STALK ONLINE MAGAZINE: Volume III Issue II: “Little BLACK Riding Hood”

“It was my parents who decided to call me YAPO.. how or why is still a mystery to me.”

I met “YAPO” a year ago.

It was when I had a project with STATUS Magazine to find fashionable individuals for their street style feature called “GoSEE”. I was just walking around a mall in the south and this amazingly fierce gal in black passed by.. I just knew at that moment that the mag would love her style.. and yes they did. Later on her look was published on the mag and the rest was history.

What people don’t know about “YAPO” is that she is the complete opposite of how she packages herself through her clothes..

she’s SWEET..

BUBBLY..

FUN..

HUMBLE..

which really makes her interesting. I remember having that crazy panic attack back then when I needed to ask her to pose for STATUS’s GoSEE. I seriously felt like a STALKER who checks her out. Haha! Anyways I asked her on how her style evolved she said that when her father died they (with her little sister) lived with some of their relatives while their mom was working abroad.

So when shopping I don't have someone who would say "you should wear this" or "This would suit you better.." I just buy what appeals to me and wear it.

She just buys what appeals to her and when she started blogging her readers started giving her feedback about how they liked her unique sense of style.. so she worked on that unique look of hers.

Yapo defines her style as a mixture of Japanese fashion, street style and avant-garde which only favors black and white.

She adds..

“I wouldn't exactly call my style Goth although it is the easiest word I can find when strangers approach me and ask.”

I remember her telling me stories about how random strangers and street vendors would try to tease or make fun of her unusual style (to the extent that they would sometimes poke her accessories and pretend that they got hurt) she would just IGNORE them since at the end of the they their FEEDBACK won’t matter to her.

So I started wondering on how do boys react to this UNIQUE STYLE? She says that her boyfriend does not mind at all. I felt that confidence inside her that you don’t usually see with other girls.

She says..

“I don't know. Since I know my style isn't for everyone, I learned not to think about how boys (or girls) would react to me nor wait for them to react or to express it.”

She explains that if ever that she would have a daughter in the future.. she might not encourage her daughter to pursue this style but as long as she would find joy and fulfillment in it and remains true to herself then it would be FINE.

If you guys think that her style was this dark when she started then think twice. Yapo used to be really colorful back then (like powerpuff girl colorful.. haha) and she was chubby cute too! (sorry you might kill me now..haha). I guess her fascination with a dark character from “Lord of the Rings” is what turned her into this cool dark girl. Most of YAPO’s influences now are from bloggers such as Shui Tsang (shuitsang.com) and Watarubob (@watarubob on IG) who are both known for STREET STYLE. Yapo has been blogging for a couple of years now at www.yaporu,net which already has gained its own niche of readers from all over the globe. Recently she had the opportunity to shine brighter as local accessories brand “OS” had her model some of their coolest pieces.

“Youth is so beautiful let us not be afraid of expressing ourselves and experimenting. We all co-exist and deep inside us is a hope we can change the world into better no matter how small we are.”

She says when asked If what’s the legacy that she would want to leave her readers. This is the reason why YAPO is just a perfect cover girl for STALK. She is just full of substance and she believes that her fashion could inspire a lot of kids that It’s ok to be DIFFERENT.

She makes “DIFFERENT” such a positive term..

And that’s why she’s STALK worthy.