June 20, 2017 – All The Trends! (OOTD #48)

I like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t feel the need to follow trends.

 

Like I said, like to think of myself – I’m not necessarily always that way. Case in point – today’s outfit, which covers three trends all in one – an off-the-shoulder top, loose shorts, and a choker. Clearly, I belong in an issue of Seventeen, or perhaps an ad for Forever21.

 

(Actually, unlike a lot of days, today’s outfit features nothing from Forever21!)

 

There’s really nothing wrong with being trendy: it’s just that following trends means there’s less room for original thought and creativity. And that’s something I value quite a lot in fashion – I would much rather wear something that makes people go “that’s different” than “that’s boring.”

 

But being original takes effort, and being trendy does not (though it does take a lot more money…), and today, I was rather lacking in the effort department. I woke up a bit late, and I had to rush to get ready for a lunch date with a friend, so trendy it was.

 

One of the nice things about trends is that they come in all varieties, and these varieties are very easily mixed and matched. Today, for example, I mixed the off-the-shoulder trend with the loose, boho-ish shorts trend with the choker trend. It made for a very simple, stylish outfit that required very little thought on my part and still looked very good in the end. That is something you risk when going with more unusual outfits – you may put all this thought and effort into creating interesting layers or silhouettes, and you can still just wind up looking weird.

 

Also, about today’s lunch date – my friend and I used it to discuss things we wanted to do in London, when we visit in early July. So I figured I would ask you guys, anyone who’s visited London or lives there or just feels like offering an opinion, what should we make sure we do while we’re there? We don’t necessarily feel the need to do the super-touristy things and would actually really love to go for something a little more off the beaten path, so if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment below!

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

Shirt: Hollister

Pants: Francesca’s

Band-aid with little fish on it: UK Hospital

June 19, 2017 – Cheap Clothes=Best Clothes (OOTD #47)

If I remember correctly, I got this shirt for like $3 at the LOFT.

 

I don’t even recall exactly how it happened – I think it was like 50% off on clearance already, and then my mother had an extra 40% off on top of that for her birthday, and it might’ve an additional discount for having snag in the front. Anyway, it ended up being a really great steal, and I bought it without even trying it on.

 

I’ve got a bit of a problem with buying clothes on discount like that – purchasing things I don’t necessarily need simply because it’s on a really good sale. Never follow me into a Goodwill; we’ll be there for hours, and I’ll be down $50 and up 20 pieces of unnecessary clothes in the end. My father can certainly attest to that.

 

Actually, I often look through the sale section when I’m shopping before I even look at the new, full-priced things. The middle school version of myself would’ve been completely embarrassed to have said that – there was once a time when I was a status-obsessed egotist poser child who wouldn’t want to be caught dead doing anything to save money.

 

That’s changed…mostly….I think?

 

Anyway, today’s outfit – in addition to my plain white shirt (which isn’t so plain when you look at it a bit more closely; it’s got a nice architectural silhouette that makes it rather interesting), I wore a bandana-printed neck scarf, which I bought for the pure intention of looking trendy and green skinny jeans that make my legs feel just a tad like they’re being suffocated.

 

But sometimes, that’s the price you pay for looking nice, right?

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

Shirt: The LOFT

Pants: American Eagle

Scarf: American Eagle

 

June 18, 2017 – Father’s Day Fashion (OOTD #46)

Sorry for the late post, but it’s been a busy day.


It’s Father’s Day here in the US, and my family likes to celebrate by taking a day to spend out doing some things of my dad’s choosing. He opted to get lunch at a new(ish) restaurant in the Summit called Ted’s Montana Grill, and we walked around and window shopped for a while.


We also invited my grandmother (my father’s mother) into town to join us, making it a nice little family outing. I actually shared my lunch with her – it was a half chicken, and neither of us could eat the whole thing. 


I wish I had gotten a picture of the thing – it was so good! Best chicken in my life? Well, no. But pretty solid. I did get a picture of our appetizer, some homemade chips, so you can look at that instead and pretend I was a good blogger who actually documented what she ate like she was supposed to.


On a more serious note, I do rather like Father’s Day – not just because I love excuses to go out to eat, but because I rather love my father too. He takes a lot of pictures for this blog for me (including almost all of the ones for today!) and does all of the proper fatherly duties very well. I must give him something of a shoutout – he’s pretty cool.


In addition to my father, I also love my outfit from today. I layered a sheer, lacy top underneath my sleeveless dress to create a really interesting, unique look. I particularly liked the mixture of the velvet texture of the dress with the sheer top. For accessories, I added my trusty black sun hat, which seems to make any outfit look more chic and trendy. 


I also added some cute rings – I got this little bird one in New York, actually, at a street market. Only $10. The little sales lady said it was sterling silver, and my fingers haven’t turned green yet, so I guess I’ve got to believe her.


And that’s all, folks! A huge thank you to all of you for helping me reach over 200 followers! I couldn’t do it without you (obviously…)!

Dress: Kohl’s…I think. I honestly can’t remember and the tag doesn’t help!

Shirt: Altar’d State

June 14, 2017 – Nice to Meet You, My Name is Oscar (OOTD #43)

At least, that’s what the shirt says.


I got a wonderful surprise the other day – a package in the mail from my Uncle Tim. If you read my post from about a week ago, when Tim visited my family in Bardstown KY, you’d have read that he has a little quirk where he likes to wear old work shirts with other people’s names on them. I guess my father mentioned to him that I thought that that style was both hilarious and actually quite interesting, because Tim saw it fit to send me my own misnamed work shirt: this one proclaiming that I am Oscar of SB Cox’s Demolition and Construction Services, out of Richmond, VA.

