Parks are one of my favorite places for pictures.
Tag: pacsun
July 6, 2019 – Bizarre Bazaar (OOTD #527)
I can’t believe I didn’t use that as one of my Instagram captions.
As promised from yesterday’s blog about Budapest Central Market, I’m here now to discuss the superior of the two major markets in Budapest: the Ecseri Bazaar.
Being fair, they are two very different markets; it almost doesn’t make sense to compare them. Central Market focuses on food and *some* gifts and trinkets for tourists, while Ecseri is essentially a flea market. Central Market sells things that are brand new, while Ecseri sells things that are secondhand and vintage. Given my track record of buying vintage clothing, guess which one I was drawn to more?
I went with my friend, Bilal, and I think he was bored out of his mind. Too bad for him, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I absolutely adore looking at people’s old junk — especially people’s old junk in different countries and cultures. You can learn a lot about the history of a place by visiting a flea market, and Budapest was no exception.
I was tempted by a few pins that featured the classic Soviet hammer and sickle insignia, but there was no way to tell if they were authentic vintage pieces or just made in China reproductions for tourists like me. In the end, I wound up with two blouses and a coat — all for under 20 USD.
In the afternoon, I attended the Budapest Pride Parade alongside my friend and his Central European University friends. Of the various protests/parades/marches I’ve participated in in the last three years, this one may have been the most significant. Here’s the thing: marches are often boring. You walk super slowly, you maybe say a few chants, and you look at the funny signs. Maybe you get a cute picture for Instagram,. You don’t go because you want to have fun; you go because you care about the issue, or at the very least, civil society’s right to protest about their issue.
This is an overgeneralization, but for the other marches I’ve attended, the marchers wanted an expansion on something that already existed. For example, at the climate change strike in Rome, the students wanted the Italian government to do more than what they were doing to stop the climate crisis. For this march, the marchers wanted something that doesn’t really exist at all in Hungary — LGBTQ rights.
That’s a significant difference, at least for me as a participant. In the latter case — advocating to have something that doesn’t exist — you feel more like a catalyst, like a trailblazer. It’s riskier to say you want something new than to say you want more of something you already have some of. Both are perfectly valid forms of demonstration, but one, to me as an individual, is more personally engaging.
That’s about it for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life in Europe this summer. 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!
Outfit 1:
Top: Forever21
Trousers: Thrifted (Salvation Army)
Outfit 2:
Top: Vintage (thrifted, Ecseri Bazaar)
Shorts: PacSun
June 16, 2019 – Ruined (OOTD #519)
Well if you close your eyes / do you almost feel like you’ve been here before?
Pompeii was one of those places that I knew I wanted to visit as soon as I learned I had gotten the internship in Rome. Everything I’d heard from friends who’d been to Italy before was that it was somewhere I needed to go — and that furthermore, if I didn’t go now, I might never have a chance, as it’s not the most well-preserved site.
After spending the previous day in Naples and liking but not loving it, I decided to take the one-hour train on to Pompeii.
So was it everything I dreamed?
Actually, not really. Admission was steep, and that didn’t even cover the cost of a tour — and so I didn’t get a tour. As it turns out, that’s not a wise idea. It’s a huge space that’s easy to get lost in, and if you can’t read the signs in Italian, there’s not much to indicate what you’re actually looking at. Thankfully, I was there alongside a set of friends who spoke Italian and a set of friends who’d studied Classics and Latin in university, and so together, they were able to piece together what we saw. Without them, though, I would have been completely clueless.
Despite being a history major, if I’m honest, ancient Roman history is just not my wheelhouse. I like modern history — anything post-French Revolution is exciting to me (though 19th century imperialism can be a little dry.) In terms of history, cities like Budapest or Prague or Berlin are the most fascinating to me. I appreciate visiting places like Pompeii and Rome because I appreciate their history — but while I appreciate their history, it doesn’t inspire me like other histories do.
The best part of Pompeii was probably its most morbid element — the casts of dead bodies in their final positions before their owners succumbed to the smoke and ash. I’m not going to post any pictures here because it may be disturbing to some, but I would highly recommend a Google search of the plaster bodies of Pompeii. Through the plaster casts, you get a sense of what these people’s last moments were like before they died. It’s creepy and humbling.
That’s about it for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life in Europe this summer. 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: Pitaya
Shorts: PacSun
June 10, 2019 – The Most Instagrammable Park in Copenhagen (OOTD #516)
Don’t always trust Instagram travel bloggers.
I say this, knowing full well that I am a pseudo-Instagram travel blogger myself. However, I feel the need to let you guys know that just because something looks cool in a picture, doesn’t mean it’s actually that cool in real life.
For example: Superkilen, the super trendy public park in Nørrebro, Copenhagen (or should I say København, since I used the Danish spelling of Nørrebro?) where all of the Internet travel gurus seemed to insist was a must-see location on your trip to Copenhagen.
