Mary's Fashion Diary

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DSC_4652
Photo Credit: Cristian Alexandrescu Photography

Our second day in Paris was all about showcasing our project in the competition. Therefore, we spent all the day in the museum and arrived in our hotel room around 8 PM. What to do in such a short amount of time? Visit the Champs-Élysées Boulevard, famous for the shopping spots, cool places to eat and the flawless Christmas decorations. It was truly fortunate we got to visit it during the night and most of all, in December!! The view is breathtaking, although we took many photos of the street (from one end to another) , when I think of our walk a quote of Alan Furst comes to my mind:
"The best Paris I know now is in my head."

The shops were so perfect, there was magic in the air, but the streets are overcrowded, therefore taking a photo is almost impossible. Also quite an unattainble thing for us: the shops. Although there are many high street shops, you can only find their most expensive lines, I only had the heart to spend my money at Gap shopping for four members of my family, because it's their favourite shop. Now, I had to spoil myself as well so I went to Ladurée, because macarons are some of my favourite sweets and I've heard they're the best in the world in Paris. I waited in line for like 30 minutes, and I feel like it's the right place to thank Cristi one more time for agreeing to wait with me instead of walking around the boulevard. I bought 4 flavours: chocolate, raspberry, praline and coffee. What can I say about my Ladurée experience ?

1. The macarons are absolutely divine. I've heard that the Pierre Hermé ones are better, but how many times can you torture a guy while in Paris and in a crazy rush to wait for you?
2. I've eaten other macarons during my stay in Paris and also in Romania and I just can't compare them to Ladurée. Laduree has this special mix between smooth and crisp, just the right amount of filling, flawless shape.
3. Every single person who bought macarons took a picture in front of the shop , which I thought was so sweet so I asked Cristi to snap a photo of me with my Iphone.
4. Praline is absolutely my favourite flavour, I would go back to Paris just to stock on praline macarons!
5. I couldn't help myself and bought a golden/floral printed Ladurée notebook, which goes so great with my phone!
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London calling

Happy (belated) New Year everyone! I hope you're having a fresh start, I've been a weird mood lately, I kinda lack energy and I just feel it's something I can't quite control. What do I do when I feel like this? I blog about trends!

I told you in a previous post this New Year my friends and I chose comfort (jeans), but I still felt like I had to wear something festive. Therefore, I opted for a sequined sweater, which matched (unexpectedly) with my studded statement necklace and clutch. Studs and sequins- who knew? The footwear I chose brings me to the main topic for today: winter boots for teenagers.

There are two type of purchases teens make for the fall:
1. impossible high heels, which are excruciating to walk in during winter time (unless you live in LA- then you kinda don't need boots at all), but we still buy them because we want to look fabulous during winter as well and we think 'I can totally pull this off, I'm young so heels won't be a problem for me'. I've been down this road for two winters, I resigned and bought some UGGs to comfort my feet.

As your looking at my 3 inch wedges from Zara I bet you're thinking "She's done it again!". Believe me, I'm surprised to say it's not the case! Zara has been my favourite store for 5 years, but lately it disappointed me with all the masculine cuts and absolutely no emphasis on the waist, but on the hips. Okay, I get that's cool to look like you're from a Celine ad, but there are still some girls with curves out here (me!) who would like to buy some feminine clothes, and the section was almost inexistent in the last two seasons. Therefore, I banned myself (more precisely: my wallet) from my dream store. Until the 30th of December when I was in desperate need of some cool boots and it was the last store I hadn't checked.  I saw this perfect pair, I fell in love but then I thought: "Uh, they won't fit me, Zara shoes are always hard to wear for me!". But they felt like they were made for my feet and I couldn't tell they had a 7 cm heel. I checked the label to see if they're made from genuine leather and then it hit me: the price! I had to call my mom to lend me some money, because I just knew they were the right pair for me!

I guess that in the end you can actually find some impossibly high boots to walk in and feel great in them, but please make sure they're worth the money, or at least try to use a  6pm Coupon Code 2014 if you can order them online.

2. comfy, cool boots: They keep your feet happy and warm, and you can face a blizzard wearing them. The problem is it's hard to find this type of boots in a fashionable form. Brands like Sorel specialize on this type of footwear so I believe this Sorel Coupon Code 2014 can come in handy if you're still looking for the perfect winter boots.

