I Dream of Pencil Pants...

For the first blog post ever, nothing could be more appropriate than one of Ruby and Em's favorite kpop bands to date. So this review goes out to,
Shining SHINee!!!! With their recent come back, DREAM GIRL!
The video came out on February 19th and as of March 6th, had 3,237,832 views.

If you haven't seen the zany wonderfulness, check it out here, CLICK^.^

ON TO THE REVIEW:

OVERALL WE THOUGHT:

Ruby: They seem to have gone for a very dream-like feel throughout, especially if you look at the teasers, using an almost alice-in-wonderlandy discombobulated style. There was a plethora of styles and patterns that clashed and fought for the eye throughout the video. Throw in some weird, out of place accessories and the concept takes form. There was an emphasis on business cut styles, which suited them well.

Em: PUNS. It was very alice-in-wonderland-esque, with lots of lovely strangeness. The patterns were often disorienting, and some of the colors looked childish, though the video was prevented from being childish by the styles of the outfits and the contrasting suits.

Ruby: Except maybe that ONE outfit of Taemin’s. Where did they even find that collar?

SO HOW ABOUT PERFORMANCES AND TEASERS?

Ruby: They seem to have stuck with the suits for the Dream Girl stages and opted for more casual, mismatched clothing for Beautiful. They seem to be experimenting with layering pants…. its…. interesting. The teasers really emphasized dream like settings but were mostly done in black and white, making the insanely colored ensembles seem much tamer.

Taemin's pants and shorts combo for a Beautiful stage.

Em: Agreed. Outfits seemed to either be an intentional clashing of patterns or all one really intense pattern. Everything was in-your-face, I-can-look-good-in-anything-just-watch-me. They did a bit of that in Sherlock but the colors were softer so it looked more purposefully random than purposefully offensive (while still looking good).

MV OUTFITS: PERPLEXING OR PERFECTED?

Ruby: Recently in SNSD’s I Got A Boy, there was so much going on it was serious sensory overload. SHINee walked that fine line in this music video with a view pieces so absurd I wasn’t sure what to make of them. (*cough*pencilpants?*ahem*) That many patterns and clashing colors should have looked messy and disorganized, channeling f(x)’s my-closet-full-of-unicorns-threw-up-on-me feel. But in typical SHINee fashion they managed to look put together and consistent throughout the video. The black and white patterned suits were a nice contrast to their colorful hipster-coveted counterparts.

Don't worry Jjong, you pants confuse us too.

Em: It was a little disorienting when they switched from the typical kpop “glowy box” to the awesome Victorian setup, they were such opposites. I would have preferred if the suits were there but in a different setting…I thought they would go better in something less neon-lights-super-junior and classier with a twist. Despite the colors being all over the place, there was continuity in their intensity and flavor, so it worked as a whole.

POLISHED SHINE(e): CHANGES IN GROUP IMAGE

Ruby: SHINee has undergone several major changes within their last few Korean comebacks. Initially, they were famous for their cutsy boy images, dabbling into the sexier side of things later in their careers with Ring Ding Dong. But with Lucifer there was the biggest change and then Sherlock followed that up with its ‘European’ (hippy-prostitute) concept. It seems that they have really and truly departed from their adorable origins. But they are getting older, and sexier, so it's a welcome change, in some ways. Its nice to see them back in brighter colors again with some elements of that ‘Shinee style’ of bright pants and oversized shirts. Personally, I will always miss Taemin’s long hair. RIP Hair Extensions.

Em: Total agreement.  Hair extensions need to make their own glorious comeback. I know he’s taeMAN now but who cares. I’m glad they still kind of avoided the cutesy boy image in this, though they’re straying closer to it since Lucifer era. Shinee does sexy too well to go back to cutesy.

WHATS TRENDING IN KPOP RIGHT NOW?

Ruby: SM seems to be moving a lot of their groups towards the more discombobulated style with a bajillion accessories and every color they could think up. Also, funky suits, as I’ve mentioned, seem to be a trend. Inifinte H and TVXQ! have both been spotted in them in recent promotions.

TVXQ! and Infinite H modeling some other interesting suit variations....

Em: Yeah they seem to be going for the F(x) look in all their bands lately…aka what could we find on the floor of the closet. Not that I mind. Funky suits have always been a trend, I think, and SM is just getting more and more creative as they run out of things. As long as those flower suits don’t come back….

Boyfriend. Taking the term 'flower boy' to whole new levels.

AND IN CONCLUSION.......                        

Ruby: Cool concept. It falls between Sherlock and SHINee’s older promotions, which is fun for long time fans while still moving forward to attract new fans. They’re getting older, images need to change, and I like the direction this is going in.

Em: Recognizably Shinee but creative and new…super approval.

DAILY DOSE OF DAEBAK!!!!!!!

PENCIL PANTS. THEY ARE PENCILS, BUT PANTS. FORGET PENCIL SKIRTS, FORGET SKINNY JEANS, PENCIL PANTS HAVE ARRIVED.

And Key’s hair, which makes his cheekbones look fantastic.

Please leave us some love in the comments and suggest videos for the future!

QUESTION:
What did you think was the craziest outfit in the mv?

<3 Ruby and Em