Tag: the loft

September 1, 2017 – Is It Fall Yet? (OOTD #101)

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Shoot, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I haven’t posted anything here since last Sunday – in other words, it’s been four days since my last blog post. I think that’s still a little shorter of a hiatus than the one I took when I was in London…but yeah, it’s been too long.

College has been treating me well enough. That said, it hasn’t exactly been easy either – for example, I spend more time than I would like hanging out in the upper floors of the library writing papers, and less time than I would like writing blog posts. Still, I enjoy the freedom, the fewer hours spent in classes, and the exercise I get walking around campus.

It’s interesting: now that I’m living on a college campus, where there are so many people moving from place to place 24/7, I’m not sure when it’s appropriate for me to change out of my “school clothes” and into my “lazy clothes.” In high school, I wore nice clothes during the school day, and when I got home, I changed into comfy clothes (which sometimes just meant pajamas). But now, I’m pretty much always at school because my home is school. So when do I get to stop being fashionable and start looking lazy?

Speaking of fashion, this coat has quickly become one of my favorite articles in my wardrobe. Why? Because it’s one of the only coats I bothered to bring here, and Lord knows the September weather here in South Bend necessities it.

But why didn’t I bring more coats? Because in Kentucky, at this time of the year, it still feels like summer. It’s not unusual to have weather that’s still in the 80s and upper 70s – in other words, nothing that would ever require a coat. In fact, I probably don’t break out my jackets until mid to late October because I’m still able to wear shorts and t-shirts.

Not here – here, it’s been chilly and rainy in the mornings just about every day since the start of classes two weeks ago. I’m not complaining; I much prefer this to the heat we had in Kentucky (anyone who’s been following this blog since the summer can attest to that). Still, I left all of my sweaters and coats at home, and I’m really missing them right now.

In fact, I’m missing all of my clothes I left at home. I wound up having more room in my wardrobe than I thought I was going to have, so at fall break, I’m definitely going to bring some more pieces. My clothes are kind of like my children; I miss them when I’m apart from them.

Anyway, I’ve got to scoot off to Astronomy, which begins in 20 minutes, so that’s all for today! 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!

Coat: Vintage

Pants: The LOFT

Shirt: Forever21

August 29, 2017 – Sketchy Night Photos (OOTD #98)

Published on by lensembledujour5 Comments

Good lighting is key to good photography.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to get. Sometimes, it’s 9:00 at night, you’ve just gotten back from an overwhelming activity fair, which followed after an overwhelming day of classes, and you’re just now getting back to your dorm for the first time all day.

In such situations, you might find that the sun has already gone down by the time you finally get a chance to take your pictures, and that you just have to make do with the street lamps on the sidewalk. You might also find that you have to ask one of the girls in your dorm to take time out of her studying to come outside and take pictures of you, which is just a touch awkward to say the least.

Mais c’est la vie d’un blogeur. Sometimes you have the time and the resources to take really beautiful pictures and write a long, inspired blog post – and sometimes you don’t.

The nice part about being here at Notre Dame is that regardless of how good or bad the lighting is, I can always be assured that my background will be beautiful. It’s amazing how much detail is put into each building – take, for example, the dining hall behind me in this photo.

It looks like something out of Harry Potter, and it’s even more beautiful on the inside. If it weren’t so busy all the time, honestly, I’d do my pictures inside sometime.

Sometime, perhaps, when I manage to make it home sometime before 9:00 at night.

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!

Skirt: Zara

Top: The LOFT

 

August 11, 2017 – Team Edward FTW (OOTD #85)

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Finally got my scraggly bleach-damaged ends snipped off.

I love getting my hair cut – I really ought to have it done more often. It’s amazing what a difference it can make, lightening up the weight of your hair and making it look more healthy, even when it’s in as sad of a state as mine.