Details of my look:  I'm even matching with my Iphone 5S, I must have a thing for gold and nude tones! Everything is ZARA (I know I said I haven't shopped there much in the last two seasons, but still , 80% of my closet is Zara)
sequinss
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DSC_4614
Photo Source: Cristian Alexandrescu Photography

2014 is so close!!! I hope you'll have a marvellous time and that you already have you resolutions list prepared. I'll be spending the New Year's Eve with some lovely people and a special dress code: denim! I know, wearing jeans is so weird on this occasion, but if we are to be honest, I think it's pretty awesome I start a new year wearing what I usually choose on a regular basis. All I want for 2014 is to be just as fabulous as 2013 has been: I finally chose the college that's right for me(hopefully I will get in there in July), I took my driver's license, I turned 18, I received the most incredible gifts , I had the opportunity to visit Paris!

Back to Paris, this is my second post about it, where I promised to tell you the story about what I visited on my first day there. After we saw Pont Alexandre III and Place des Invalides, we took the RER and arrived at the Orsay Museum. I'm totally in love with impressionism, so you can imagine this museum was simply heaven for my eyes! You might know from my old posts I read a lot of books about Vincent Van Gogh's life and art and seeing so many paintings in the same room almost brought tears to my eyes. Never have I felt so connected to a form of art, his technique is flawless and I always get so emotional when I think that the only one who supported him while he lived was his younger brother, Theo. Then there was the pointillism dedicated room, obviously filled with painting from the emblematic master Georges Seurat. Other cool thing is that now I can tell the difference between a Monet and a Manet and I can understand the hype around Cezanne's apples. The architecture of the museum is incredible, as it used to be the first train station in Paris (are you familiar with the movie Hugo?).Overall, the Orsay Museum was one of my favourite sights, and should I ever return to Paris, I will spend a whole day there because we were in a severe lack of time when we visited it.

After the museum, we took the RER once again and went to ÃŽle-de-France, where there are so many sights it overhelms you! One thing about the RER: You save a lot of time, which is amazing, but the system is confusing, unlike the METRO. Knowing French really came in handy because we had to ask a couple times to make sure we were at the right line. First we went to Notre Dame de Paris, it's definitely worth seeing at night because the lights are magical. It's a truly imposing building, with an incredible architecture. We walked by Palais de Justice but unfortunately weren't able to see Saint-Chapelle as it was late at night.  We also walked on the impressive Pont Neuf and saw the Conciergerie. It was one of my biggest wishes, as I first discovered Conciergerie on Miss Pandora's blog and thought : "what a pretty castle". Then, I did some research and I was shocked to see the building had actually been a prison for centuries!

We left "the island" and walked on the right side of Seine until we reached Pont des Arts, the famous bridge where you leave a lock. Of course, I forgot mine in the hotel room because we left in a rush. You have to see it with your eyes, we weren't expecting actually that many locks, the amount is just insane! Then it was Louvre time! We first saw the Carousel and Jardins des Tuileries. Before we left for Paris, there were many people who told us the gardens would be disappointing: completely false! It was like autumn, the trees still had their leaves and the grass was greener than ever, so December really is a great time to visit Paris, because you also get to see all the Christmas decorations.

The Louvre Museum was an interesting experience, totally different from Orsay as it mostly has classic paintings. Maybe you'll think I'm weird, but I wasn't impressed with Mona Lisa most. The painting is so small and the tourists crowded to see her just make you anxious and eager to see other things. My favourite section was the wall with a few paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci like 'Lady with an ermine' or 'St John the Baptist'. He is a genius, I just feel that 'Mona Lisa' isn't his masterpiece. We were stuck in the museum for a lot of time due to unexpected rain and we got to visit the most of it, and also got to explore the intricate details of the ceilings, mirrors, furniture etc. 

