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

. It was cute, it was fun and the ending was hilarious with all the different guys dancing with them. You go business man, just go for it.

POM POMS EVERYWHERE

WE ALWAYS PRACTICE CHEERLEADING IN THE CREEPY PANTRY WITH THE SPARE INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE POSTERS.

Virulent Song, Not Virulent Fashion

So this week we looked at a lesser-known artist, Rumble Fish, with The Virulent Song. It was posted on January 13th, 2014 (is it really 2014?) and had 82,054 views by January 20th, 2014. A lot of what we've seen so far this year has been...er...questionable, so we were really pleased with this!

Em: I really liked this. Not only were the outfits beautiful and well put-together, but they also spoke to each other in a way that kept them part of the same set while still remaining distinctive and interesting. Some of the major aspects were lots of lace, a consistent black-and-white color scheme, and highly detailed, luxurious pieces with a retro flair. If you've read our reviews before, you know how we feel about retro flair. It was sexy, yet also classy--a difficult combination to pull off sometimes. Lovely!

Black and white with a delicate lacy leotard

Contrasted with rocker chick in leather thigh-high boots

Ruby: I thought this was a really interestingly put together video. If you've read some of our other reviews you know that we talk a lot about the different kinds of sexy and how they really differ from each other but achieve the same thing. This video was like a tour of some of these and I thought it was really awesome. There were four outfits, each pretty different but super simple. The black and white approach, including her really chic hair, really kept it classy even in some of the more risque outfits.

Chic hair makes everything better

The sleeves add a sexy element, but with the rest of her
mostly covered she still seems modest

Three weapons. Three tools. Three nearly unstoppable forces of nature.....but only one will prevail. Perhaps you think fashion is for women. If that's true, then so is BATTLE.

The first weapon: Oval, intricate, hypnotizing. It sits on the ear like a shield, protecting the wearer from harm. Beyond its defensive properties, its edges are sharper than a jawbone, and it can be used for attack if necessary.

The second weapon: The wing shape proves to be an effective means of organizing the impressive collection of sharp blades. Not only is its shape reminiscent of the wearer's wicked winged eyeliner, it also evokes the freedom you may be fighting for.

The third weapon: This multi-faceted weapon is more flexible than either of its competitors. Designed with the hand in mind, it will reinforce a punch and leave an enemy knocked out or worse.

It's a tough call which would be the most useful. What would you go into battle with?

Now Rumble Fish may be new to us but she is not new to the industry. I'm sure this song is going to win her many new fans, so let's all take a peek at her past looks together, shall we?
Since Rumble Fish became a solo artist, she has taken on many different concepts, but none quite as avant-garde or sexy as this one.
In 2011, she came back with Men Are All the Same which had a super casual street style to it. There were plain t-shirts and warm knitted sweaters and even one very fluffy wedding dress. The MV tells a story so the clothes are what every day people wear. It's simple but pleasant.

Just regular people

Also in 2011 she came back with a manga video for Introduce me a good man. It was certainly... creative? It featured traditional anime drawing, clothing included! It was a really interesting take on how to make an MV.

Still fashion I guess!

More recently in 2013, she took on an island bohemian look in her video for Don't Be Like That. The video is full of bright colors and funky accessories. She looks gorgeous in it. Although it is incredibly different conceptually from The Virulent Song, the fashion in this video was also really exceptional.
We can't wait to see what comes next!!!!

Pretty pretty

#shorthairdontcare

#iheartnecklines

#flirtatiousfeathers

#shorthairdontcare for a trend in short hair on women. Looks fantastic in The Virulent Song, looked fantastic in Girl's Day's Something, just generally looks fantastic. My favorite instance of short hair on a girl in kpop is definitely Ga In...what's not to love?

Makes her neck look pretty and graceful

Girl's Day with blonde as well

She's perfect okay? okay.

#iheartnecklines sweetheart necklines, to be exact. Always classic, yet still on trend, heart-shaped necklines made an appearance in plenty of recent MVs, including Rainbow Blaxx's Cha Cha. Maybe they're getting ready for Valentine's Day in a month.

Pretty pretty once again

Rainbow Blaxx looking scandalous

Dal Shabet in BBB

#flirtatiousfeathers seem to be everywhere right now. It's still early in the year, but feathers have appeared a few times as accessories. This isn't the first time kpop has ventured into feather fashion but in recent trends feathers have been pretty absent. Once again Girl's Day's Something featured feather rings. We'll see how this trend plays out through the year.

Sometimes all you need is a feather. Sometimes its giant.

Girl's Day, but less spectacular

Em: I definitely would like more fashion like this. As much as lace is used often or whatever, this really did strike me as something different and I loved it. She managed to be utterly sexy without being trashy at all, which is wonderful, and she kept a powerful image that held the stage. Sometimes its hard to be a solo artist, since all the attention is on you and only you, but she carried the video with her character AND her outfits.

Yet another earring...GORGEOUS jewelry

Studded shorts

Ruby: Indie bands can often be a bit boring. For them its so much about their music and artistry that the fashion takes a back seat. As a fan of indie music I totally understand and appreciate that. On the other hand, sometimes the absolute best fashion comes out of lesser known artist because they're willing to take some risks, especially artsy ones. This video was just a work of art. It was gorgeous. Each outfit was beautiful and detailed without overwhelming the power of her voice with too much crazy fashion. Really well done, it highlighted her and her talent very well. 

The work of art herself

Personally I'm not sure if there were QUITE enough lens flares. I mean. Can you really have too many lens flares. I mean. Really.....

But the face projected on top of her while she was dancing was prettyyyy cool.

So what did you think? Had you even heard of Rumble Fish? We hadn't before this video. Indie band videos can be really good or really bad.....so the question is, could you ignore the lens flares and enjoy this one? Or are you so done with black and white concepts? Let us know in the comments!

-Ruby & Em <3