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[Drama-induced Shopping] Finding my style through K-dramas


Lucky Romance

By @frabbycrabsis

Watching dramas started as a solitary experience for me. I liked keeping the things that made me happy to myself — I’ve always been that kind of person. In the last year or so, however, I’ve become a little better at sharing. When I watched shows at the breakfast table, I would often catch my ever-curious mum peering at the subtitles over my shoulder. Legend of the Blue Sea was her gateway drama; she refused to let me watch without her.

Afterwards we binged I Hear Your Voice (can I just say how much I think Hye-sung rocked those shirts and dresses, because she looked amazing in fuchsia?) and Strongest Deliveryman; after all, she’s my favorite person in the world, and I couldn’t let her watch anything mediocre!


20th Century Boy and Girl

It must have been around November last year when she tuned in to an episode of 20th Century Boy and Girl with me. I’ve never been particularly aware of fashion, but Mum immediately spotted Jin-jin’s (Han Ye-seul) fluffy pink hooded jacket and fell in love with it. When we turned off the episode, we started shopping for something similar — and found something interesting instead.

Despite having been looking for something for my mum, what we found was perfect for my oldest sister. Her style is best described as bold, colorful, and flamboyant. She loves clothes to the extent that her wardrobe is practically overflowing. Anyhow, the coat we found was camo print with a shocking pink fringe. We really dithered on whether or not to buy it, but with Christmas around the corner it was all too well-timed!

We teased her for weeks, telling her how much she was going to love her present. Long story short, she did. Now she refuses to wear her old coat and says it’s boring! It’s a shame we couldn’t find something closer to the original, but I haven’t given up hope just yet.

(Also, my sister and I watched Hwayugi together, and I can tell she’s so jealous of all the clothes in that drama. I don’t know who that stylist was, but they deserve an award.)


20th Century Boy and Girl

Thinking about it, that isn’t the only way Jin-jin’s fashion sense has affected me. After seeing the pretty hoodie dress she wore once, I was dying for something similar and settled for something close enough, because I couldn’t find anything that suited my exact requirements. My quest for an exact replica is hardly over, though.

If you asked me what my perfect wardrobe was, it would be a cross between Park Shin-hye in You’ve Fallen For Me, Kim Go-eun in Cheese in the Trap, with just a sneaky hint of the crazy boho stuff Hwang Jung-eum wore in Lucky Romance. Thankfully in dramaland, inspiration is all around.

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Yes for K-drama wardrobe inspiration! 🙌 That camo jacket with the pink faux fur fringe is so BOLD I love it! Your sister's fashion sense is very daring in the in best possible way.

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Thank you, it was a miraculous find on our part!

I'm a little embarrassed that my post was chosen, there was so much the Dramabeans staff had to clean up for me! XD

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😂 Don't worry, a lot of the unnecessary ramblings on my article got edited out for me too. But it made it so much better. Plus your article was really funny because the camo jacket popped out of nowhere and surprised me so much!

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Hehehe, I couldn't do the coat justice by description alone! XD

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The picture sure surely did then. The hot pink is some serious high-fashion couture style 😂🔥

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wow that's lovely

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i LOVE kim Go Eun's clothing in Cheese in the Trap. The outfit I particularly remember fondly was the blue skirt and sweater combo (do you know which one I'm talking about). Loved all the clothes.

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Kdrama hasn't affected my style much except... I kind of dig the hoodie-underneath-a-coat-look now. I haven't really seen that outside of dramas. People dress either formally or casually where I live. 😂

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I did my study abroad programme in America during winter (I'm from near the equator where it's always hot and humid) and basically wore my school hoodie under a leather jacket all through winter, cos I thought that's what most people did... Hope I didn't get the fashion wrong! 😆

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That hoodie dress is so lovely! <3

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Dog Secretary from Hwayugi did have great fashion. I liked han ye seuls wardrobe in birth of a beauty more than in 20th century.
Lucky romance fashion *flashbacks to horrible outfits* no wonder she needed luck. For quirky wardobes my pick would be song sunbae from age if youth s2. Jeon ji hyun also looked great in MLFAS.

