets in the mornings and plays bridge with her old retired lady friends in the afternoons.

Top: The LOFT

Dress: Kohl’s (remember when people still shopped there?)

Boots: Ralph Lauren

August 28, 2018 – It’s A-Me (OOTD #359)

Published on September 17, 2018September 17, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

It’s a-me, Mario!

Get it? I’m standing on top of a manhole cover and wearing overalls, which means that the only possible explanation must be that I’ve suddenly transformed into Mario.

Hey, I wouldn’t be opposed to living Mario’s life. It would seem to me that he’s probably got one of the cushiest jobs of all of the video game characters — I mean, he spends most of his time hosting parties or driving go karts or playing golf. It’s probably only 10% of his time that’s spent actually traversing the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach; the rest of his life is pretty chill.

Plus, Mario doesn’t have a ton of exams and papers coming up within the next week or two. I guess it must get kind of tiresome to hear me always complaining about the homework I have to do, but…well, I guess it’s time to get used to it.

The semester’s a quarter of the way done, which means if any of my professors were kind of enough to go easy for the beginning of the year, they’re toughening up now, sadly. I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea to give me so much to do in such a concentrated period of time, but they did.

On the positive side, the semester’s a quarter of the way done! I know it’s not good to think of life in terms of when something will finally be over, but that’s how it is for me in school at least. I could never become a teacher or a professor — not only do I lack the patience to teach people, but I’m just not a fan of school as an institution. I’m glad there are teachers and professors out there who like school enough to stay after they’ve graduated; it’s not the life for me, though.

Mushroom Kingdom, here I come!

Dress: Vintage (thrifted)

Top: ASOS

August 27, 2018 – Neutral Staples (OOTD #358)

Published on September 16, 2018September 17, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

A few blog posts ago, I mentioned a jacket that’s one of my most frequently worn pieces in my wardrobe.

Well, now I’m back with two more frequently worn pieces — this turtleneck and this skirt. But how could they not be frequently worn? They’re both basic staples for just about anyone’s wardrobe, and they go with just about anything.

Including each other! Believe it or not, but I’ve discovered that miraculously, two neutrals — camel and black — go together. I know, it’s hard to believe, but these two non-color colors surprisingly manage to not clash. I think I’m really on to something here.

You want to know what was not on to something though? Wearing a turtleneck in the late August heat. I thought I would be okay since I was wearing a skirt and so at least my legs would be cool, but I was wrong. It was very hot.

Things should be cooling off soon, though, and then it will be fall! Once the leaves begin to turn properly, I’ll start tagging my blogs with #fall again. Because if there’s anyone who’s going to tell you when it’s fall, it’s not a meteorologist, or an astronomer, but me and my fashion blog ,of course.

I mean, am I wrong? A solid 50% of what makes it fall is the commercial aspect — the pumpkin spice lattes, the Halloween decorations, the tailgates. The cooler temperatures and changing leaves are wonderful, but they’re even more wonderful if you can experience them in a cozy sweater. I guess our capitalist overlords have got us beat there — even the changing of the seasons marks an occasion to make us spend more money.

Turtleneck: Forever21

Skirt: Zara

August 24, 2018 – Upon the Football Field (OOTD #357)

Published on September 13, 2018October 6, 2019 by lensembledujour2 Comments

Whoops, looks like I did that thing again where I accidentally posted my blogs out of order.

It’s a rare occurrence (sarcasm), but sometimes, I do make mistakes with this whole blogging thing — skipping posts, posting things out of order, not posting for days on end, etc. Thankfully, due to the fact that I am a 99.9% perfect creature, these mistakes are relatively rare. This just happens to be part of that .1% of times where I’m flawed.

Of course, I’m kidding — I make loads of mistakes with blogging. It’s a hobby of mine, not a profession, so I don’t feel the need to apply my normal perfectionistic eye to every post. My following is relatively small, so there’s no one there to see if I fail — which is just the right kind of low pressure environment that I love.

The tl;dr of it all — I posted August 26’s blog before August 24’s. Sue me.

August 24 was actually a pretty fun day. Classes had just begun, I wasn’t swimming in homework like I feel like I am now, and I could kind of just enjoy being on a college campus without the stress of actual college. It was the first Friday of the school year, and, as is tradition, there was a showing of the film Rudy on the football field.

I mostly just went for the opportunity to take photos on the football field. I mean, I’ve seen Rudy before — I even saw it last year as a part of the same Friday Flicks series. I can see Rudy whenever I want, but this is is the only time during the year where I’m actually able to walk out onto the football field. Honestly, maybe it’s just the rarity of the opportunity that makes it exciting for me. Otherwise, it’s just a football field.

Don’t let anyone know that I think it’s just a football field though — I don’t need the Notre Dame secret police catching me and getting me expelled. Rumor has it, Father Jenkins has ears everywhere.

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 Potre Lame. 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: Target

Bralette: Aerie

Pants: American Eagle