I mean, it’s cool. It makes for a great, unique picture with all of the wavy lines. What the travel bloggers don’t tell you though, is that it’s actually quite far out from the city center, and that it’s also quite small. If you’re thinking you could get a few hours’ worth of things to do in the park, or even in the surrounding Nørrebro, you’re going to be disappointed. The park with the squiggly lines takes up a small square that you can walk the perimeter of in five minutes.
And that’s basically it. That’s the whole park.
Actually, there are a few cool sculptures and a neat artsy playground for kids. I’m sure it’s great for the people who live in the neighborhood, and it’s a good place to get pictures if you’re an Instagrammer. But if you’re a tourist, looking for a robust breadth of experiences while in Copenhagen, it’s a little lackluster.
I’m glad I got my pictures — “do it for the Gram,” as the kids say. And my AirBnB was within walking distance of the park, so it wasn’t even really that far out of the way. But if you’re located more in the city center, and you’re not dead set on getting a picture with the squiggly lines, I probably wouldn’t recommend it.
If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path (and by “off the beaten path,” I mean “not The Little Mermaid statue and not Nyhavn“) that I absolutely would recommend, check out the University of Copenhagen Botanical Gardens. For my full post, which may or may not have devolved into a lengthy harangue about why I love plants, check it out here!
That’s about it for today. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life in Europe this summer. 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: Thrifted
Shorts: PacSun
August 5, 2018 – That Was Rewarding (OOTD #342)
After a long hard day of cleaning the house, my family decided to go out and reward ourselves with a bit of ice cream!
You know, I’m admittedly not even a huge ice cream person, but I just love the concept of it. I think it has something to do with this Arthur book I had as a kid where Arthur goes out and treats DW to ice cream after she proves to him how good she is at spelling. Isn’t it funny how dumb little things like that can permanently change your worldviews?
For example, I don’t really enjoy ice cream in cones. I find them messy, unnecessary, and just generally add on calories that I don’t need when I could enjoy the ice cream just as much out of a bowl. But I’m a sucker for the aesthetic of ice cream in a cone — an aesthetic that I first came to know thanks to that Arthur book.
I’m also a sucker for the cute photos I can get with ice cream in a cone that I just can’t get with ice cream in a bowl. I’m one hundred percent one of those people who will research the most Instagrammable restaurants in a city I’m visiting just so I can get something cute for my feed. Call me shallow.
If you’re wondering, the flavor of the ice cream here is Kentucky Blackberry Buttermilk, and it’s one of my favorite flavors of all time. I don’t get tired of it; I order it every time I come to this particular local ice cream shop. Rather than being super sweet like a lot of ice creams, its flavor comes from its creaminess. 10/10 would recommend.
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 in Kentucky. 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: boutique at a flea market
Shorts: PacSun
May 26, 2018 – Complimentary Colors (OOTD #292)
Double complimentary colors! Look at that!
I love complimentary colors. I don’t know who doesn’t — they work so well together, and the fact that they work well together is a part of their name.
Here, I have both red and green going in my outfit, and then orange and blue in the background. That wasn’t really intentional, but now that I see how it turned out, I’m a fan.
I’m always on the lookout for new and colorful backdrops for my OOTD photography, and I thought this Mexican restaurant’s walls worked perfectly for that. Some of the most unconventional locations can make for good backgrounds, and you never know when they’re going to pop up — I once used a bathroom wall, which probably takes the cake for unusual backgrounds.
Fun fact — this is actually my second Mexican restaurant featured on this blog as a background. The first was just as colorful, though pink rather than orange and blue. I find restaurants to make for good backgrounds because they’re often painted vibrant, eye-catching colors. They may not be glamorous, but a nice colorful wall always works well on my Instagram feed.
Running a fashion blog isn’t always as fabulous as it may seem, then. As much as I’d love to take my OOTD photos at an exotic Paris café every day, more often, they wind up being taken outside of Kentucky Mexican restaurants as random families pass by and wonder why some Asian chick is having a fashion shoot in public.
I’d say it’s a living, but I don’t get paid very much or very often, so it’s really not. It’s a…hobby?
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!
Sweater: Forever21
Top & Shorts: PacSun
March 15, 2018 – Springtime Cerulean (OOTD #246)
Guys look! I found some wall art in Lexington!
I’ve mentioned this many, many times but I find wall art to make for some for the best backgrounds for fashion photography. Shots like these here just support that thinking for me — all of the pretty archways at Notre Dame can’t compete with some colorful walls.
On a side note, these are some of the tightest, most uncomfortable jeans I own — though thankfully, you can’t tell that here. Seriously, I could barely bend my knees. Granted, I’ve had these jeans since like, middle school, so it’s honestly a miracle that I could even get them over my hips still. Think it’s time to give them to Goodwill.
