Loving all these Style Options

So this week we decided to get with the times, and pay hommage to an upcoming holiday! We're going halloween this week! Not so much the spooky scary kind, but the awesome costumes and whacky outfits kind of halloween. Who's ready to meet this week's cast of characters?

We're calling in Bestie and their new song Love Options!

This catchy little ditty came out October 16, 2013 and as of October 29th had 219, 160 views.

It’s BEST to get started:

Ruby: So Bestie is a rather new group, having debuted in July, actually.  This video was nonstop fun. I really loved their peppy dances and super expressive faces. However, the clothing got a tad bit out of hand, I must say. There was definitely a little bit of BUT IT WAS JUST SITTING IN THE COSTUME CLOSET AND WE THOUGHT… and in some ways, it makes the video really unpredictable and joyful. There was something very young and fresh about the whole thing, and you gotta love a great message to boot.

This shoe is ugly. Please remove it.

Em: They had a whole bunch of different sets of outfits that didn’t really go TOGETHER stylistically, but instead allowed them to play completely different roles in the mv.  For instance, one scene had one girl in a maid’s outfit and the other in clean, classy clothes, which gave them both characters. On the other hand, there were the dance sequences, where all the band members had similar outfits that were clearly part of a set. The pieces were fun though, and there were a few continuations from one set to the next. 

 

Boots or heels? We'll never know...

Sassy and classy

On the topic of halloween…do you have a costume yet? If not, we’ve got you covered with Bestie’s suggestions! Welcome to:

Love Those Costume Options 

The Businesswoman

The devil wears.... 

The Maid

Not kinky at all guys.

The Shopaholic

Because if you already have all the shoes....

The Stalker Chick

I mean come on, I definitely keep cultish candles around my dorm room.

The Geologist

LOOK AT THAT ROCK!

The Car Saleswoman 

You keep trying to sell that mini cooper stretch limo, dear.

A confused, nationalistic Scot

We're confused too, honestly.

The Girl with a Sweet tooth 

Ring pops are available pretty much anywhere....

The Kinky Nurse

 

Don't worry, we're certified.

Visual Vaticination Verifier

Short Skirts- Wooooohoooo those skirts got a little short there! Glad to see that they had on little shorts to maintain some modesty… Now this could definitely indicate a tendency towards exposing their long legs in the future and maintaining super sexy lady image, especially since their first video features a similar use of shorts.

Funky Costumes- Maid costumes? Crazy plaid? I guess this could work for them but it could also go super wonky. I mean f(x) pulls off the quirky vibe well and maybe Bestie is headed in the same direction?

Fitted dresses- Back to sexy sexy ladies. They seems to tend towards really fitted silhouettes, think Sistar, maybe.  It gives the impression that they’re mature ladies with sexy bodies. It would match up with their short skirts, that they will tend towards body-con clothes and lots of skin. 

Simple Styling- Despite the nutty clothing throughout this video, the styling remained very simple. There was pretty soft hair and simple makeup, or smokey eyes. All in all by toning down the styling, the video was less overwhelming. The accessories were plentiful but quite pretty. Maybe the simplicity of styling will be quite soft and feminine.

.... Looks like: 

Adorable meets sassy and sexy for these adventurous fashionistas!

 NOW TRENDING: 

#iamsadthatthereisplaid

#dyeingforcoolerhair

#iwasframed

#iamsadthatthereisplaid…. Anyone remember that f(x) video for Rum pum pum pum? We do (we reviewed it) and it seems like the plaid is here to stay! (Or at least having a brief reprise) It still seems like an odd choice to us, but the kpop stylists seem to be really digging it this season.

 

F(x) in Rum Pum Pum

#dyeingforcoolerhair, we are, aren’t you? I mean everyone in kpop seems to be going bleach blonde and crazy colors. I mean, TOP went blue followed by and not to mention Ricky of TeenTop, Lime of Hello Venus and Dongwoo of infinite. Jonghyun from SHINee went bone white while Key went pink along with Zelo and GDragon. Purple hair is less common but look, here it is!

