ootd – Page 58 – L'ensemble du jour

July 6, 2017 – Full But Fulfilling (OOTD #60)

Published on July 8, 2017March 1, 2019 by lensembledujour11 Comments

London: Day 2

We headed into the city for the first time today, and I feel like we did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.

We purchased travel passes for a week so we’ll be able to make it around the city via bus, train, or the Underground (it’s still very hard for me not to say subway, haha). Took the Greater Anglia train into Liverpool Street from Broxbourne, and from there, we can hop on the Underground to get about anywhere.

I love the Underground. It’s ridiculously easy to navigate – totally different from the subway system in New York, which is a mess that I’ve ridden plenty of times and still don’t quite understand. Another huge help is that I downloaded an app called CityMapper, which helps you decide what transport to use based on your location and where you want to go. 10/10 would definitely recommend – I don’t know where I would be without it!

Today was a pretty full day – we saw St. Paul’s Cathedral (didn’t go in because it cost like 20 pounds and we’re cheap), and then we got lunch at a place called Ask For Janice, where we heard they had some of the best crumpets in town.

I’ve admittedly never had crumpets before, so I don’t know how they compared to other crumpets, but they were really good! I’d definitely go back. Crumpets, if you haven’t heard of them, are basically small pieces of bread kind of like an English muffin that have been coated with about 5 cups of melted butter – terribly unhealthy I’m sure but also terribly tasty.

From there, we got back on the Underground to get to the British Museum for afternoon tea. Amanda and I both ordered elderflower, and it was absolutely delicious. Probably some of the best tea I’ve had in my life. And the little sandwiches and cakes – oh, it was all so amazing, and I was sad I couldn’t finish it all. The British Museum itself was also quite interesting, very warm and crowded though.

The rest of the day was spent shopping on Oxford St., where I very specifically wanted to see a Zara. I don’t believe we have any in the US (and if we do, it’s only one or two in a major city, none of which I live near), so I probably spent more time and more money there than I should have, but it was worth it.

And in the evening, we went to see Wicked on West End. Now, I saw Wicked many years ago in Louisville, when the US had a tour of it, and I fell in love. It was my first Broadway musical, and I was in awe of the talent and production that went into a show. The West End performance was no different – it’s probably been 10 years since I saw Wicked last, and yet I was still blown away. Plus, this time I knew the songs, so I was able to hum along a bit.

By the time the show got out, it was probably 10:30 in the evening, so we got the Tube back to Liverpool Station and then a train back home.

Like I said a very full, but also a very fulfilling day.

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!

Shirt: Free People

Skirt: River Island

July 5, 2017 – Jet Lag Fashion (OOTD #59)

Published on July 7, 2017March 1, 2019 by lensembledujour7 Comments

London: Day 1.

Arrived in the Heathrow Airport this morning to a pleasant surprise: customs wasn’t a hassle to get through! It was very smooth in fact, and while I think the man at the passport counter definitely thought it was sketchy that I didn’t know the last name of the person I’d be staying with off the top of my head (see, all Amanda and I have ever referred to her as is “Sue”), it was still much easier than expected.

From there, Sue picked us up and drove us home, about 45 minutes away in Broxbourne. We were terrible company. I felt rather bad, as I could tell how hard Sue was trying to make conversation, but we were so jet lagged and out of it that it’s quite possible that we didn’t even hear some of her questions. She was a good sport about it though.

The little bit I saw from the Heathrow windows was all I actually saw of London today; the rest of the day was spent either napping at home or wandering around Broxbourne and the surrounding neighborhoods. At one point, Amanda and I decided to go for a walk into town simply to look at the architecture and houses – it’s all so different from what we have in the US.

You know, I assumed we’d see plenty of “British-looking” buildings, but in the same way that you see “American-looking” buildings at home – like, there’s a colonial or ranch style home every five houses in any given suburban neighborhood, but they’re not all over. Here, in Broxbourne, I don’t believe I’ve seen anything that doesn’t look like a Tudor-style cottage.

I love it!

So what did I wear today for a day of one part napping, one part staring in awe at the British-ness of everything? Too much, in all honesty; I was sweating rather profusely there at the end of the day. It was a cute outfit though – plaid slacks, purple cardigan, silk scarf – so maybe it was worth it.

