High Heels and Hanbok: Fashion Bug Oppa Virus

So this week we went with something that, while not quite as high-fashion as we sometimes see, is nevertheless ridiculously common...schoolgirl uniforms. You heard me. Mostly in the recent video 칠학년일반 by 오빠 바이러스, most closely translated to Oppa Virus by Seventh Grade Class 1.

Em: We see this kind of thing a lot in kpop. Girl groups dress up like they're younger than they are so that the cutesy image is more believable. I have my doubts that all of these girls are in seventh grade, but luckily schoolgirl uniforms aren't the most unrealistic things for teenage(ish) girls to be wearing. They have a lot of cute outfits, and the matching thing makes them look good as a group. The sports-inspired t-shirts were kinda cool, and I do like the blazers.

YAY SCHOOL YAY CHEERLEADING

an interesting twist

Ruby: While I agree that they were probably dressed a bit younger than they are, it still feels relatively age appropriate. And it was cute. It was a silly, fun, debut video for a girl group. I really really had my doubts at first (school uniforms get kinky fast) but this stayed really light and fun even when the guys were introduced. Sure it was kinda weird but it brought me back to kpop from a few years ago which was fun and strange and completely ridiculous. Think 4minute's What A Girl Wants.

pretty spectacular

4minute's what a girl wants

Team Schedule for the Week:
Monday 2:30 pm - Yearbook pictures taken in gym...wear your nicest blazer!

Tuesday 3:00 pm - Practice, wear your tan practice uniforms

Wednesday 9:00am - Wear spirited shirts to school in support of tomorrow's game

Wednesday 2:30 pm - Team study hall, make sure to get your homework done!

Thursday 6:00 pm - Home Game, wear your green uniforms!

Friday 5:00 pm - Away game, wear your pink uniforms! Show your spirit!

Concept Blender

Since this is a debut group, it's only appropriate that we explore the possible future for these girls. Let's peer into our crystal ball.....
If we take apart this video, it seems like this group is a mix of:

Innocence! They're young and sweet and full of energy! They wear conservative, uniforms that keep them covered up but still cute! Some groups stick with this image for years and years, while others launch off in a completely different direction! They could take the 4minute path and go from cutesy school girls to sexy zombies in no time!

Fun! This group is clearly in it for the laughs. Sure they use their faces and dances to make us laugh, but they also use whimsical clothing to set the mood. Sneakers and bright colors move the concept away from sexy and towards happy. Watching it is fun and it makes them memorable. Maybe they'll follow in Crayon Pop's step and become the next comedy-musician craze!

Consistency! They call on an old kpop favorite and dress everyone in the same clothes. This keeps dance scenes consistent and makes them look more cohesive. There were several group outfits in this music video. If they stick with this concept they could follow in the footsteps of some big names, like SNSD. (Who didn't love genie, I mean really.)

I foresee... a put together comedy group with a flair for fun and hilarious antics.

#schoolgirl
#sidecharacter
#jerseygirl

#schoolgirl for the plethora of school uniforms we see in kpop. Everyone seems to have done this concept, from Girl's Day's Twinkle Twinkle to GOT7's Girls Girls Girls. SO many uniforms. Its particularly surprising for us as Americans because most school don't have uniforms here.

Girl's Day album cover for Twinkle Twinkle...ah the plaid

GOT7 demonstrating what goes on in the average high school...

#sidecharacter you know that person that isn't a band member and isn't singing at all but still manages to be dressed pretty snazzily? Well that happened a lot in this MV, with all the oppas. This can happen with both the backup dancers, like in Donghae and Eunhyuk's Motorcycle, or with the supporting characters, like the maids in Rainbow Blaxx's Cha Cha last week.

snazziness

Backup Dancers in Motorcycle...vroom vroom

Well-dressed maids in Rainbow Blaxx

#jerseygirl seems to be something that comes up a lot in videos with a younger concept. The tom-boy concept works well as a way to break up the super cutesy little girl style. I always enjoy the contrast between the fluffy pink sugar puff overload and a sporty look. Rainbow worse basketball jerseys and tutus in their Sunshine comeback and Glam wore stylized jerseys in their mv for In front of the mirror.

go team!

yay jerseys!

Em: There was a surprising amount of outfits for one MV. For a video that was supposed to show a bunch of cheerleaders, they actually did a pretty good job. While it didn't have the weird factor that we tend to love, it did have a lot of nicely put-together outfits that made them look good and like a group. They also didn't cross the line into revealing too much for the aegyo to be believable, which was appreciated. At least they didn't overly sexualize the uniforms, any more than they already are. And hey, they were super cute!

SPIRIT

AYYYYYYYY

Ruby: I thought this was a fun break from this year's really sexual start. I always appreciate girl groups dancing in sneakers rather than heels. I can't find the ages of the girls in the group anywhere (if you do, let us know down below) but they look pretty young. Fashion-wise, it's a very safe concept for a debut, but at the same time it leaves them a pretty blank canvas to work from in the future. They could grow up and take sexier concepts or stick with weirder outfits for comedic effect