thrift – Page 19 – L'ensemble du jour

June 15, 2018 – Let’s Go Down to the Tennis Court (OOTD #303)

Published on June 29, 2018June 29, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

…and talk it out like yeah?

I absolutely had to Google the lyrics to that (“Tennis Court” by Lorde, by the way) because I haven’t heard that song since like, 2014 when I was a freshman in high school. Freshman me probably would have been ashamed that I didn’t remember it, but what can I say? It’s been years since “Tennis Court” frequented pop radio, and it’s been even more years since I regularly listen to pop radio.

I had a brief Lorde phase after “Royals” came out when I would listen to the whole of Pure Heroine almost everyday while I did my Algebra II homework; it was a good studying album. I still really like a few of the songs, like “Love Club” and “Buzzcut Season,” and leave them in my Apple Music’s shuffle rotation. Melodrama was also a solid album, and also made for good studying music.

I’ve always wanted to do a proper tennis court photoshoot, but this impromptu one that mom did for me as we walked the dog through the park will have to do for now, at least until I’m back in the US. You’ll have to excuse the slightly messy hair texture — like I said, I was out walking the dog with my mom, and it was pretty warm out.

I keep a Pinterest board for Instagram ideas, where I’ve seen a lot of really cute tennis court fashion photography that really cleverly uses the vibrant colors of the court as a background. Maybe once I get back to the US, I’ll drag Amanda out and make her take pictures with me.

In more exciting news, I arrived in Nepal a few hours ago! In else exciting news, I won’t go into much detail with the Nepal adventures now because I’m sure I’ll have a full blog dedicated to that later this month. Rest assured, after 27 hours of traveling, I made it!

The jet lag is beginning to kick in though, so I think I ought to try to get some sleep. It’s about 5:30 AM here, and while I got a little sleep earlier in the night, it really wasn’t as much as I should have gotten. Whoops.

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: Target

Top: Pitaya

Jeans: American Eagle 9thr

June 13, 2018 – Warm Colors on a Warm Day (OOTD #302)

Published on June 28, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujour5 Comments

Perhaps the most common criticism I hear about my fashion sense is that no matter the season, I always dress like it’s fall.

Take this outfit for example — I don’t remember exactly what the temperature was the day I wore this, but given the fact that it was mid-June in Kentucky, it’s safe to say it was hot and humid. Even if it wasn’t as hot and humid as usual, it was still hot and humid.

And yet there I was — wearing a knee-length jacket and a long-sleeve sweater. The skirt and the platform wedges give hint to the reality that it was probably 85 degrees out and sunny, but on the whole, the outfit reads more as 65 degrees and overcast.

Interestingly though, fall is not my favorite season — as mentioned many times here on this blog, that distinction goes to winter, no doubt about it. Fall is second-favorite for me, though. I like the changing leaves and the cooler temperatures, but I just like the snow and the cold even better. Plus, winter allows you to bust out the heavy coats and scarves — I love layering, which you can do in fall, but not to the same extent you can in winter.

That would make summer, with its stifling heat that prohibits anything but the most basic layering, my least favorite season. In fact, I am so deeply not a fan of summer, that I usually choose to ignore the weather, and dress however I want — and since wearing a winter coat in the summer would might give rise to enough suspicion to let a cop do a warrantless search, that usually ends up being a summer-winter hybrid. So, fall.

The thing is, though, that I’m always comfortable. I work indoors, I go to school indoors, and whenever I do something that involves being outdoors for more than a few minutes, I do dress appropriately for the weather. It’s all about dressing for the environment you’re in.

The rest is about suffering the heat without complaint too much and bringing lots of blotting papers.

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Top: thrifted

Skirt: Forever21

July 11, 2018 – Outfit and Blog Do Not Relate (OOTD #301)

Published on June 27, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

I’m headed out of the country in less than 24 hours!

This time tomorrow, I should be on a plane headed to Abu Dhabi, UAE, en route to my final destination Kathmandu, Nepal.

Exciting, right? Well, maybe the Kathmandu part, but not so much the traveling portion. I’ll be stuck in the Chicago O’Hare (hey, at least it’s not Midway!) for like, six hours before getting on my plane to Abu Dhabi for seventeen hours. Then I have to wait there for another three hours, and then fly to Kathmandu for four hours. I think we calculated it last night, and I have 27 total hours of transit time before I finally touch down in Nepal at 9pm local time on Friday? Yike.

