Tag: vintage

December 6, 2018 – I Heart Repeated Titles (OOTD #418)

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I was about to title this “I heart Santa” but apparently, I titled a blog that the last time I wore this sweater. 

I like this sweater, but it’s not really me, you know? I got it from a friend for a Secret Santa exchange and…don’t tell her, but I don’t think I would have bought it for myself. I’m happy to wear it because I have it now, but it’s not my style to declare my love for someone on the front of my shirt, even if that someone is Santa.

Santa’s just the OG sugar daddy. Change my mind.

You might notice a new on-campus location with this blog! In fact, it is somewhere new. I took these photos right after I got out of my French oral exam, which was probably my most stressful final exam. Speaking to someone for a whole 30 minutes in French? Without stuttering and staring blankly at my professor when I realize I have nothing to say? I can barely do that in English!

Anyway, after my exam got out, all I really wanted was to walk around for a little to decompress. I had just finished up all of my classes for the semester, and even though I had plenty more finals to worry about still, they weren’t coming for several more days. I had time to relax.

So after I escaped my professor’s office, I went for a walk. I decided I wanted to go somewhere I’d never been before on campus to see if I couldn’t scope out some new photo locations, and I happened on this little courtyard by the business school.

I’m pretty sure all the business students could see me posing and taking pictures though a window as I stood there like an idiot outside in the courtyard without a coat on, but if they did, they probably forgot about it by now. That’s my preferred way of comforting myself when I realize someone’s seen me taking pictures of myself. Most people probably forget that they saw some random girl posing and using a camera remote to take pictures of herself for her fashion blog within a few hours, so there’s no reason to feel embarrassed.

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: Secret Santa exchange

Skirt: Vintage (thrifted)

December 4, 2018 – Pop Punk Christmas (OOTD #416)

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Is this punk? I’ve got my Docs on. That makes something punk, right?

Or at least, if it’s not punk, it’s pop punk — a slightly more mainstream and easily digestible version of the real thing. That’s a pretty accurate description of me. It’s also a description of my music taste.

I can’t believe it took me this long to think to pair my Docs with this dress. I mean, a dress purchased at a vintage shop in Shoreditch, the most hipster neighborhood of London, plus Doc Martins, the most British (though technically German) punk-looking shoes to exist? How did I not see the connection?

Anyway, I finally saw the connection with this outfit. And I threw on my vintage Christmas jacket purchased at last year’s Christmas sweater market for emphasis.

As much as I love this dress, it’s one of the most unflattering pieces in my closet to photograph. I have to be really careful of how I pose and at what angle I’m being shot at. These were the best pictures that I took, and being honest, they still don’t necessarily make me look the best. I mean, I’m a small, skinny person, and yet in photos, this dress makes me look like I have a beer belly.

I’m happy to let you see it though. The one thing I never edit in my photos is the actual shape of my features. Just goes to show that photos can make you look great — or not-so-great — at different times.

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!

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Dress: Vintage (thrifted)

Shoes: Doc Marten

November 23, 2018 – Beginning To Look A Lot Like… (OOTD #413)

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…Christmas! This blog will start like fall and end like Christmas.

The day after Christmas — Black Friday — is officially the day I start listening to Christmas music. It’s been a tradition of mine since back in middle school, when Black Friday actually meant something, and my dad and I would go out shopping late at night/early in the morning. Once the clock struck midnight, I’d get out my iPod (or iPhone, depending on what year it was) and start listening to Christmas music.

Anyway, Black Friday doesn’t really mean much anymore, since it seems the sales aren’t even that great anymore, and — the worse offense — stores don’t even hold weird late night hours. That was the fun of the whole experience! It was so cool getting to wake up at 2AM to go shopping at 3, and then get breakfast on the way home when it was all over.

That era of Black Friday shopping seems to be over, sadly. I still like to go out, but usually just in the afternoon. I still like seeing the crowds. For as much of an introvert as I am, I like navigating crowds, assuming I don’t have to wait in long lines.

This set of photos was taken by my father while we were at the mall, and they’ll likely be the last set of fall-themed pics I post this year on this blog. From this point on, I’ll be making an effort to do Christmas- and winter-themed outfits.