I’m beginning to break out some of my spring clothes now, even though it still doesn’t really look or feel like spring in Kentucky or Indiana yet. Maybe my white jeans, bright colors, and polka dots can convince the sun to come out a little more?
Pretty please?
I’m also considering dyeing my hair a different color for the new season. The purple’s fading at this point and I’m presently with a kind of strange, lavender-tan mixture, so now’s as good a time as ever to do another semi-permanent color.
Leave me a comment below if you’ve got any suggestions for new hair colors! I’m not looking to use any more bleach, so I can’t do blonde (at least for now) but I’m open to other ideas for color to go on top of the bleached ends I presently have.
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: Banana Republic
Top: PacSun
Jeans: Abercrombie
January 2, 2018 – Goodwill Glamour (OOTD #191)
One of the best parts of this whole fashion blog thing is the sheer variety of how many locations I’ve been to trying to find a good background for my photos.
I’ve been from places as glamorous as Abbey Road and the Tower of London to as un-glamorous as a public dumpster. Today’s location, the outside of a local Goodwill, probably ranks up there with the unglamorous locations.
But you wouldn’t necessarily know it’s the outside of a Goodwill unless I told you, and that’s part of the fun of it. It’s something of a challenge trying to find new and unique backgrounds every day to go with my outfit; I can’t just have the plain white of my garage door every day, can I?
It’s been terribly bitter cold recently in Lexington – like, 5 or 10 degrees every morning and only going up to the teens during the day. To do today’s pictures, I threw off my coat for about three minutes to get my dad to do these shots, and as soon as they were done, I put my coat back on as quickly as I could. I guess that’s nothing compared to how cold it is at Notre Dame right now, though. I think it was -15 the other morning.
Speaking of Notre Dame, how about that Citrus Bowl win from the other day? Alright, so admittedly, this isn’t a sports blog, and I have no legitimate insights to offer about their plays. The fourth quarter was certainly exciting though.
Or so I heard. I actually napped through it.
So I’m a lousy Notre Dame fan. So I’ve only ever gone to the football games, and so I didn’t even go to all of those. I still like to wear the clothes and pretend I’m a passionate devotee. If I’m going to be a fake, at least I know it.
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!
Sweater: PacSun
November 2, 2017 – Neverending Doorways (OOTD #151)
When’s the last time I wrote a blog where I wasn’t stood next to some Notre Dame doorway?
For real, when was it? When I was back at home over fall break, maybe, and I went to a pumpkin patch?
As much as I’ve complained about Notre Dame’s architecture, saying that, with the exception of Bond Hall, it’s all the same golden beige color – I do find it rather pretty. In fact, that’s what I usually say when I inevitably get the awkward question “why did you come here?”
I know it’s a pretty shallow reason, but the honest answer that no one wants to hear – because Columbia wouldn’t have me – isn’t a socially acceptable response to give a stranger who doesn’t understand your sense of humor. And so, lacking any other ideas and being too lazy to come up with a better fib, I usually go with “well, I uh…toured it junior year, and I really liked campus and um…yeah.”
I like Notre Dame’s architecture so much, that I’m pretty sure pretty much half of my blogs at this point have me standing in front of doors. Kudos to whomever decided that if Notre Dame needed to be made of like, exclusively yellowish beige brick in order to represent the Golden Dome or whatever, it would at least have beautiful doorways.
Welp, I don’t have a clever conclusion to end this with today – though I don’t usually, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise – so I’m just going to cop out and say I have a lot of homework to do, and sitting around trying to write good conclusions is taking away from the time I would have to do my homework.
Bye!
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: Hollister
Shirt: PacSun
Necklace: J Crew
October 12, 2017 – Photos Taken Seconds Before Disaster (OOTD #134)
Number 12 will shock you!
Actually, I don’t think I even have 12 photos for this blog. It was a fairly simple day in terms of fashion photography. You want to know why?
Look back at that first photo again. Notice anything strange about it? Like, a cracked door, perhaps?
Yes, once again, in the middle of my OOTD photo shoot, someone came along and hit me with a door. This time, I heard the door beginning to open before it was too late, so I was able to jump out of the way, but it was awkward nonetheless. The person exiting the building always gives me this look of utter confusion when they see me, a kind of ‘’why were you leaning against this door I was trying to use? Why does that person have a camera?’’
That’s part of the reason why I always wear my sunglasses when I’m doing my photos – that way, I don’t have to make eye contact with the people who are confused and or judging me for staging a fashion show in the middle of public property. And if I don’t have to make eye contact, then they’re not there! #hatershades
That strategy works with all other problems as well – a messy room, undone homework, split ends – if I don’t look at them, they don’t exist. It’s the adult version of Peek-a-Boo.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame.
L'ensemble du jour 