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I also liked Han Ye Seul's Birth of a Beauty wardrobe a lot, probably because I have a penchant for a-line and fit-and-flare silhouettes. And she wore black tights under her dresses sometimes, which is something I see a lot of in real life but not a lot of in kdramas. I still remember her coral lace dress.

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@frabbycrabsis Thank you for the write-up!!!

I think the first drama that has ever made an influence in helping me find my own style (and favourite season 😏😏) was “Winter Sonata”. Since then, I’ve always loved and felt the most comfortable with myself in the clothes/style of clothes to be wearing is the winter season for me 😊😊 All the neutral colours of the inside layers but super bold colours in the coats, all the nice pea coats—which I admit, I have more than one hehe — and then it just got more and more intense and my love and search for winter fashion in dramas grew more and more as the fashion grew more contemporary throughout the years. Sigh, it has been so long, and I’ve come such a long way... I mean, since late-2001 (the year “Winter Sonata” aired) to now in 2018... How many winter-seasoned dramas have we had?? Too many 😏😏😏😏

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Wow the same with me
My fav drama , my fav season , my fav style

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[Drama-induced Shopping] the first time i seen ryu joon yeol on youth over flowers i wanted to buy him SO bad

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The style that I definitely adopt from k-dramas is wearing sneakers with almost everything - Jeans, pants, suits, skirts or dress. Yes, absolutely everything.

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That camo jacket is a daring choice. Not everyone can pull it off. Kudos to your sis, @frabbycrabsis, for having that confidence! Haaha

I used to dress like Do Bong Soon. Oversized hoodies and granny coats.. and I especially adore that faux leather denim patchwork overall dress she wore but nowadays I'm more like Ae Ra from Fight My Way as in T-shirts and pants. Perfect for binge-watching dramas.

Style icons I look up to:
Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young) from *Strong Woman Do Bong Soon*
Na Bong Sun (Park Bo Young) from *Oh My Ghostess*
Kim Jung Hye (Lee Yo Won) from *Avengers Social Club*
Choi Ae Ra (Kim Ji Won) from *Fight My Way*
Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) from *Coffee Prince*

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Lee Yo-won's clothes were gorgeous, weren't they?

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She does get to wear cool clothes in lots of dramas.. I'm watching Queen Seondeok now and she is friggin rocking the clothes there too!

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When I finally decided to color my hair, (ahjumma hour!), I chose the color of Seol from "Cheese in the trap".
Everytime I go shopping, I'm ALWAYS looking for her "egg yolk" colored cable jumer on the show.

Even my friends helpme looking sometimes.
I'm a nutter....

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"egg yolk" colored cable jumper!, a cable nikt sweater.
But her curly bangs gave me cognitive dissonance.

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Yes, yes, that jumper!

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That camo jacket with the hot pink fur is awesome. Thought I'd want purple myself.

I've never been interested in super girly fashions so there is quite a bit of Kdrama female fashion that I find odd. Especially spaghetti strap thing over pretty dress / blouse. I did like Lawyer Jang Hye-sung's clothes in I Can Hear Your Voice and evil mama's in Boys Over Flowers. Then I watched Hwayugi and I fell in love with all of Seon-mi's clothes. And Oh-gong's coats. And Oh-gong.

Mmm. Not forgetting Wang Yeo and Kin Shin's massive coat collection in Goblin.

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Yes! I love this! There are some K-dramas which I've rewatched because I love the outfits (and sometimes the story too). I was wondering, does anyone know of a website/blog/instagram dedicated to chronicle these outfits? Because some of these are lovely and I'd love to able to browse them and take inspiration from them.

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I used to devour a lot of articles related to Cheon Song Yi's fashion during My Love from the Star. I didn't follow any blog but read any article that I could find. Girlfriend will always and forever be my spirit animal.

Like many here, I also loved Jang Hyesung's outfits, both those that she wore at the office and home.

Another favorite would be Choi Ji Woo's chic styling from Temptation as CEO Yoo Se Young. The drama is bad but CJW always looked like a million bucks every episode.

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I remember all the craze with Cheon Song Yi's everything, I actually wanted to buy her iconic lipstick but never got around in the end.