I say shirt – it’s more of a dress, really, on me. I have no idea what size Oscar was, but it’s suffice to say he was a bit larger than me. I don’t really care though; I ended up wearing the shirt more like a dress, or maybe a long tunic.

No worries, there are shorts underneath though. I like to stay mostly modest – and to keep my mother happy.

To accessorize, I wore a black tank top and a black choker underneath. I guess that’s not terribly exciting, but I really wanted the shirt to speak for itself. It’s already a bit of a risky move, a) wearing a shirt as a dress and b) wearing a shirt with some guy named Oscar’s name on it. No need to go overboard.

Anyway, I spent most of today at home in the kitchen, working on a cake for Father’s Day. I used this little recipe from The Cake Blog that I saw on Pinterest. I’m actually still working on it, but assuming it doesn’t turn out a horrific, ugly mess, I’ll post some pictures of it on tomorrow’s blog.

 Spending the day at home, I also got to make myself a nice little lunch of a gorgonzola, walnut, and apple salad, a cup of tea, and some macarons. And what better thing to do when you make yourself a chic lunch than to take overly staged photos of it so you can post it on your blog?

(Also, Uncle Tim, if you happen to be reading this – thank you so much for the shirt! I love it!)

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

Shirt: SB Cox’s Demolition and Construction Services

Choker: Claire’s (cringey, I know. But it was cheap and no one has to know where it can from!)

May 3, 2017

You know, I think I’m gonna stick with the pattern of uploading these blogs a day after the outfit is worn.

I don’t know how other fashion bloggers do it, but it seems like the easier thing to me. It’s kinda difficult to take photos of the outfit AND type up the blog about it in the same day – it’s much easier to take the pictures the day before and then write the blog in my spare time as the day goes on. Plus, this way, I have more time to process what I want to write about each outfit instead of just spitting it out as quickly as possible.


Today was a pretty quiet day. Most are, anymore, here at the end of the school year, but this one was especially. There’s just not a lot left to do for us seniors: some finals, AP exams, and graduation preparation. Otherwise, school has devolved to babysitting.

I’m very grateful for the education I’ve received here in this high school, but it’s definitely grown tiresome after four years. Am I really ready to move on? I certainly feel that way, but it’s possibly just fhe senioritis talking. The prospect of moving out still terrifies me.


But on to brighter topics, today was a fun day, outfit-wise. I actually bought this fun dress with an earth-toned print way back at the beginning of junior year, and if I remember correctly, I wore it on the second or third day of school. The hat is also nothing new – if you’ve been following this blog within the last few days, you’ll notice I also wore it out while in New York! As today was much like yesterday – rainy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon – a hat made for a perfect compromise to shield me from the rain and the sun.

Finally, I matched the print of the dress with this lovely necklace that my mother got years ago when Coldwater Creek sold clothes in actual stores, and they catered to people other than old ladies.

As much fun as this outfit was, I’m feeling it was a little tame. Tomorrow, I’m definitely going to go for something a little edgier – it’s been too long since I’ve worn my ripped black skinny jeans.
See you then!
Dress: Forever21

Hat: Target

Necklace: Coldwater Creek


No bonus mirror selfie today. It’s not that I didn’t take one – but by the time I did, it was so late in the day that the lighting was horrible, so you probably wouldn’t want to see it anyway.

April 30, 2017 – Until Next Time (OOTD #10)

New York City: Day 4.

I’m gonna keep this one short because it’s getting late and I’m about to catch my plane home. In truth, I’m glad to go. I’ve been raving about how much I love New York, and trust me, that hasn’t changed, but what I love is the city, and I don’t want to leave – but that’s not necessarily true for the people I’m with.

That’s not really anything against these kids – I can’t think of any group of 40 people who I could tolerate spending 24 hours a day with for 4 days. We’ve had a ton of fun together, but I’m ready to get away from them for a while.

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Today was a pretty-low key day. We went to the 9/11 museum, went back to Little Italy for lunch, and then did some shopping around Chinatown and Times Square. The 9/11 museum was easily one of the highlights of the trip. It was such a moving experience, but I didn’t take any photos there – it didn’t seem appropriate.


Outfit-wise, things were pretty low key as well. I went for all black – not for any particular reason, but sometimes I just feel a little edgy. You really can’t go wrong with black.

And that’s it for today. I should be home before too long, and then it’s back to school tonorrow. Goodnight for now.

Top and shorts: H&M

Choker: Francesca’s

Bonus mirror selfie:

Also, be sure to check out my new Instagram! I just started it a day or two ago, and I’d really appreciate a follow! I follow back 😀

April 28, 2017- Springtime in New York (OOTD #8)

New York City: Day 2

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An oldie but a goodie #throwbackthursday

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Another long day has passed, and lemme tell you – I am exhausted.
Today’s agenda has included a visit to the The Today Show, The Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Little Italy, Chinatown, a Yankees game, and the Empire State Building.

If that sounds like a long day to you, believe me it was.

It was a ton of fun though!

The best parts were when me and a small group of friends were able to split off from the main group and explore the city in our own, such as our excursion to Little Italy.

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Street art is cool! (New York edition)

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I had the best food at a restaurant there called La Bella Vita. The pasta almost brought tears to my eyes, it was so delicious. Another bonus: our waiter had beautiful hair and an even more beautiful accent.
The outfit for today was built for both style and comfort. A high neck bralette layered under a lightweight canvas jacket meant I was prepared whether it was a sunny afternoon or a chilly morning (we experienced both). High waisted jeans meant I had more skin protected from the dirty New York surfaces, and my old black booties with a squat heel was comfortable to walk in.

That doesn’t mean my feet didn’t still feel like lead at the end of the day.

Jacket:

Bralette: Aerie

Jeans: Hollister

Also, be sure to check out my new Instagram! I just started it a day or two ago, and I’d really appreciate a follow! I follow back 😀