Tomorrow, we’re headed into London for the first time, so I’m going to try to get a good night’s sleep. Wish me luck!

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 and Pants: THE LOFT

July 4, 2017 – We’re Flying First Class / Up in the Sky (OOTD #58)

Published on July 6, 2017March 1, 2019 by lensembledujour6 Comments

…Poppin’ champagne / Livin’ my life…

(Random bit of trivia – the first time I ever heard “Glamorous” by Fergie it was on a Kidz Bop CD – it wasn’t until years later that I realized there was a real version not sung by whiny children)

Had a pleasant surprise at the airport yesterday – we got bumped up to first class on our flight from Detroit to London!

It was July 4, Independence Day for the US so the airports were deadly quiet, a far cry from their typical, crowded messiness. It was beautiful. Both Amanda and I remarked that being in the near-empty Detroit Airport made for one of the nicest airport experiences either of us had ever had. Getting bumped to first class (likely due to how no one wants to fly on the 4th of July) also helped.

I’ve never flown first class before, and to be honest, I don’t know how I’ll ever go back to flying coach. It was so lovely – large comfortable seats that reclined, nice food, pillows and blankets – so vastly different from the tiny uncomfortable seats I’m used to. I know it’s not likely that we’ll get first class again for the way back, but I certainly hope we do. Perhaps we can find some fountain that we can throw a coin into and make a wish, à la the Lizzie McGuire movie.

Which brings me to our location for today’s photos – this magic fountain that got us first class seats. Clearly, we got what we asked for this time, so on our way back, I’m definitely going to take another penny (or hey, maybe even a nickel) and wish for a million dollars and maybe some cheesecake.

Sorry it’s not a very long or exciting blog post today, but it wasn’t a very exciting day. 9 of my 24 hours today were spent sitting on a plane doodling or watching the Lego Batman Movie (which was absolutely excellent by the way – best Batman film since The Dark Knight). For my outfit, I did try to be a little patriotic with the blue shirt and the red scarf, but in all honesty, I was mostly just aiming to be comfortable while sitting for hours.

Though at the time of writing this blog post, I’m technically now in London, by the end of July 4, I was still in a plane somewhere over the Atlantic, so I’m going to end this blog post here. More adventures to come. Stay tuned!

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!

Shirt: Anthropologie

Scarf: American Eagle

July 3, 2017 – [insert all-black attire proverb here] (OOTD #57)

Published on July 5, 2017 by lensembledujour8 Comments

All black everything? Black like my soul? There are so many choices – all so cliché, yet all so relatable.

Black is such a comfortable, easy-to-wear color; I almost have to stop myself from wearing it so often for fear of coming off as goth. Nothing wrong with goth, of course – but as I’ve said before, I don’t like to pigeon-hole myself into a single style.

But yeah, if I were to choose a style to go with 100% of the time, goth might be one of them. My Chemical Romance was a favorite band of mine my sophomore year. Still is a favorite band of mine, actually…

Anyway, today’s outfit – I like to think of it as pseudo-nu-goth, not unlike my “not quite” pastel grunge look from a month ago. I absolutely adore the look of a true nu-goth – the fishnet stockings, layered chokers, elegant but intimidating makeup, and of course, black everything – but the fact of the matter is, I simply don’t have the pieces to do a full Pinterest-worthy nu-goth outfit. So in the absence of the proper pieces, I like to innovate. I’ve got a black circle skirt on here – simple enough – and a black sweater with some interesting cutouts at the shoulder and detailing on the neckline. Throw in a layered choker, and I’ve got something that, while not perfect, achieves the look I want without me having to spend a fortune on pieces I can’t wear in other outfits.

Sadly though, my fabulous pseudo-nu-goth outfit was seen by very few today. I spent most of my time at home, as my biggest concern today was packing – I haven’t done anything yet, and I leave for London tomorrow. Ah well, I packed for New York the night before – I can pack for London the same way!

Tomorrow I’m headed off to London! Sorry, I just had to repeat that to myself because I can scarcely believe it. I’m so excited, yet also a bit stressed. I’ve only flown by myself once before, and it wasn’t international. I actually have flown internationally before, but it was years ago, when I visited China in third grade. And I had my parents with me that time to tell me what to do.