Today’s outfit was rather simple: just a blazer, a shirt and a pair of leggings. It’s made more interesting though by the billowy sleeves of the shirt, which pop out from under the jacket and add some extra drama. It was a lazy day for me in terms of fashion, since I had to go to work early in the morning I opted for comfort over style, but I found that I was still able to add a little detail like that to keep from being too boring.

After work, I had to rush home to entertain some friends for the evening. I arrived at 5:00 to begin cooking and told them to arrive to arrive at 5:30, banking on the fact that they’d arrive around 5:45 since they’re teenagers and we’re a perpetually late bunch (I know I am).

And thankfully, they were! I mean, normally tardiness is a little annoying, but I knew I was going to be late with cooking dinner anyway, so it was better that they were late too. Yay for poor time management skills?

We’d selected three movies for the evening – School of Rock, Twilight, and The Brave Little Toaster – and we made it through all but the last. It was particularly amusing because Zach had never seen Twilight while Amanda apparently used to watch it once a week as a kid, making for an interesting experience of Zach looking confused and Amanda spouting out random trivia about each scene.

In the end though, we all agreed – Team Edward FTW. Not that it really matters anymore, since the Twilight phenomenon is thankfully a thing of the past, but Jacob’s character is just so much less developed, especially in the first move. Edward’s hardly Mr. Personality either, but he’s a superpowered vampire with My Chemical Romance levels of self-hatred, so that earns him some points. Plus, Robert Pattinson’s cuter.

Wait…why am I even going on about Twilight in 2017?

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!

Jacket: Forever21

Shirt: The LOFT

August 4, 2017 – I Don’t Even Like Donuts (OOTD #82)

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No, really – I don't.

I've tried over and over again to like them. Every time I see a donut, I think to myself: look at that adorable little thing – it's like a cake bagel with icing. How can that go wrong? And every time I try one, I get three bites into it and then think: oh, that's right. Donuts are heavy and greasy and I don't like them. 

The only donut I've ever really enjoyed come from McMillans Bakery in Westmont, New Jersey. They've got these amazing cream-filled ones that are delicious and gooey and don't really even taste like conventional donuts  - and maybe that's why I like them. They don't even have holes in the center like donuts are supposed to, but I don't really care because they're just so good.

So why am I rambling about donuts? Well, Jane's friend, Kristen, invited the two of us to go with her to a donut shop in downtown Louisville that she had discovered during a music festival, and even though I don't like donuts, I'm always down to going out to eat in new places in unfamiliar cities. She picked us up around noon and drove us (blasting Selena Gomez all the while) to this little place called Nords Bakery, and wow, am I glad I agreed to go.

I did eat a donut while I was there – original, with a strawberry glaze – but that wasn't what I enjoyed best. It was the décor of the place – bright pinks and yellows covering the exterior, sprinkles on the door, and a big window in front of our table with beautiful afternoon lighting streaming in – that really impressed me.

Needless to say, I had a field day taking photos of my friends and myself sitting around the table.

I like Jane and Kristen. They're not weird about having photos taken of them, and better yet, they were happy to take photos of me and my outfit. It makes me wish I still lived near them or was going to the same college in the fall so we could take cute photos together all the time.

Speaking of which, here's to hoping I can find someone who's willing to take my pictures for my fashion blog once I get to Notre Dame! Fingers crossed that my roommates don't think I'm weird and super-narcisstic…?

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!

Dress: Vintage

Scarf: The Metropolitan Museum of Art's gift shop

Shirt: The LOFT

 

July 30, 2017 – Yay Adoption (OOTD #78)

Published on by lensembledujour12 Comments

Odd title, I know, but I mean it – yay for adoption!

On Sunday, my parents and I went out for lunch in celebration of Gotcha Day – the day my parents "got" me from China.

I don't believe I've mentioned this before, but I was adopted from Hunan, China when I was a few months old. I mean, I guess you probably could've figured that – it is a white dude who's in my Father's Day photos - but I haven't discussed it formally. Not that I personally think there's much to discuss; it's not like I remember anything about China or my birth parents, and I've always considered myself much more American than Chinese, or even Chinese-American.