Like these Christmas- and winter-themed pics here! Yep, these are all from the same day, just later at night. Some friends and I went out driving to check out the neighborhood’s Christmas decorations, and this house always goes all out. They went so all out that some photography seemed to be in order.

Shout out to my buddy Zach for getting these. He did a pretty good job, admittedly. Art students, am I right?

Jacket: Forever21

Sweater/skirt set: Vintage (Thrifted — Street Scene Vintage)

Shoes: Doc Marten

November 21, 2018 – Short Girl, Tall Grass (OOTD #411)

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I love to get pictures in this spot at the park by my home.

If you’ve been keeping track, I’ve used this location for photos many times — here and here, for example. Perhaps you’ve also noticed that the photos from the two linked blogs are definitively summer- and winter-themed. It makes sense then that this one is so fall-themed, right?

There’s something about standing in the tall grass that makes a photo look adventurous and whimsical. Throw a dramatic filter on top of that, and you’ve got a background worth a Lord of the Rings elf cosplay.

Realistically, though, I suppose I’m more of a hobbit than an elf. I’m short, lazy, and like to eat. Just call me a Baggins.

I suppose I also like the tall grass because there is no tall grass on Notre Dame’s campus. Why would there be? It’s a university campus, where everything, including the landscaping, is always neat and manicured. You hardly even see leaves on the ground in the fall.

So when I go to a park that has more “natural”-looking landscaping, even if it is only a little patch of unmowed grass around a small wetland, it’s a welcome sight. It’s little things like that that I hardly notice that I miss when I’m at school, but that I realize I really appreciate when I go home.

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. 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!

Dress: Target

Sweater: Vintage (thrifted: Street Scene Vintage)

Shoes: Target

November 2, 2018 – Leaf Me Alone (OOTD #402)

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Look at those golden trees!  Look at them doing that!

But uh…don’t look at me standing outside in the middle of campus by myself taking pictures of my outfit with my phone.

I actually had several people walk past me as I took those photos. I never know what to do when that happens. Do I make eye contact? Do I just keep gong as if nothing happened?

The answer, or at least the one I’ve come to in my experience, is simply to stop what I’m doing and look at my phone. If it looks like I’m too distracted to realize that someone’s judging me, they’re clearly not judging me, right? Then I glance around to see if anyone else is coming through, and if not, I go back to taking pictures.

Inevitably, someone else comes around again, and I have to put my photography on pause again.

That’s why I liked taking pictures in the art studios of Riley so much. Almost no one came around to bother me, and I never had to risk the awkward moment of a stranger coming by and wondering why I was taking pictures of myself at 1AM. But since I don’t have an art class this semester, my 24 hour card access was revoked, and I can’t just hang out at Riley late at night anymore.

Instead, I had to learn how to take pictures of myself outside, where there are many more strangers to happen upon me and judge me. Whenever I think I’ve gotten over myself, I remember how weird having a daily fashion blog can appear to people who don’t know me, and I feel awkward again.

Somehow, I’m still here though. I guess slight social anxiety hasn’t gotten the best of me yet.

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. 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!

Jacket: Thrifted

Dress: Vintage (thrifted)

October 29, 2018 – Mad Mod (OOTD #399)

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Up next in blog titles with Meilin: blog titles named after Teen Titans villains.

I got this dress as a part of my trip to Nepal. It’s one of the last purchases I made before I went home — but it actually wasn’t purchased in Nepal. It was actually purchased in Bucktown, Chicago.

I wound up with a nine hour layover in O’Hare before I was allowed to fly back home to Kentucky. Initially, I was going to just wait it out in the airport, but after some advice from a friend, I decided to make something out of my nine hours and head out into the city for a few hours. While there, I came across a few vintage shops — my only weakness — and I bought this dress.

It actually came with a matching hat, but I haven’t come up with a way yet to wear it without looking super costume-like. Stay tuned to see if a green and yellow hat makes an appearance on this blog.