I’ll leave you with this charming photo of my room, mid-packing session. It looks like a hurricane hit it, and yet, it’s just me. It’s kind of bad, but a large part of packing is putting together and laying out the outfits, and for me, that’s a very messy process.

That’s it for today! 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: Francesca’s

Skirt: Forever21

July 30, 2017 – Lime Yours (OOTD #56)

Published on July 1, 2017 by lensembledujour10 Comments

Yeah…okay, I didn’t come up with that pun.

If you stole my phone right now and checked my Google search history, you would find “lime puns” among the first results.

Look, it’s hard work trying to come up with clever blog posts every day!

The truth is, I don’t even like limes as a fruit. They’re sour and kind-of bitter, and limeade will forever be second place to lemonade in my heart. But what limes lack in tasty flavor they make up for in a beautiful, rich color that absolutely everyone can wear.

I’ll admit, when I first saw this shirt in Banana Republic, I was hesitant. It reminded me of pea soup, which isn’t really my favorite, and I didn’t see it being a flattering color on me. Still, I decided to try it on, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it looked lovely on my skin – and I’m convinced it looks just as lovely on every skin tone.

If you’ll remember, this pea-lime color was quite trendy a few years back, and it hasn’t really gone out of style since. Why? Because, like I said, I believe just about everyone can wear it. For instance, my skin tone ranges from a deep tan in the summer to a pale beige in the winter, and I have no problem wearing it regardless of season. It’s vibrant but won’t overwhelm pale alabaster skin and saturated enough to not wash out dark chocolate skin; it’s a universal pleaser.

My point – I just really like this color.

The rest of the outfit is pretty simple – just some leggings, black boots, a necklace, and my favorite black sun hat. Some days are like that though, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

In other news, I’ll be leaving the country in a few days! Only two more shifts of work to make it through and then I’m free. I haven’t even begun to pack – I’ve been so bad with the procrastination. Ah well, maybe it’ll be like the time I flew to New York and I didn’t finish packing until about four hours before I left. That was an interesting time.

Shirt: Banana Republic

Necklace: Forever21

June 29, 2017 – Like An Onion (OOTD #55)

Published on June 30, 2017 by lensembledujour19 Comments

Good layering is the key to any good outfit.

For real, I put so much value on being able to create interesting layers in my clothing that I sometimes ignore the fact that it’s too freaking hot to be wearing a jacket and just do it anyway.

With layers, you create intrigue because there’s a hint of mystery as to what’s beneath the jacket/scarf/sweater/whatever. It’s must like choosing to make your subject in a picture go off the page – you can’t see everything, so you’re naturally drawn in look closer at what is there.

Granted, you can still have a good outfit without layers – it simply requires that the pieces themselves be intelligent enough designs that they are fascinating to look at. And often, that costs more money. And, since I don’t have a lot of that, I usually prefer to rely upon layers to carry my outfits rather than the design of the clothes.

(That does also mean that when I do see a piece of clothing that has an interesting design – one that “speaks” to me, you could say – I’m eager to snatch it up, especially if it’s a good price).

Today’s outfit is probably my go-to for the fall. Or the winter. Or even the summer or spring, because let’s be honest – I almost never pay attention to the weather when I’m making up my outfits. A jacket, a flowy top, skinny pants, a necklace or scarf, and my favorite pair of boots – you can bet that on pretty much any day I’m too lazy to come up with a more unique outfit and/or shave, I’ll be wearing some variation of this.

Everyone needs their safety outfit, and this is mine. It’s particularly good for days when I want to wear leggings because it relies upon the contrast between the oversized clothes on the upper half of my body and the form-fitting clothes on my lower half.

Do you have a go-to outfit? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you wear when you feel like you have nothing to wear!

Jacket: Forever21

Pants: Abercrombie

Shirt: Altar’d State

June 28, 2017 – A Lazy Day At Home (OOTD #54)

Published on June 29, 2017June 29, 2017 by lensembledujour14 Comments

Concerts are great, but they make you feel absolutely dead the next morning.

Believe me, I would know – I once was out until 2 for a Panic! at the Disco concert just to have to be up again at 6 to be back at school at 8. That was an interesting day – I think I crawled out of bed wearing pretty much the same clothes I had worn the night before and was too lazy to change, so I walked around at school all day in sweaty concert attire.