Lime of Hello Venus sporting funky seafoam green hair, before the blue

Zelo of BAP, no longer blonde

#iwasframed with awesome glasses! Cute lenses show up plenty in kpop (though there can always be more). This is a fairly gender-neutral trend too—we saw it on Jonghyun in SHINee’s recent MV Everybody as well as SNSD’s Yuri. Even both of us wear snazzy glasses! (Disclaimer: we are not kpop stars)

Yuri of snsd posing for a selfie

Jonghyun of SHINee in their recent mv "Everybody"

Saving the best for last

Ruby: This video was adorable and just a plain old good time. There were a ton of different styles in it from big sweaters to little black dresses to maid costumes! It was very busy and quite sexy with short skirts and fitted dresses. And on some level I genuinely enjoyed the young, off-beat and quirky feel they brought to the video. The simple styling and exaggerated facial expression were just awesome. Even if the clothing wasn’t completely flattering or even aesthetically appealing it was fun and as it turned out, very Halloween appropriate.

 

Aren't I cute? Damn right I am.

Em: This was fun, and (perhaps unintentionally) festive. The outfits were very tight and very short, so in that way pretty typical for a girl group, but they did seem to be well-thought-out. I’m sure someone had a LOT of  fun with those shoes. None of the ideas seemed half-done either…the stylists just dove in (especially when it came to the flannel). Also this song is ridiculously catchy.

 

THAT SHOE IS DIVINE.

DAEBAK!!!!

Bad English, sweet idea.

Casual pink feather dusters…because the best kind of accessory is the also-useful kind.

What are you dressing up as for halloween? Let us know down below!

Ruby- Comic Book Pin Up

Em- Avante Guard Glitter Artist

Have a fun halloween, 

Ruby and Em

The Cure for Bad Fashion

This week we're going a different route with our mv choice. We went for something a little less mainstream.
We're talking about
The Cure - Drunken Tiger.

Although this song is off of Drunken Tiger's album, it is in fact the members of MFBTY that perform the song together. It came out on September 12 2013 and as of September 16th had 234,369 views.

We also reference this video, called Sweet Dream, throughout the review, it's worth watching:

Overall impression:

Ruby: This video is really different for us. Not because we tend to not review videos of this type, but because its quite rare that this type of video is released. It is worth noting a few things about MFBTY: the average age of this group is 35 years old, Tasha and TigerJK are married and the three formed the group MFBTY in January as a project. I think all of that is reflected really strongly in this video. It has a beautiful clean and natural feel to it. They use mature, but distinctive clothing that speaks to their individual styles. Like Mirae wearing long skirts, which is mature but also quite distinctive.

Mirae in a patterned, long dress. 

The cutest lil' tiger cub.

Em: Everything was very loose and casual, a nice contrast to the usual in kpop. It looked like it was styled to be unstyled in some ways. In fact, I feel like this is the first time we’ve seen pants that look like they were ripped doing work rather than ripped doing…er…something else. *cough* Taemin *cough* Even their hair looks messy, and honestly I personally like it a lot. Its more personal somehow. 

 

A glowing mop of unruly hair

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: So there was a teaser released a few days prior to the album, which is really quite different in every way possible. They use some short scenes from the mv but mostly the teaser is talking 3d rendered heads and strobe effect. They use their older songs Sweet Dream and Bizzytigeryoonmirae, remixed. I mean it was fun, I guess. Honestly it reminded me of the Black Eyed Peas’ music video for Boom Boom Pow.

The faces of MFBTY in the teaser

From The Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow mv

Em: I thought it was interesting that they emphasized previous songs when it seems to me that the new style is very different. It’s still them, I don’t think it was outside what made sense for the group, it was just a lot softer and sweeter in both song and style than Sweet Dream and Bizzytigeryoonmirae. Little bit crazy with the quick flashing between scenes. Not a huge fan.

  

Sweet Dream is a great video but it is....

a much darker MV in general with a faster beat and harsher tone.

Continuity:

Ruby: it was so simple that there was really no issue within the continuity. Mirae stuck mostly to long skirts and unique accessories, Tiger JK favored loose shirts and jeans and Bizzy wore tighter shirts and no shoes. It was the small things that really spoke in this case. Tasha wore a beautiful headscarf at one point or the embroidery on Tiger JK’s shirt; it all just followed together so nicely. Things that were subtle parts of the styling, Bizzy’s barefeet, Tiger JK’s tousled hair or Tasha’s gorgeous earrings, really made the video feel very natural, very real. Something that kpop misses out on a lot.