When we were finally able to leave the museum, we went to Rue Saint-Honoré, a big dream of mine, where I got to admire all the famous brand stores (oh God, the Miu Miu store shines just like a diamond!) and then we visited Place Vendome. This particular place will stay in my heart forever, because it has another level of beauty, combined with luxury, high fashion and really classy Christmas decorations. I just wish that someday I'll be able to actually walk in a Dior or Chanel store, they all looked so magical! We also got to admire Palais Garnier,  which is their National Opera and the Galeries Lafayette (best window of the store goes to Roger Vivier). Looking back, I'm pretty proud we managed to visit all these incredible sights in just 8 hours and I can't wait to travel abroad again!
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DSC_4311
Photo Credit: Cristian Alexandrescu Photography

I hope you all had a jolly Christmas and that you enjoyed spending some quality time with your friends and family, I sure did! The holidays also gave me the opportunity to go through all the photos from Paris. Let me just say that having a photographer with you is really awesome and that I hope he doesn't mind I edited the photos, we always have different points of view on the lighting. 

Seeing me in a dress at +5 degrees , you might think we went crazy and I kept on taking my coat off at every corner! I wish, but long gone are the days when I would freeze at -15 Celsius degrees for the sake of the blog. This was the first shoot , so naturally there was this Paris hype in our souls and that's why we took so many photos. You should have seen us 6 hours later: "Just take one picture of me here, so mom can see I visited this as well" haha.

Now, the amount of things we visited in the first days is INSANE. Some people even wouldn't believe us when we told our story, but we managed so well because I've been planning this trip to Paris for two years and I already knew the location of the main sights and the main streets by heart (God bless Google maps!). I think there are around 100 (good) photos with me from the first day, so I chose to share 25 on this first post, when I was all full of energy and we visited the Esplanade des Invalides surroundings, including the famous Pont Alexandre III. For me, the bridge was breathtaking because I could feel the fashion vibe while walking on it ( all the Vogue Paris editorials shot here plus the editorials of my favourite fashion bloggers like Gary Pepper Girl) and also because it was also the first time we saw the Eiffel Tower while we were in Paris. In the next post I will give you the complete list of sights which we visited during that day and I will share my impressions.

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meee
Photo by Cristian Alexandrescu

Dear readers, I haven't forgotten about you, I just had this major event in my life and I didn't want to jinx it! You already know it's been always one of my biggest dreams to visit Paris. Well, it happened, thanks to an international competition, IGAM4ER !!! I put some use to my English skills and presented the concept of our game to many interesting people. Cristi, my classmate,  is the brilliant mind behind all the programming of the game and I'm so proud of him for making such a perfect prototype!

We met incredible people from all around the world and won the "Heartful Prize" of the competition, which got us so emotional! Everyone from the competition worked really hard on their projects and I loved to see all the passion and energy put into their presentations. We also managed to visit some of the most important sights, I will make a post about it once Cristi (who is also a great photographer) will give me the photos.
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Blush pink outfit Mary Manaila 3
♪ Lorde- Pure Heroine ♪

Okay, I'm oficially declaring winter as the most dreaded season for blogging! I may have managed it last year, standing in the cold and posing in sheer tops and writing once or twice a week, but things are so different in the last year of highschool! 

I almost didn't go to my cousin's birthday two weeks ago because I had to study for an exam. In fact, I wasn't supposed to go, but it was 00:00  and I wished him a very Happy Birthday (his birthday was on a Friday this year- what a luck!). We started chatting and I suddenly missed him and the city of my dreams (plus I had a really cool gift for him), so at 1 AM it was decided: I would go to his town and surprise him. At 8AM I hopped on a train and spent one night in his town. Best risk I ever took (or maybe the truly BEST risk is yet to come- I don't want to jinx it, more details soon)- I had a blast with his friends, ate the best pizza, saw "Hunger Games 2" and even had some time for shopping. For those of you who don't know, I am obsessed with the books, I read the trilogy in three days and I can say it with all my heart this film is so much better than the first one! I loved it and I recommend it to all my friends.

Back on the blog issues, I've been wanting to show you my new love when it comes to tops, blouses &Co. It has happened to me several times to order things from a site which looked really interesting and then have the items delivered in a poor shape or with a totally different fabric/ shade of color. This is not the case! I'm deeply in love with Front Row Shop ever since I got the package with this perfect blush pink top. The asymmetrical cut, the cool concept of design (that white part of top you see underneath it's actually part of the top, you somehow tie them at the back- so awesome!) and the flawless colors made me choose to wear it to two birthday parties (one of them was obviously my cousin's). If I was to pick my favourite aspect about it though, I would say the fabric: never have I worn a cotton so smooth and comfy, I'd like all my tops to be like this! My honest advise is to consider Front Row Shop next time you feel like splurging online, I'll order for sure again.