For this one though, I was smart, and I scheduled myself beforehand to be off of work the next day. I slept in, had a lazy breakfast, and basically did nothing but sit around in the kitchen and watch movie reviews on YouTube while eating PopChips.

Was it a fun day? I don’t know – fun isn’t really the word, but it felt good regardless. Work is emotionally exhausting, so any day I can spend where I’m not there is welcomed.

Just because I sat around at home where basically no one saw me doesn’t mean I didn’t still feel the need to put together a semi-nice outfit for you guys! Running this fashion blog does have the slight downside that even on my lazy days, I have to put together a real outfit to wear for at least the 10 minutes it takes to get my photos done.

What can I say? I have a terribly difficult life and I deserve all of your pity.

Today’s outfit was low-key (and I mean very very low-key – like such a low-key your ears probably wouldn’t even be able to hear it) inspired by Taylor Swift in the “Blank Space” music video. I recently subscribed to Apple Music, which I transitioned to from Spotify, so I’m a little starstruck by the fact I can actually listen to Taylor Swift again.

Anyway, I was sitting there in the kitchen with my PopChips when “Blank Space” came on. I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge Taylor Swift fan – at least, I haven’t been for many years, probably since Fearless first came out – but “Blank Space” is definitely a good bop. Plus, the music video is so stylish.

There’s one scene in the first chorus where Taylor and her copain du jour are riding bikes around a parlor, and she’s wearing an outfit with plaid high-waisted pants and a short sleeve cropped maroon sweater. I drew inspiration from this scene for today’s outfit – I don’t have the plaid pants (actually…I do have plaid pants, but they’re purple and wouldn’t go well with the red sweater), but I do have high-waisted floral shorts, and I have a similar short sleeve maroon sweater. I put the two together, and, without any accessories at all really, I had a fairly chic lazy day outfit that didn’t require much thought.

No one’s going to be mistaking me for Taylor Swift any time soon, and no rich men are going to be taking me to their mansions where I can change outfits every 12 seconds for an elaborate music video, but you can’t have everything.

Shorts: PacSun

Sweater: Ann Taylor LOFT

June 27, 2017 – Reggae and Calypso (OOTD #53)

Published on June 28, 2017 by lensembledujour9 Comments

…won’t you save me, San Francisco?

Had a great night last night with my friend Amanda at a Train concert in Cincinnati.

Admittedly, Train isn’t my favorite band on the planet. I like them well enough, and a couple of their songs – I’m thinking “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” and “Save Me San Francisco” – have been in rotation on my iTunes and Spotify playlists for years, but mostly, I wasn’t too familiar with their work. I actually had to create a playlist of their setlist the day before the concert so I could study up on their library more, since I wanted to be able to sing along at least to the courses of the songs I didn’t know.

But I love concerts, and I will happily drop all of my spending money to go see them, regardless of how much I know about the band. There’s something really spectacular about being in a room full of people connected by music, and whether I love the music or not, I love the vibe.

My first concert, Demi Lovato, was back when I was in fourth grade, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I even remember the outfit I wore to see Demi Lovato – black boots, denim skirt, green henley, denim vest, white jacket, green scarf, straw fedora-like hat. Tacky and awkward as it sounds, I remember feeling really fashionable for 2008, and I actually remember getting a lot of compliments.

Not wanting to be passed up by my fourth grade self, I had to put together an outfit worthy of a summer concert. I feel like Train has an almost country vibe to their music, and I wanted to reference that in my look. But I don’t really have any country-looking clothes, and regardless, I’m not really a country person, so I went for a boho summer festival look instead. Close enough…ish?

But for real, I do like my outfit today. I spent forever trying to find a bralette that layered nicely under the high neck of my tank top (as it turned out, a high neck bralette was perfect for the job), and I layered a sheer kimono on top for “warmth.” Or maybe just fashion. I don’t know, practicality and aesthetic run together in my head sometimes.

I topped it all off with a layered choker and a gold headband, and I felt like I was almost cool enough to stand in the parking lot of Coachella and direct traffic. Almost. Hey

Shirt and shorts: H&M

Kimono: Hollister

Bralette: Aerie

Headband: Altar’d State

June 26, 2017 – A Blog Is Never Late, Nor Is It Early (OOTD #52)

Published on June 27, 2017 by lensembledujour16 Comments

…it arrives precisely when it means to.