I am a big fan of the dress by itself, though. It’s vintage and 60’s-like — my two favorite adjectives to describe clothing. If you got rid of the racism and sexism and lack of WiFi, I would absolutely transport myself back to the 60s. I could start a ladies’ fashion journal instead of a blog.

By the time the early 2000’s rolled around, L’ensemble du jour would already be a huge name fashion news source. I’d get in on the big dotcom bubble of the late 90s, and I’d be set for life.

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!

October 14, 2018 – The Marvelous Ms. Meilin (OOTD #392)

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I’ve been watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime, and let me say — it’s got a great visual style.

Actually, by “I’ve been watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” I mean, I’ve seen the first episode. I’m not very good at actually watching television shows. I usually tend to begin them and then never find the time to continue them, even if I enjoy the first episode. 

With The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel though, I think I may actually continue  watching. Not only was the plot interesting, but like I said, the 1950s aesthetic was really gorgeous. 

I’m a sucker for historical fashion (being a history major, and all), and I’m always happy to incorporate some vintage pieces into my wardrobe. Case in point: this outfit.

I don’t know what era this dress actually comes from, but I could imagine it as something from the 50s. I know it’s not — it’s Don von Furstenburg, who didn’t come to popularity until the mid-70s — but with my coat, I feel like it evokes a late-50s vibe anyway. 

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Speaking of vintage, this coat is also practically vintage, at least in terms of my ownership of it. It’s probably the piece in my wardrobe that’s been in my possession the longest. If I remember correctly, I’ve had it since third grade — and even then, I bought it used off of a friend’s older sister. Who knows how old it really is.

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just some colorFALL leaves

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It was too big for me for several years, and by the time I grew into it, I’d stopped growing altogether. Hence, I still keep it in my wardrobe for days like these when it just really ties together an outfit. It doesn’t happen often, but when I do need it, I’m grateful that I have it. 

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 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!

Dress: Diane Von Furstenberg (vintage)

Coat: Rothschild (thrifted) 

October 5, 2018 – Elementary, My Dear (OOTD #388)

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I was honestly shocked that I’ve never used that blog title before.

I feel I’ve made most of the popular English culture references at this point, but as it turns out, I haven’t made this reference yet (though I came rather close here). I surprise myself a little everyday.

Today’s blog title is inspired by my roommate, who, upon seeing this outfit, declared that I looked like an elementary school teacher. Interestingly, this is the same roommate who said the other day that my outfit made me look like I was getting ready for Oktoberfest.

In both cases, I can’t really argue with her. While elementary school teacher wasn’t really my goal with this outfit, I’m not against the look either. I know for a fact that realistically, I would be a terrible elementary school teacher, so seeing as I will never be one, I’m happy to dress up like one.

I’m not sure how many elementary school teachers would match leopard print and plaid, but more power to those who do.

Actually, for a few years as a kid, I wanted to teach second or third grade. I don’t know why, though. I don’t remember being any good with younger kids when I was a kid, and I don’t remember being particularly interested in teaching people things either. Honestly, I think I just thought it would be an easy job that would still allow me to have summer vacations. I know now, of course, that teaching is actually quite difficult (and quite underpaid) — and hence, I will never teach, even for the summer vacation.

But maybe if I continue to impersonate an elementary school teacher with loafers, plaid, and tea-length skirts, I’ll get summer vacations anyway, even if I don’t go into education. Worth a shot, right?

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 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!

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Top: Francesca’s

Skirt: Vintage (thrifted)

September 29, 2018 – Washing Machine Queen (OOTD #384)

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This may be the most discordant collection of locations I’ve ever included in a blog.

First up, we’ve got some photos from the laundry room. That’s right: I posed with a washing machine for my fashion blog.

I’ve seen some Instagrammers get some really cool shots in laundromats, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Turns out, the laundry room in my dorm has some really flattering lighting. Who’d have thought?

Fun fact: the washing machine I’m sitting on here was actually running while I was doing these photos, meaning it was vibrating underneath me as I sat on it. That was a little weird. I’ve never had my fashion photograph backgrounds vibrate before.