I’ve been working on packing all day today, and at the very least, I have a lot of exciting Nepal-appropriate outfits to show you guys while I’m there! Hopefully, one of the other students there will be comfortable to take my photos. I don’t know any of them really, but I’m sure we’ll all have to play photographer for each other at one point or another — I just…you know, usually need someone to play photographer for me more often than most.

But that has nothing to do with the outfit I’m posting pictures of here, does it? Well…no. That’s the drawback of posting these OOTDs with a several day-delay — it protects me for days when I don’t feel like dressing up and taking pictures, but it hurts when I have something exciting in my life that I’m not able to write about for until days after it happens.

In truth, I’m not sure when my first Nepal-related blog will go live, since I don’t know how soon after I arrive I’ll be able to start taking OOTD photos, but hopefully, it shouldn’t be long. Most of the time I’m there, I’ll be doing school-related work, which might not be super exciting, but I will have a few field trips with the group, so I should definitely get some good pictures then.

Next time I write to you guys, it’ll actually probably just be me sitting in the O’Hare airport waiting to board my Abu Dhabi-bound plane. Wish me luck, and pray that I don’t get trapped in the Atlanta airport for 48 hours like the last time I flew internationally!

Dress: vintage (thrifted)

June 5, 2018 – Four Years Later (OOTD #299)

Published on June 25, 2018June 26, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Storytime!

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, my mother and I were shopping at an outlet mall. The store, I believe, was Charlotte Russe, which is a brand I’m pretty sure I haven’t shopped much since.

We were looking for a dress for me for my sophomore year Fall Formal. It was my first formal dance in ever (excluding father-daughter dances when I was really young), and I was determined to find something perfect. This was my first big high school dance, and I was excited for it.

I had a vision in mind of how I wanted to look, but I knew that it wasn’t really practical. 2014, if you’ll remember, was the era when the faux nude Elie Saab dresses were all the rage on the runway and on haute couture Pinterest boards. I mean, they’re still pretty big, but back then, during my sophomore year, they were both wildly popular and wildly innovative and new. I wanted something that drew inspiration from Elie Saab gowns, but was still appropriate for a high school formal.

So, that day, when my mother and I happened upon a dress in the Charlotte Russe outlet with a high neck and lace detailing, I thought perhaps that that was the best I would be able to do. As much as I loved the lacy neck detail, though, I didn’t much like the style of the actual dress — it was a peplum, and, not that I had anything against peplums, but I thought it was a little boring for my first high school dance.

In other words, I wanted something with more impact. I put the dress back on the hanger, and resolved that I would buy it if nothing better came along before the dance.

As it turned out though, something did some along that I liked better — a red dress with similar faux nude lace detailing, but with a skater style skirt instead of the peplum. I don’t know if I would call it a showstopping hit, but I remember getting a lot of compliments on it.

So what’s the relevance of this story? The other day, in Goodwill, I happened upon a peplum top from Charlotte Russe of the exact same styling of the dress I had passed up in the outlet mall so many years ago. And even though the style was a few years old, I couldn’t resist picking it up, if just for the sake of staying I finally owned a high lace neck piece.

And that, four years later, is the end of the lacy high neck detail journey. I’m not sure if I really feel like I’ve become any better of a person at the end of this story, but at the very least, I now own a piece I always sort of regretted not purchasing. Yay closure?

Top: Charlotte Russe (thrifted)

Jeans: Abercrombie

June 1, 2018 – Parking Garage Three (OOTD #295)

Published on June 19, 2018September 19, 2019 by lensembledujour7 Comments

Once again, I found myself atop a parking garage rooftop.

This time, it was in Frankfort — and this time, I wasn’t seeking it out for any particular reason.

I had just gotten off from work at the State Capitol, and my dad was there to pick me up. Being a great dad and all, he offered to do my pictures for me for this blog (shout out to him for always being willing to do that, by the way), so we scanned the surrounding area to see what would make for a good background.

Not far from the parking lot where my dad parked outside of the Capitol building, was this parking garage rooftop. It wasn’t much to look at from a distance — just some flat concrete and scattered cars — but I was more drawn to the view from the edge.

