Barbara loves the styles in local shops

Julie Kenwell • Published 20 Jan 2012 09:30 0 Comments

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PETITE brunette, Barbara Stachelek's friendly smile is the perfect welcome for customers at Mauds Icecream Parlour in Enniskillen.

The 21-year-old has been working in the coffee shop for two years now after she and her family made the move from their home country, Poland, to Irvinestown around four-and-a-half years ago.

Favouring the fashion over here, she brought along a selection of the clothes she has collected since settling into Fermanagh to this week's Lifestyle photoshoot.

Barbara shows off her figure to perfection in a black dress from TopShop which she teams with a pair of black courts from New Look.

"I would shop everywhere really," she says, "But I have a lot of clothes from New Look so I suppose I would go there the most! I like H&M in Belfast too."

A former pupil at St Mary's College, Irvinestown, Barbara went on to study ICT at South West College before taking up her current job in the town.

"I like working in Mauds," she says as she models a casual jumper from Tesco with leggings and shoes from New Look, "Everyone is really friendly there."

The move from Poland to Fermanagh wasn't too much of a change of scenery for Barbara.

Having lived in a village close to Warsaw in her home country, she is well-used to the more rural way of life.

"I like living here...apart from the weather!" she says, "The rain can be a bit depressing, but other than that I'm happy. People in Fermanagh are very friendly and I think I have settled in well."

As she wears her third look for the day, a dressy vest from Exhibit with a black blazer, jeans and shoes from New Look, Barbara says enjoys an annual trip back to Poland, usually in the summer.

"I was over there last summer to see my friends," she says, "I still keep in touch with them a lot. But when I was there I went shopping and I couldn't find anything that I liked at all. I like the style in the shops here a lot more.

"I would say I follow trends a bit, but I like more casual clothes really compared to really dressy things. If I was going out though, I would always wear either a dress or a top and a skirt.

"My friends have a similar dress sense to me really. My best friend and I usually always end up picking the same clothes!"

In her spare time Barbara keeps in shape by going for a run around the area at Necarne Castle.

"It's a nice place to run," she says, "I would usually go for about 45 minutes. I used to do Boxercise as well, I really enjoyed it. But I can't do it any more with work.

In her last outfit of the day, a vest top from a shop in Poland and a skirt from DV8, Barbara says she prefers the nightlife in Northern Ireland to back at home.

"My friends and I would usually go to the Bush in Enniskillen. In Poland there would just be a disco that everyone would go to. Here is very different -- there are more pubs and bars and it's smaller, but I prefer it like that," she says.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 19 Jan 12

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