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teenfashiondiary room 10
♪ Lorde- Tennis Court ♪

My room- or my most important part of it- the work space. You've asked me to do a video tour of my room for years now, it will come someday, but in the mean time I thought I'd share some photos with the most loved corner in my room. The idea came to me this Sunday, when I wanted to show you my new green dress from Persunmall. Of course, there were 0 Celsius degrees, so we weren't able to shoot outside. I was all grumpy and sad in my chair when I thought: "how about taking the pictures inside?".

Now, a little something you should know about my room: 

It's small, too small for two girls to share, and I am sharing it with my little sister (let's hope she won't get mad at me for this post, she always yells at me "it's OUR room" )

I designed it together with my dad when I was 13 and I had to make two major compromises: First, I wanted the furniture to be in one color, that light cream but the brand we chose didn't have enough wood in stock. If I would have waited three more months, it would have been possible but it was summer back when I redecorated and I was in a desperate need of change. Threfore, we settled for the orange combination because I really liked the way they worked together, but now that I'm in my teenage years I'm kind of tired of it. And I say "kind of" because I realized next year I will be in an ugly , boring dorm room and this room will be like heaven compared to it. (I'm taking my LOVE letters with me in college, they can make any room prettier, right?). Secondly, because my room is so small and I wanted such a big desk and we also needed to design a desk and bookcase for my little sister we had to sacrifice the curtains because they would have taken 25 cm in width. You can see the result, I look like I'm sitting in an actual office!

I didn't have any frames on my desk until last week when I found this cute little shop and I just had to buy these two! I came home excited to frame my photos just to discover..I haven't printed a photo of myself in three years haha (maybe I should start saving up for a Polaroid, I've always wanted one).

I use my statement necklaces as room decor, I think it has a pretty neat impact and I always have a hard time deciding which Vogue issues deserve to stay on the desk (I have some stacked in another corner).

So, what do you think about my room?
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Prom Party

♪ Tinie Tempah - It's OK ♪

The last of year of highschool is definitely one of contrasts. I have the most impressive amount of stuff to learn and it sort of equals the amount of parties I'll attend. This month alone there might be three, and of course then comes the well-known question: "What will I wear?". This year, I'm kind of going with the flow, while listening to Tinie Tempah's new masterpiece, "Demonstration" (nobody can't convince his first album was better than this) and being calmer than last year. Still, a big question comes into my mind dreadfully: "What kind of gown should I buy for my last prom?".

The prom in question will take place in May (2014 that is) so before you jump ahead and call me crazy let me tell you some of my mates already bought their dresses for the most important event in this highschool year. Naturally, I started searching for specialized sites and I've come across to 1dress.co.uk , the site from where I took the incredible photos you can see above. This online retail store has helped me with one major thing: I've decided the three major styles I like most in a prom dress. Firstly, we're talking long prom dresses. I've given this a lot of thought and I just can't see myself finishing highschool wearing a short dress, I want an ample, feminine gown! Now , on the styles:

Daring Cuts: They're all the rage right now, designer are racing to find more subtle and unique cuts. I love them, it's just that I don't think I have the courage or the atitude to wear one shoulder prom dresses. Only time will tell, I still have a long way to go until May.

Glamour: I think I want to see some sequins on my dress, but I'm not sure on the amount, I don't want to look kitch. Maybe just for the top, as in the second photo?

Red Prom Dresses: I've always dreaded red, I have only one thing red in my closet, which I bought forced by the fact all my class had to wear the same color one day and we opted for red. Still, ever since I turned 18 I find it more appealing, but I would have to be careful about the shade of red, I don't want to remind everyone of Christmas.

