A senior from Valencia, Venezuela, Maria Mora Bello is one of the snazziest fashionistas you’ll see on this campus. Double-majoring in Communication and Spanish and double-minoring in International Business and Journalism AND having time to look fabulous? I sat down with her to find out her secret. Maria cited her friend from home, Andrea, as her fashion icon “we went to school together and she always dressed really nice”. Her favorite item in her closet? Her beige, white, and navy high heels “classy, high, but comfortable”.
Coming from Venezuela, Maria is used to keeping up appearances. “People here don’t really understand how people dress in other places [in the world]. Appearance is important. Its not about looking good for other people, its about looking good for ourselves”. While studying abroad in Madrid last semester, Maria noticed how much she loved the European style of dress – “They don’t wear lots of tight clothes. They wear looser clothes but it still looks good”. Unfortunately, Eckerd College students as a whole leave a lot to be desired in terms of fashion. When asked what trends she wasn’t particularly fond of, Maria said “barefoot or punk/rock style people who wear boots” were most unimpressive.
Maria describes her style as classy, not showy. She isn’t into tight things. She said she tried it once, but didn’t work for her. When asked who’s closet she would like to raid? Easy answer: “Carrie Bradshaw! – the show, not the movie). You can always see Maria wearing her gold cross around her neck “I never take it off” and a pair of earrings. She keeps it casual with accessories, but always remembers to wear something small. Her favorite stores include Zara, H&M, Gap, Banana Republic, JCrew, Bimba Lola (from Spain), and Nine West for shoes. A trend from the past that Maria still thinks is fabulous? High-waisted pants.
You’ll be seeing her around campus, gold cross, fabulous pants and all!