InsideOutElle

Kate Spade & Sea Turtles

2015-03-08T11:38:00.000-04:00

I seriously had the hardest time trying to put together an image for this post.
In the end I gave up and just posted the most literal pic possible :)

Earlier this week I was in DC heading to an interview. Naturally, I was dressed up and as a finishing touch, I had a Kate Spade bag slung over my shoulder.

Since I'd gotten lost earlier, I was in a rush with only 15 minutes left to get there. As I scrambled to beat the timed crosswalk, I accidentally eye contact with one of the "Green Peacers," you know, the classic "save the whales" type that stand at street corners holding pamphlets armed with an overly friendly smile. This one was a young guy who looked like a lumberjack with his plaid sweater, scruffy hat, and wild beard. There was a large pair of "librarian glasses" perched on his nose. He headed towards me, pamphlets in hand, "Hey, do you have a second to talk about sea turtles?" Usually, I'll take a minute to listen to their little elevator speech, but today I had no time for chatting.

With only 10 seconds to cross the street, I waved apologetically and said sorry, I have somewhere to be. Then as I turn away I hear him yell, "Someone like you should use your money to save sea turtles and not on another Kate Spade bag!"

At first I was pretty friggin' annoyed. How dare he judge me by my bag?! If he only knew that I am hardly rolling in cash, that I do in fact donate to causes that move me, that I'm headed to a job interview, that this one bag is the only nice bag I own, one I only use for work and bought at a 40% discount. Would he have said that if he knew my story?

After fuming for a bit, I got thinking about how I couldn't really blame him for jumping to assumptions because we do it all the time:

A girl wearing Uggs and Juicy Couture = that airheaded bimbo
A dude wearing a beanie and skinny jeans and carrying an iPhone = what a hipster
A woman wearing an Hermes scarf and carrying a Prada = rich trophy wife with a cheating husband
A man driving a Ferrari = he's going through a mid-life crisis

I guess what I'm trying to say is...it's hard not to judge people by the way they dress or look. Christ knows I catch myself doing it all the time. Maybe that girl just dresses like that because those are the only hand-me-downs she got. Maybe that guy only uses an iPhone because he is building a iOS mobile app that helps users provide micro-funding to people in third world countries. Maybe that woman bought those things for herself after building her own company out of nothing. Maybe that man is taking a car he just bought for his father, a single father who raised him alone and used to build toy models of luxury cars with him?

Of course, there are plenty of idiot bimbos, wanna-be hipsters, stuck up trophy wives, and pathetic guys prowling for 21 year olds trying to recapture their youth out there.

But sometimes they're not.

Japan 2014: Gang Fight at Dotonbori + Umeda Sky Building

2015-01-23T15:31:00.001-05:00

After dressing up in kimonos and making cup ramen, we headed over to the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka. It's the 18th tallest tower in the world!

LT: The iconic "eye in the sky" hole :)
RT 1: The pavement on the roof is lit with blacklights and glow in the dark pebbles!
RT2: Osaka at night!
RT3: Going down the escalator~

It was a rainy day so it was hard to get nice pics, but basically it's an observatory platform where you can see the cityscape of Osaka! The coolest thing on the roof (besides the view) was how the ground was paved with glow-in-the dark pebbles and lit with black lights.

One thing that was kind of misleading is that they call the observatory platform The Floating Garden Observatory. Just FYI there is no garden up there aha

Afterwards, we headed to Dotonbori, probably the most famous tourist attraction in Japan!

The Glico Man billboard is an icon of Osaka and it was super cool to see it in real life!
Loved the night life vibe of the area and all the crazy billboards.

The famous giant octopus, puffer fish and sushi!

I thought this family was so cute :) Dad and son wearing matching outfits and everything ^_^!

BLOOOODDDD!

I have to say one of the most memorable experiences was witnessing a gang fight (sort of) on our last day in Dotonbori! It was friggin crazy! At first, me and my friend saw a TRAIL of red liquid going from the main street going all the way along the canal. We were like....hmm...someone's Halloween costume must be dripping or something. But wait, isn't it August? Is it food? Cherry juice? But it can't be blood - there's so much! We were so confused.

Then we saw a crowd of people and police cars. Three dudes covered in tattoos were just leaning against a police car while 10+ policemen were kind of milling around doing nothing. They looked exactly like Japanese gangsters you see on TV - that's when my friend told me it must be a fight between rival yakuza members. I don't know much about modern Japanese society, but according to her, yakuza are still very much present in Japan society and people, including policemen, fear them.

Whatever the case, none of the guys were arrested and hilariously enough, one of them just smoked a cigarette then hopped on a BIKE and peddled away, blood streaming down his face. From what it looked like, there were at least 3 guys fighting, which was why there was so much blood. Every guy had blood all over their face and knuckles, black eyes, and one guy's ear was bleeding like crazy.

I was so busy gawking I forgot to take any more pictures...but gosh, I'll never forget it!

Forever 21 | H&M | ASOS Fashion Haul

2015-01-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

After a year of not YTing at all, I had this weird urge to make a video last week. It took FOREVER because I was so out of the swing of it...I couldn't think of the right words to say, I forgot to adjust for white balance...tbh I forgot how much work it was xD... but it was fun!

Forever 21 Tiered Flounce-Sleeve Blouse - [HERE] - Med

Forever 21 Polka Dot Pleated Dress - [HERE] - Med

H&M Pattern-knit Sweater - [HERE] Small (I sized down)

H&M Blue Quilted Top - [can't find] - Med

ASOS Skater Dress With Mixed Ditsy & Tie Front - [HERE] - Size 8

ASOS Closet Tie Back Dress With Pockets in Floral Print - [HERE] - Size 8

For reference, I am a 36-27-32. I have to say Closet is my newest brand of interest cuz lots of their dresses have pockets yeahhh! Anyway, thanks for watching/reading :)

What's your favorite clothing brand?