Which, to be fair, also wasn’t much if you’ve lived in Kentucky for years and you’re used to seeing giant hills/mini mountains covered with greenery, like a giant mound of broccoli. Still, I thought the green would look nice with my outfit, and because of the distance, portrait mode would work well. Even though it wasn’t anything spectacular as Kentucky views go, I still like some of the shots with the trees in the background. I look like a blueberry on a bush with green leaves.

…on top of a giant grey concrete slab?

Interestingly, what I ended up liking better were these shots of me standing next to a plain blue wall and some green lattice. Just goes to show that sometimes the prettiest backgrounds aren’t actually the prettiest sights — what’s important is the composition of the shot, not what is actually visible in real life. Case in point — this.

One of these days, I really ought to do my shots inside the actual Capitol. We’ll see, maybe once I finally get my ID badge, I can let my dad in and we can do some photography in the rotunda without having to go through the security guard at the front door. I’ve been working here for a month now without getting my ID badge, though, so I’m not hopeful.

Tune in next week when my dad and I break into the Kentucky State Capitol! It’ll be epic.

Top: Anthropologie

Pants: unknown (thrifted)

May 29, 2018 – Playground Fashion (OOTD #294)

Published on June 18, 2018June 20, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

We’re getting awfully close to OOTD post #300, aren’t we?

My post upload schedule has been sketchy at best recently, but hey, at least it still exists! Just a few more days, and I think we’re due for OOTD #300. Amazing.

You know what’s not amazing? The 90+ degree weather we’ve been getting these last few days in Kentucky.

I know it’s summer, and I know it’s the South, and so I should really be used to this heat by now, but I’m just not.

I imagine the reason why I’m not used to the weather yet is because I insist upon dressing in turtlenecks in late May, even though it’s already oppressively hot and humid outside. Some little voice in my head tells me that that might be the reason why I can’t stand the heat, but I don’t pay attention to it. I mean, it can’t be my fault that I’m uncomfortable when I dress completely inappropriately for the weather, right?

In fairness, the office I work in during the day is pretty chilly, and I spent most of my time sitting or standing idly, so it doesn’t make sense to dress for summer weather in the way I might want to. I can freeze in my office or burn in the couple of moments when I have to go outside, so between the two, I’d rather brave the brief heat.

Besides, shaving every day is also a major hassle. But like…my unwillingness to do that every day definitely doesn’t have anything to do with dressing in long sleeves on hot days. Nope, no way.

Top: The LOFT (thrifted)

Skirt: Forever21

May 27, 2018 – Rustic Chic (OOTD #293)

Published on June 15, 2018June 20, 2018 by lensembledujour6 Comments

I feel like these shots are the personification of one of those trendy Pinterest crafts that shows you how to put a succulent into a mason jar and make it look cute.

Rustic chic is very trendy aesthetic right now, though I’m pretty sure it’s been trendy ever since I was in middle school, about ten years ago. Middle class white Americans everywhere seem to be in love with the repurposed but still charmingly rustic farm materials look, and just about every picture here reflects that.

It helps of course that most of them were taken at an actual farm — a horse farm, to be specific. My grandmother was visiting town, so we took her to an upscale vintage and antique market that was going on at the Kentucky Horse Park. There were mason jars and string lights and succulents everywhere; it was a Facebook mom’s dream.

Though I didn’t really buy much (just a plant — surprise, surprise), I did get some really pretty pictures. There was a sign outside that warned against taking pictures (I guess because they didn’t want you copying the vendors’ ideas?), but no one seemed to mind me wandering in and out of booths taking pictures whenever I saw a pretty arrangement of flowers.

And there were so many! It wasn’t just a Facebook mom’s dream; it was a fashion blogger’s. I wish I had brought several outfits along so I could do a real shoot and get more varied content for my Instagram feed; as it was though, I only had the one I wore. Unfortunate.

Fun fact, though — both my jacket and my dress here are vintage, just like the things for sale at this market! The jacket was originally part of a two-piece outfit with a long cream skirt, and the dress was originally much longer until it was shortened. I hadn’t thought of pairing them together before, and I felt pretty clever for making up an entire outfit of vintage pieces for this event.

If you’ll remember, I actually went to this event last year as well! Back then, I had long blonde hair and dressed in red, white, and blue for Memorial Day. Amazing what a year of difference makes, isn’t it? I am reconsidering going blonde again, though. We’ll see.

