Last week, I had the pleasure of partying with Lee Cooper Romania and celebrating the brand’s 110th birthday in a lovely atmosphere at Dialogue Social Bar, together with cool people, yummy food (of course I spent 70% of the time at the food bar, stuffing my face) and the amazing Lee Cooper denim & british-rock inspired pieces.
The brand’s new collection is fresh yet familiar, celebrating 110 years of existence through the classic, high-quality materials Lee Cooper is known for, with new cuts and colours that will suit everybody’s tastes.
All the pieces are cool (coats made with recycled plastic filling?? corduroy jackets with fluffy lining? sign me up), but my fave ones have to be the two cozy sweaters you’ll see in the pictures below <3
Happy birthday, Lee Cooper ❤️
xx Mara
I have been asked a lot where I get my inspiration from, and it’s always been Instagram! The explore page is my go-to place when I’m in need of some fresh outfit ideas, and it truly never disappoints. Here are a few cosy & comfy cold-weather looks that have been put together by the coolest gals on IG. Let me know which ones are your fave <3
@luanna
@mvb
“where do you get your clothes from?” “what are your favourite stores?” “do you shop online?” are some of the many questions I’ve been receiving since I started my instagram account, which is why I decided to finally make this blog post. yay for me being productive for once!
before getting into this, let me give you some background info: I live in Romania, which means that I don’t have stores such as Urban Outfitters, Brandy Melville, Topshop and many others. heck, Forever 21 opened its first store here last year! it kind of sucks, not gonna lie, and I know what you’re thinking: “well, Mara, you can order the clothes online from most of these stores” and yes, you are correct, but..
1. I don’t enjoy online shopping as much as actually going into the store, touching the materials, trying on the items and getting the full sensorial experience. call me old-fashioned if you will, but there’s nothing like hearing upbeat mainstream pop music through the speakers while you’re fighting other teenage girls in order to grab the last pair of jeans in your size;
2. shipping is usually super expensive & the value-added tax (VAT) is a thing. one of my least proud moments is ordering my favourite pair of boots which I’ve been drooling over for more than a year (Dr. Martens Jadon Boots) and ending up having to pay a third of the price in taxes & shipping. my wallet still has nightmares about it.
in conclusion, there are only two situations in which you will see me wearing clothes from online stores:
a) i receive them as a gift to promote them on instagram (case in which I don’t usually have to pay those annoying taxes);
b) i really really really love the item I’m seeing online and I feel like there’s nothing similar in any of the physical stores in my area, case in which I will order it even if the shipping is a bit more expensive;
When I do wear clothes I get online, 99% of them are from the following stores:
both offer a bunch of super cool brands & items you wouldn’t normally find in the nearest H&M. that being said, most of the items aren’t cheap, which is why I’m waiting to become a famous, worldwide-known blogger before replacing wardrobe with dollskill & goobyebread stuff.
moving on to the physical stores…
the places I shop at the most are definitely bershka, pull&bear, stradivarius and zara. most of my jeans (i’d say 90%) are from bershka, and most of my shoes (which aren’t vans or dr. martens) are from either zara or pull&bear. I shop here whenever I’m looking for super trendy pieces, clothes that I want to fit me perfectly or when I’m looking for something a bit fancier. bershka and pull&bear are also my go-to stores when I want some cute accessories or when I need an extra pair of fishnets.
I mentioned I shop at the above stores when I’m looking for ‘clothes that I want to fit me perfectly’ not because I’m usually into looking like I don’t know what my measurements are, but because lately, I’ve been super into thrift shopping.
I’ve been getting a ton of things from the thrift stores in my area, like for instance this super cool flame shirt that everyone’s been asking me about:
I’ve had the best luck finding amazing t-shirts and jackets in thrift stores and I definitely recommend thrift shopping if you’re on a budget, but also if you’re into cool finds at incredible deals;
of course, these are only the main places where I shop at. there are tons of great places where you can find cute clothes regardless of where you live, all you have to do is explore!
xx Mara
there’s plenty of blog posts about trips to Oslo on the internet, so instead of boring you with a bunch of paragraphs describing this incredible city (which wouldn’t be of much help, since words can’t do it justice), I’m just gonna tell you what stood out to me:
-recycling is a BIG deal; coming from a country that is only starting to catch up to this trend, I was taken aback by how careful Norwegian people are when it comes to sorting their trash. the place I stayed at had a super informative leaflet that listed exactly what I’m supposed to throw away and where, and supermarkets give you the trash bags for free. that blew my mind!
-everything is pretty frickin expensive! I was expecting that since the quality of life in Norway is also one of the highest, but actually seeing someone pay 10 euros for a beer was surreal;
-speaking of beer, alcohol is strictly regulated, so much that there are only a few special places where you can get alcoholic beverages;
-for every three normal cars, there’s a Tesla. seriously. I counted them;
-the streets are so clean and there are flowers and lovely green spaces and I haven’t seen one single stray animal! incredibly impressive, especially since I tend to compare every place I visit to my country, which has a pretty big problem when it comes to cleanliness;
-the people in Oslo don’t feel the cold. on my first day in the city, I was freezing my butt off in a sweater, a denim jacket, trousers, and boots. meanwhile, the girls and guys passing by were wearing skirts, dresses, and shorts. insane.
-almost everyone is super nice, helpful & proficient in English. we’ve had so many lovely Norwegians help us out when we were lost or simply looking for a certain place/clarifications and they made the entire experience so much better!
all in all, I loved it. I truly feel like Oslo is an amazing city to live in, a place which allows you to thrive and experience life in a different, calmer and more organized manner.
xx Mara