So, what do you think? Do you have any advice for me, considering the fact that you've been following my fashion journey so far? One thing I found awesome abut this site is the fact they offer a 10$ discount if you use this code: xq10usdoff . And, since on Instragram today it's the usual "Throwback Thursday", I want to share a photo of me wearing my favourite long dress back in June:

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audrey halloween

The last year of highschool isn't kind at all with me, I must be saying this the 100th time. If you have been reading my blog for an year, you must know I pulled a Minnie for the last Halloween. This year I had this whole concept for a shooting as one of my icons Holly Golightly, which was set to be published on the actual Halloween day. What happened? Firstly, bad hair day! I had to re-do this bun like 4 times! Then, tests and homework, I can't believe I'm 5 days late with my post. 

Still, I told myself that even if I failed to celebrate this holiday in the online world, it shouldn't stop me to have fun at school. So, I brought a bunch of delicious candy for my mates and I pulled a Minnie again (the Holly Golightly costume was out of the question, it's so much easier to just drop the ears during study hours). Plus, you can see I bought another pair of ears this year, never repeat a Halloween costume!

Now, on Holly Golightly: I often wonder if I would have adored her just by reading the book. Initially, I watched the movie because Audrey Hepburn played the reading part and she has been one of my favourite actresses ever since I was a little girl. Last year I was over the moon to receive the DVD, because now whenever I need a boost of confidence and hope, I watch it. Holly may be strong, resourceful, optimistic, charismatic, a good actress ( all the man she tricked, we got to give her some credit!), but in the end even she turns out to be a hopeless romantic. The movie's got everything: great lines, lovely decor, romantic plot, funny scenes and a high dose of fashion and style.

Now, a few of my favourite quotes of Holly, all written by the genius Truman Capote:
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IMG_0900
♪ Avicii- You make me ♪

There was a lovely time in September when the weather was gloomy yet alright and I could wear skirts matched with cozy sweaters all day long. Those were also the days when I had a lot of free time on my hands and I could wander for hours- in funky coffee shops or driving the most perfect car in the world. Oh well...at least I still have the pictures! Hmm..not really, the last time I wore a skirt was when I took these photos and we had the worst light possible, not even Photoshop would do wonders...

I was just getting used to managing these hectic days, when both me and my parents decided to go on a weekend trip - on one hand, I'm super excited because I get to be with my cousins, my aunt and uncle and have tons of fun but on the other hand, I know how hard it's going to be for me to keep up with the douzen school projects and the five tests coming up. I guess whenever I found myself in a dilemma I run straight back to my blog and look for some advice from my readers- if you're reading this, what's the secret of a good time management? ( Please don't answer: "Cut back on your sleep hours", because that's usually what I do).

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Paris

This weekend has been a delight- sure, I had tons of projects and school work to do but I also got to sleep 8 hours a night and catch up with the latest news in the fashion world. I love to see new collections every season, and so far I'm truly in love with the Swarovski Fall 2013 Collection. It's not only their classy designs which got my attention, but also the fact that this collection includes a collaboration with Shourouk. I don't know how many of you are familiar with this brand, but I've been following its journey for quite a while and I can state they make my favourite statement necklaces. I don't know how I've missed this incredible collaboration, the prices of the Swarovski &Shourouk pieces are like 25 % of what a Shourouk necklace usually costs. Still, it is too expensive for me so I was lucky to found this Swarovski Coupon Code 2013. I'm still deciding whether I should take the plunge and buy one of the pieces, what's really holding me back is the fact that I'm saving up for a trip to Paris.

Speaking of Paris, when I decided I wanted to do a set and Polyvore in order to show you the Swarovski jewellery I found myself wondering- should this be a feminine outfit with a dash of Parisian chic or a casual attire, a la New York? Why not do both? My point is that this collaboration has resulted in some pieces of an imense versatility,  I can definitely see how these statement earrings and cuff work with boyfriend jeans and some funky shoes as well. 

Would you go all Paris or New York? 

PS: Isn't that Chanel nude bag the most incredible bag you've seen in a while? God, I hope they'll still make it in 10 years when (maybe) I'll afford it.

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MARY MANAILA

I'm a fashion addict& blogger from Romania. Send questions, love or just a simple e-mail at:
marymeetsfashion@gmail.com


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About me

All the pictures with my outfits are taken by me, with my camera and they are strictly copyrighted!


Possible runway and other collection photos are taken from style.com, or TUMBLR, and I usually post the source.

My inspirational posts contains photos from TUMBLR , and I credit the blog that I found them on. However, if you own any of them, please contact me so I can remove it/credit properly.
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