Misty, recently, also has incredibly classy and elegant outfits. I'd love to be a character in a drama, I just love everything they wear!

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Even recently in Hwayugi Ma Ji-Youngi had such an iconic purplish lipstick which she wore with stunning dangling earrings. And Misty's pantsuits/formal wear was ❤

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There were a lot of blogs dedicated to My Love From the Star's fashion sense.
eg. https://crazy9drama.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/my-love-from-the-stars-chun-song-yis-fashion/

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I love how you included a photo of the pink coat you bought your sister!

I feel like my style is a mix of my office environment (penchant for skirts and dresses) and the dresses worn in kdrama press conferences (usually a-line/fit-and-flare).

Recently, I've been salivating over some of hoodie tunics Seo Jin wears in Woohoo Waikiki. I've been looking for one before Woohoo Waikiki aired, but watching Seo Jin walk around in the hoodies that I want makes me want them more. It's hard to find one with the right thickness, trim (I hate unfinished edges even though they're sort of trendy?), and length and in the colors I want them.

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I'm not much into fashion for myself, but Waikiki is making me want to buy Sol's outfits for my niece! Especially the cute hats.

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I should have included a little more of Park Shin-hye's clothes! She basically single-handedly sparked my undying love for maxi skirts.

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More love for 20th century!!! I loved Jin-jin’s Pink fluffy coat too!

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I'm so thankful for 20th Centru Boy and Girl both for that coat, and for Melomance's beautiful OST contribution.

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JinJin's wardrobe in 20th Century Boy and Girl is so fabulous that it reminds me of typical second female leads but here she's the main character.

Also Hong Seol's wardrobe is the first time I felt inspired to go to the mall and buy similar clothes <3

That's so awesome that your mom and you watch together! I need to get my mom into kdramas haha

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My Mum actually hates subtitles, hahaha! She can't read them fast enough. She resents me a little for getting her into great shows that she has to read subtitles for! XD

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haha actually my mom has seen kdramas but dubbed into spanish and i want to get her into watching them in korean with subs...we'll see how it goes! :D

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You Goddess!

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So...I ended buying a denim long sleeve shirt to go with my black lace skirt coz Lee Yo Won in Avengers Social Club was wearing a black lace skirt with a black cuffed denim long sleeve. 🙄🙄

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Actually I don't care much for kdrama fashion cos I don't have many occasions to dress like they do, or more honestly I can't be bothered to doll up. I don't even wear makeup to work as my job has more to do with the backend, and I save a pair of heels under my desk for meetings that crop up, but wear sensible flats to go to and from the office (it's a good 10 mins to and from the train station in permanently hot and humid weather!), so I'm always amazed and impressed by kdramas and their fashion (and by extension my colleagues who look fabulous all the time, but who also wear flats until meetings happen hurhur).

But my fashion weakness are those fantabulous earrings in kdramas; earrings are my jam! And there are so many cool earrings in kdramas! I bought a bunch of ear jackets, ear cuffs and ear slides just cos I was inspired by kdramas. Unfortunately my earholes developed some sensitivity to costume jewelry and I've had to stop wearing earrings altogether. *cries*

But yes the only fashion that kdramas have made me splurge on are earrings! Wish they were more affordable, but guess that's also a blessing in disguise or I'd be spending a lot of my hard earned money on them haha 😅

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I didn't realize this was happening to me until I watched Junho in "Just Between Lovers" rocking a sherpa lined denim jacket, and I HAD to have one. It has become my favorite jacket and I wear it all the time, but I think of the drama every time I put it on too.

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i like kim bok joo, do bong soon, and this life is our first female lead fashion...

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I found my style through European runway fashion shows much more than kdramas, but certain ones about the fashion industry occasionally inspire impulse online shopping at all hours of the day and night. Case in point: almost 5 years after this post, I'm watching an old drama and trying to find a review when I've suddenly been inspired about a particular outfit addition that I never thought I'd make. I find myself with a very mixed reaction towards Korean fashion in general, but some of the outfits are truly spectacular. It's also a little creepy when the men dress like women or wear makeup, but that's due to my personal preference for masculine men versus pretty boys.

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