After the washing machine photos, I have a few with this blue gate by the architecture building. How did I wind up at a blue gate by the architecture building? I saw it as I happened to go by, and I thought it’d make for a good background. I don’t know. Sometimes you just gotta jump on the good backgrounds, even if you’ve already gotten pictures for the day.

What’s next? Well, it was game day, so it was on to the game. I was a little concerned that I hadn’t gotten any game-related photos in my game outfit, so I decided to get even more photos outside of the stadium. Did I need them? No. Did I get them anyway?

Well…yes.

The moral of the story is that there was no point to me getting so many photos today because I wasn’t able to use them all, and I now I have a lot of photos on my phone that  I don’t know what to do with. As much as I like getting varied backgrounds for my OOTD pics, sometimes, the varied backgrounds don’t connect. And that makes for a rather disjointed blog post.

But on the plus side, I found two cool locations — the laundry room and the blue gate by the architecture building — that could potentially make for good backgrounds for future blog posts. So I suppose it wasn’t a total waste.

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 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!

Jacket: Chaps (thrifted)

Top: Notre Dame bookstore

Pants: vinage (thrifted)

September 9, 2018 – Travel Travesty (OOTD #370)

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For part one of my September Chicago adventures, click here.

Previously, on L’ensemble du jour: Amanda and I went into Chicago to see a Fall Out Boy concert, and it was a pretty good day. We didn’t get lost, didn’t encounter any horrific traffic, and we got to see all tourist-y spots we wanted to. As travels go, it was about as struggle-free as an adventure could be.

So the next day, we woke up at our AirBnB and prepared to depart. We were on a slight time crunch, as I had a mandatory attendance class (plant class, actually, which I discuss here) that met at 1:00PM, and I needed to be back for it. So by 9:30AM, we were all set to go. We left the keys on the coffee table, and walked out to the car.

This, of course, is where everything fell apart.

First, the car door wouldn’t open. Upon examining the key fob, we came to the conclusion that it must be out of battery, and thus, it wouldn’t open the electronic lock. Okay, whatever, we’d just take out the physical key and start the car that way, right? Engineers plan for these sorts of emergencies; there’s no way a dead car key battery should stop a person from starting a car.

Well, apparently, the engineers of the Toyota Prius did not plan for this sort of emergency. The physical key let us open the door and get inside, but it would not allow us to start the car. After frantically consulting Google, the manual, and Amanda’s parents (multiple times), we realized that the only solution would be to get a new battery for the key.

Fine. So we walk down to the nearest convenience store, buy the battery and some screwdrivers, and scuttle back to the Prius. By now, we’ve wasted over an hour, and I’m wondering whether I could actually make my plant class. But optimistically, I figured the new car key battery would work, and that we’d be fine. It’d be a little tight, and we wouldn’t be able to get breakfast on our way home like we’d hoped, but at least I’d make it back on time.

Except, of course, the new battery did not solve our problems. The only new development after we replaced the battery was that now, instead of dead silence when we tried to start the car, the dreaded “check engine” light dinged on.

With few options left, Amanda decided to try calling a mechanic to jump the car. We had to wait an hour for him to come (during which time I took these photos in the neighborhood), but finally, like the Messiah, he came to deliver us from our suffering. For whatever reason, jumping the car worked, and while neither Amanda nor I could think of a reason why the car battery had died, or what that had to do with the dead key fob, neither of us really cared. Crossing our fingers that the car wouldn’t decide to die again while we were on the highway, we sped off back to Notre Dame.

By the time I got back to campus, I had never before been so glad to see the stupid Golden Dome and the Jesus statue on God Quad. I missed my botany class, but after frantically emailing my professor, she agreed to let me make up the class. In celebration, I took these photos on God Quad, just to prove that I made it back.

In conclusion, if you have uncharacteristically good luck for part of your travels, don’t expect to have the same good luck for the rest of it. In fact, expect to have bad luck — life likes to balance itself out that way. Like the time I got first class on my flight to London and then got trapped in Atlanta for two days on my flight home, no adventure is complete without a mild disaster. That’s what makes it an adventure.

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 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!

Jacket: thrifted

Sweater: Forever21

Skirt: Forever21