Welp, I suck, and I missed out on posting yesterday. I did still get the photos – don’t you worry – but I didn’t get a chance to sit down and actually type out the corresponding blog post.

Ah well, it happens.

In my defense, my reasoning for not getting around to posting a blog is fairly solid. I worked 2-6, and after I got off, I went out immediately to meet with a friend who was visiting from South Carolina. She was probably one of the first friends that I made when I first moved here in seventh grade – in fact, she was probably the first person to invite me, the “new kid,” to do anything with her. I still have the old diary entry where I wrote about how excited I was that someone from my new school had finally invited me to hang out – lol!

Anyway, Kirstie moved our sophomore year, but she still comes to Kentucky to visit us sometimes. So after work, I met up with her and two of her other old friends – Zach and Adrian – for pizza, and we chatted and did some catching up. It’s funny – the three of us who still live in Kentucky don’t necessarily belong to the same crowd while in school, but we always manage to get along really well when Kirstie invites us all to hang out.

Over pizza, Kirstie was discussing my hair (I dyed it blonde about a year after she moved, so she hadn’t seen it in person before!), and Adrian, who had been relatively quiet otherwise, suddenly interjected “So do you think I could go blonde?”

At first, we all think he’s joking – Adrian, this big mixed-race football player dude, wants to go blonde? But he’s serious. And he wants me to do it.

So, flashfoward two hours, and I’m standing in Adrian’s bathroom, rubber gloves on, mixing up a batch of L’Oreal Quick Blue bleach that we got from Sally Beauty Supply about 15 minutes before they closed while Kirstie and Zach cheer me on. It’s hot, the chemicals are burning my eyeballs, and I’m terrified I’ll mess up and ruin his beautiful caramel curls, but there’s no backing out now.

And you know what? It turned out okay. Not perfect, mind you – I started running out of bleach towards the back of his head, so it’s definitely lighter in the front than in the back (call it ombré, maybe?), but I think I did okay for a person who has only ever bleached her own hair before. Plus, Adrian liked it (or at least he acted like he did!), so that’s all that really matters.

Summer 2017 has been an adventure to say the least.

In other news, one week, and I’ll be on the plane to London! I’m so excited to be going – and I’m positive at least half of my excitement can be attributed to not having to work for basically two weeks. The other half is probably because there are so many wonderful Instagram opportunities and beautiful backgrounds for my OOTD posts!

Shirt: Forever21

Sweater: Altar’d State

June 23, 2017 – Schoolteacher Chic (OOTD #51)

Published on June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by lensembledujour12 Comments

Can you believe I’ve already made 51 of these silly little things?

I guess 51 is an odd number to celebrate – I probably should’ve done 50, but yesterday, when I was writing the blog post of the day, I thought I was at 49. I didn’t realize until after the blog had been posted that it was the “big 5-0,” and by then it was of course too late.

But better late than never, so here I am, happily recognizing that I’ve made it to 51 blog posts!

It’s only been a few months for me writing on L’ensemble du jour, but I can tell you, it’s already made a moderate impact on my life. First off, I can’t just have lazy days where I wear leggings and a t-shirt anymore, lol. Every day’s outfit has to be carefully planned out and organized to ensure that nothing looks too similar, and there’s always quality content and variety on this blog.

It’s a challenge, but I love it. Writing here is easily one of my favorite parts of the day. And it’s made all the better because I know you guys always have such kind words to say! Seriously, reading the comments that are left at the bottom of each blog always makes me smile, even after a long day at work.

Speaking of work, I had another job interview today. I figured since I was only working part time, I’d try and see if I could pick anything else up on the side. Fingers crossed!

For this interview, I chose an outfit I had actually already had planned out for weeks – and one that I can only describe as “schoolteacher-esque.” A very stylish schoolteacher, who wears Evan Picone jackets and Ray-Bans, but a schoolteacher nonetheless. Actually, fun fact: two of the pieces today were vintage/thrifted – the jacket, which I got at Salvation Army, and the skirt, which I got along with a cute jacket at an antique mall.

A huge thank you to the 270-some of you who follow me here, the nearly 2,000 who follow me on IG, and basically anyone else who follows me on any social media channel or has ever checked out this blog. I’m hardly famous, but I’m growing, and your support means a lot.