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Dress: Vintage (thrifted)

May 19, 2018 – Railroad Track Adventures (OOTD #287)

Published on June 8, 2018July 23, 2019 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

For part one of my May 19 adventures, click here.

I ended up wearing two different outfits on May 19 and going to several different locations, resulting in many photos, so I decided to split these blogs up.

Quick refresher: in part 1, Amanda and I went to the rooftop of a parking garage and took some photos with the University of Kentucky’s library in the background. It wasn’t quite the elusive downtown building we were searching for, but we figured it would do.

Well, similarly, these hiking shots along the train tracks and underneath the bridge weren’t quite what we were searching for either. Rather, we had hoped to do some hiking at Raven Run, which has some nice trails but is about a half an hour drive out from Lexington. We actually made it all the way there and drove up to the parking lot, just to realize that the park closed at like, six o’ clock, even though the sun wasn’t going to go down for hours.

So much for “trails close at sundown.”

Dejected but not defeated, we turned around and drove all the way back to Lexington for another half and hour, determined to find another place to live out our hiking dreams. We decided to walk around a different park, one that was a little less like hiking and more like strolling that we’d been to the previous summer.

We got some shots near some train tracks, and with some colorful graffiti that was in the tunnel under the train tracks, so it wasn’t a total loss. I just thought it was funny though that neither of our plans that day — hunting down the mythical downtown rooftop with views of the city and hiking at Raven Run — turned out the way they were supposed to.

It was all okay, though. We had fun, and afterwards, we ordered some Chinese and watched Deadpool to congratulate ourselves for achieving basically nothing we had set out to do.

Jacket: Adidas (thrifted)

Top: H&M

Hat: Notre Dame bookstore

May 17, 2018 – Zero for Two (OOTD #285)

Published on June 6, 2018September 11, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

This post is a day late and I’m posting May 17’s outfit after May 18’s — that’s two strikes against me.

Look, keeping up with a 90% daily fashion blog is hard. I do my best, but sometimes, it doesn’t work out. I hope you can forgive me 🙂

I really like how this outfit turned out. Once again, I’m rocking the sunglasses + sunhat look owing to summer laziness and a general lack of motivation to put on makeup. Still, I feel like they fit really well with the vintage vibe I get from this swingy skirt (which is actually vintage! It’s from a local flea market) — it makes me feel classy, like I’m too mysterious to reveal too much of my face.

In reality, of course, I just had a day that I didn’t feel fixing my hair and makeup since I was just hanging out at home by myself. I like to get dressed up for myself, but I’m not quite at the point where I’ll do a full face of makeup for no reason.

No Instagram makeup blogs for me, I guess.

In other news, look how great our Japanese Maple is doing! I like plants now, so I’m very proud of it. Even though I’ve been at school all year and have done literally nothing to contribute to its wellbeing. I still like to think it’s my presence that’s causing it to thrive.

Top: Thrifted

Skirt: Vintage (thrifted)

May 15, 2018 – Throwing Shade (OOTD #283)

Published on May 30, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

We’re getting pretty close to three hundred outfits of the day, aren’t we?

I surpassed my blog’s one year anniversary a month ago, but it still astounds me that this thing is still tooting along nearly three hundred outfit posts later. That of course doesn’t count Saturday Musings + Coffee or review posts, so in truth, I’m probably a little over three hundred posts already. Thanks for the continued support that keeps me motivated to continue writing.

Anyway, now that summer has begun (basically, at least — I guess the summer solstice isn’t for another month, but it’s basically hot enough here in Kentucky for me to consider it summer), I can feel justified wearing sunglasses again like 24/7!

I love sunglasses — it means I can put less effort into my face makeup. Since they cover my eyes and sometimes, my eyebrows, if I know I’m going to be in a place where I can just leave my shades on, I can do minimal or no makeup. And since I’m lazy and usually don’t have time to do a full face of makeup even if I wanted to, I am happy to take any opportunity to go minimal.

This outfit has a sunhat too — which means no hair to worry about either! Not that that’s really a problem for me anymore with my short hair, since there’s not really enough of it there to have a “bad hair day.”

Still, even ignoring their hair covering functionality, I rather like hats. They make me feel classy.

Dress: Forever21

Jacket: thrifted