So in general, my adopted-ness plays very little role in my everyday life. The exception of course is Gotcha Day, my family's little celebration of, basically, the fact that we are a family. We usually go out to eat, and my parents get me a little gift; it's not unlike a mini birthday party. My grandmother sometimes joins us too. It's just a nice little way for us to bond, and of course, a nice little excuse for us to eat out.

This year, we ate out at Bella Notte, one of my favorite restaurants in all of Lexington. I adore Italian, and this is probably the best Italian I've ever had outside of Little Italy in New York. Everything tastes so fresh and flavorful, the décor is stylish and charming, and I don't even feel badly about eating the pasta with heavy cream sauce – it's that good. My dad and I always get the family-size Penne Gorgonzola to share, and we can nearly finish it off.

After lunch, we went out and did some shopping for my dorm room. There wasn't a lot we could get, since I haven't seen my room yet and don't really know how much space I've got, but I did pick out some nice sheets and a duvet cover. I'll have to do a Saturday Musings + Coffee post about it sometime and show it all off to you guys; I'm definitely excited about it all!

I know this is kind of a short post, but I think I'm going to end it here. Thanks again to my parents for being super cool and also making it so that I didn't spend the rest of my life in a Chinese orphanage!

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!

Top: Unknown (thrifted)

Pants: The LOFT

Scarf: American Eagle

July 25, 2017 – When You Forget Your Sunglasses (OOTD #74)

Published on by lensembledujour2 Comments

I've had a blog about forgetting a shirt, and now it looks like I've got one about forgetting my sunglasses.

You wouldn't think sunglasses would be as big of a deal as a shirt – I, as a female, cannot really go out without a shirt on, especially not to work. But for me, doing this fashion blog thing and taking photos of my outfit every day, sunglasses are a huge thing, sometimes being just as necessary as a a shirt.

Sunglasses obscure my eyes, which, for me, are my biggest problem when it comes to getting good smiling photographs. I'm Asian, so the plane of my face is rather flat, with my eyes being on the same level as my nose bridge and cheekbones, causing my eyelid creases to change shape depending on the day as they're not created by depth in my facial structure. This means that when I smile and my eyes scrunch up, my eyelids might also change shape, sometimes causing my eyes to look smaller or even lopsided.

That's where sunglasses come in to cover that all up and save the day. Plus, you can wear sunglasses to hide the fact that you have no eye makeup on, meaning they're great for a lazy soul like myself. Good sunglasses can even hide a few pimples on your forehead.

So anyway, I forgot my sunglasses, and I had done no makeup because I assumed my sunglasses would be covering up half of my face. I didn't really want to do my pictures without sunglasses, but I also didn't want to skip on doing pictures at all, since I still had a blog-worthy outfit (or as blog-worthy as a typical hardware store work outfit gets for me).

Luckily, in the car were my father's old sunglasses. I put them on and they were…less than flattering, but they did the job of covering my makeup-less face, and that's all I needed them to do.

In other news, I really need to have my hair redone. Look at those roots, haha! I'm trying to hold off because I want my color to look fresh for when I move off to college, but it's definitely getting a bit messy looking. I'd originally planned on doing it before I went off to London, but…welp, coming from a girl who wears sunglasses, not because she's concerned about damaging UV rays, but because it means she can wear less makeup, it wan't likely I was going to muster up the motivation, yeah?

Looks like that's it for today, so 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: Target

Necklace: Forever21

Sweater: The LOFT

 

July 19, 2017 – My Archenemy, Poor Lighting (OOTD #69)

Published on by lensembledujour7 Comments

You know, apart from the cockroach in the Atlanta airport.

I didn't get off of work until 6 today, so it was probably 7:30 until I actually got around to getting the pictures of my outfit, meaning the natural lighting by that time was not quite ideal.