Mirae's lovely chunky earrings.

Bizzy forgot something on his way to the shooting today....
He just can't seem to remember what it was.

Em: I agree about the realness. It just felt very human. They looked comfortable, like they were just people who liked music. Clothing can make artists seem otherworldly or worldly, and I think kpop usually tends toward the otherworldly. It wasn’t eye-catching in the same way as HOW SHINY CAN WE MAKE THIS FABRIC OKAY NOW ADD GLITTER but I think it gained from the subtlety. It fit the song and the style.  Even the accessories seemed like something a real person would wear. 

Rather than sequins suits, toady we're wearing ripped up jeans....

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: So MFBTY formed in January and released an MV for a song called Sweet Dream. If you haven’t heard/seen it, GO NOW AND DO IT NOW. The styling in “The Cure” was quite different from the image they used in Sweet Dream. However, that was a heavily stylized video with a Victorian dream concept. Since MFBTY is a project group, they each have maintained strong independent identities. Tiger and Tasha have always tended towards the sexy side. Tiger JK is a manly man muscle man way and Tasha in a sultry seductress way.  They’ve done 1920s concepts and hip hop concepts and even posed together nude a few times. I think for them its about suiting the moment and the song rather than trying to establish an identity.

Dr. and Mr. Watson have arrived, from Sweet Dream,
a much stronger concept.

Straight out of the Great Gatsby, huh?

Em: Continuing on that note, it might be just because they’re older too. They know who they are as people by now, and they can focus on other things rather than trying to define themselves. Fashion becomes part of the concept more as they show the style of the song (while still showing off themselves). There’s a lot of confidence in it. They’ve always done lovely details too. 

A detail of graffiti jeans in Sweet Dream

More important things, like this lil' guy.

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: These three have always existed outside of the mainstream from music styles to lifestyles and even fashion. Tasha spent her childhood in America. She also feels a strong connection to her father’s African American roots. Tiger JK was born in Korea, but at the age of 12 moved to America and lived in the US through college. They were both exposed to American fashion and American ideals at an early age. I think that changes their use of fashion a lot and places them outside of the Korean mainstream. 

Dirty jeans and some bead bracelets, MUCH TOO SIMPLE TO BE KPOP.

Em: That influence definitely makes a lot of sense. We have seen simple clothing before, occasionally, but it rarely has the same personality. There’s a very fine line between too complicated and too boring. We don’t talk much about trends in kpop for people who aren’t dressing like teens or young adults (there isn’t much to talk about)…if we do talk about people over 25, its usually to complain that they aren’t dressed their age. Drunken Tiger was definitely an exception, in a very good way.

A similar concept from Park JiYoon's "Tree of Life"

Remarkably similar outfits, but this just feels like a more interesting video

Conclusion:

Ruby: The video was not fancy and it wasn’t on trend. But it is also one of my favorite videos of the year. In all seriousness, this video was stunning in its simplicity. So often in kpop we get the more is more mentality with fashion: 15 different outfit sets, wild hair, runway makeup etc, etc. This video shows that there are other options, different ways of approaching fashion that might communicate your ideas with more maturity.

Although there's a huge korean influence, its unlike other kpop videos on so many ways...

Em: Agreed. It was beautiful. It was soft and subtle and classy and let me use all these adjectives that I don’t usually get to use with kpop. Woohoo! I hope they keep it up and keep making beautiful things. I also hope that other kpop groups can take inspiration from them and understand a little bit more about what makes them so good.

 

Even Bizzy seems put together!!!

Simple earthy clothes complement the set and the animations.

Daily Dose of Daebak:

I love Bizzy’s giant imaginary friend.

Shirtless Tiger in a bathtub…even better than fashion! 

Thanks so much for reading! Which do you prefer? The wild side of MFBTY from Sweet Dream or the earthy side of MFBTY from The Cure?

Let us know! Or tell us what you'd like us to review next!

Thanks for reading! 

Ruby and Em <3