When I'm at home, one of my favorite locations to take photos is in front of my garage door, since it makes for a plain, stark background that my outfit can pop against. It's also excellent because the afternoon sun hits that part of my house in a really flattering way between about 3:00pm and 5:30pm – but not so much by the time 7:30 rolls around.

At 7:30, the sun is beginning to set, making for more direct lighting. Now, that's usually good thing, except that there's a tree in front of my house, so direct sunlight means that the tree casts odd shadows in front of the garage door. Depending on the day, those shadows can either be very interesting, or, in the case of today, just a little awkward.

But that's what happens when you dedicate yourself to taking photos of your outfit everyday! Sometimes you get lovely lighting, fun backgrounds, and a good photographer, and sometimes the lighting is off, the background is boring, and your photographer is whatever random person walking down the street looks like they'd be willing to take a picture or two of you (not the case today – it was my father, who is arguably the best photographer I've ever had for this website!)

As for today's outfit, I think I picked it out about two minutes before I had to rush out the door to get to work. Work outfits always have to put practicality first, since I can be on my feet for a pretty long time, so there was no artistic layering or 6-inch heels going on here – just a simple pair of pattered pants and a plain top. My hair's in a bun because it's been an embarrassingly long time since I last washed it, and, as the updo very clearly allows you to see, an even longer time since I did my roots, ha!

Looks like that's it for today, so 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!

Top: Forever21

Necklace: J. Crew

Pants: Ann Taylor LOFT

 

July 8, 2017 – Unconventional Pride Outfit (OOTD #62)

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London: Day 4


We told ourselves we were going to give ourselves a “relaxed” day today – it wasn’t. Now, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t still fun – but relaxing? You could probably cross that off the list of descriptive words.


We began by heading over to Waltham Abbey, a small, historic town just about 15 minutes away from Broxbourne. Amanda and I agreed, it was one neat little area. The oldest towns in America are only a couple hundred years old because, of course, our country is also only a couple hundred years old, but this, this just made Jamestown and Plymouth look like children. The church has been around since 1030 (or so the Wikipedia article says), and every building in town oozes with antiquity.


After walking around a bit there, we were dropped off at the station to catch a train into London….only to find out after Sue drove away that the Waltham Abbey station was closed. It was whatever, we were able to walk over to another one that was open, but it was 20 minutes of stress in my life I didn’t need.


We had originally wanted to go back to Oxford Street today, but, as we found out, the Pride Festival was going on in that area, so it was closed. That didn’t phase us though – we decided to go to Pride then, instead.

Since we didn’t know we’d be going, we didn’t have any rainbow attire, so we might’ve looked kind of out of place, but it was so packed and crowded, I doubt anyone was paying attention since the number one priority for most people was just to stay standing. I’m used to crowds, and I don’t mind them, but this was bad. There were moments I couldn’t move, I was so smushed up against other people. I’m sure they had really tight security, given everything that’s gone on in London in the least year, but it was an excellent place for a terrorist attack.


We got a few photos and decided to get out of there quickly.


After that, we hit up Buckingham Palace. We didn’t get to see the inside or anything, but the outside was enough. It was stately – beautiful, grand, and kind-of cold. I’m glad we saw it – it’s arguably one of the most British things in all of England, and as a tourist, it was fun to see – but it’s not like a museum you got to walk around. We got our photos, and within 20 minutes, we were done.


In my opinion – the best kind of tourist site!


Last on the agenda was to get some food and drink at a pub. We opted for this old one called The Camel, which, let me tell you, had the most delicious chicken pie I’ve ever tasted. I also bought a pint of ale, which I managed to get through maybe 3/4 of. The more I drank, the more I liked it – or, rather, tolerated it. I’m not an ale person, apparently.


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: Forever21

Bralette: Aerie

Pants: the LOFT

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

Published on 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

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

Published on 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.

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

Shorts: PacSun

Sweater: Ann Taylor LOFT