Makin' it Rain

The first real review of 2014! Well we thought it would be cute to welcome the new year with an old favorite. Early comebacks have been extremely... uh... interesting. And this video was no exception!
Let's take a look-see at
Rain- LA Song

This video was released on January 1st, 2014 and as of January 12th had 846,141 views. There was also another Rain video released for a song called 30Sexy but it wasn't nearly as politically incorrect, so we opted for LA song. On to the velvet covered racist and sexist goodness:

Let's join the party:

Ruby: So I guess the first thing to say is oh man, this video was like playing a game of how many bad ideas can we fit into approximately four minutes. The fashion, while not nearly as offensive as many parts of the video, was definitely not to my taste... It's not that what he was wearing was ugly or unflattering (for the most part) but that it was all so viciously out of place that it just left me confused and with bad taste in my mouth. (I mean there's was a bad headband and velvet suits....)

My game face and my headband

I am unamused by these events

Em: Since the song name is LA Song, maybe..... American clothing? But unlike Troublemaker's rather fashionable take on the slapdash, mismatched stereotype, this seems just kinda bad. I can't say I've ever seen someone where a red velvet suit before...maybe cause I don't live in LA, but still. Still. The fur coat wasn't exactly my favorite thing ever either.

Lookin' fine in my red velvet suit

Wait where is this video set again?

Forget your silly dance battle, it's time for a...

First up we've got the Sherlock Homeless look. Grab you warm woolen scarves and an oversized jacket. This outfit makes for a great go to look. It's super warm but also so easy to wear. And you get to explore the existential side of fashion: what is fashion? what is worn out? what is an elbow patch? what is life?

Another contender is certainly FURocious. White t-shirt, gold chains, fur coat. What else could you need to spend an evening jamming with friends, at an under ground dance rave or grocery shopping? Clearly this is a look appropriate for all occasions.

The last contender in this battle of fashions is Dual Dandy in his velvet suit, with two color options. Olive and Tomato. I mean these suits just scream class and subtlety. What more can I say? It's like a pimpin' christmas in this video. And I love it.

Which outfit do you think won this fashionista face-off?

#ohoh!Objectify_me_sir!
#highwaistslhighhopes
#layeredlikeanonion

#ohoh!Objectify_me_sir! The real trends of 2014 remain to be seen but the early votes certainly point to sexy sexy women dressed in virtually no clothing. Now being sexy can certainly be a good thing, but it can also be a bit offensive. Especially when it's a back up dancer that serves no purpose. TVXQ is also guilty of this in their first single of this year, Something.

From TVXQ's Somebody.

#highwaisthighopes  High waisted looks were big last year with videos like I Got a Boy (SNSD) and Darling of All Hearts (SunnyHill) and it seems like they're going to keep it up this year. High waisted looks, pants, shorts skirts, can be super flattering and add some flare to a less exciting outfit.

Girl's Generation - I Got A Boy

SunnyHill - Darling of All Hearts

#layeredlikeanonion with jacket upon jacket upon shirt upon other shirt. This tends to happen in winter when clothing stores refuse to acknowledge the fact that its cold outside, and rather than wearing warmer clothes you just wear more clothes layered on top of each other. LA Song featured backup dancers that had more than enough layers to be considered sporting "the layered look." This also happened in other MVs, such as B1A4's Lonely where everyone looked.

B1A4 - Lonely

la conclusion  (mais oui, c'est en français.)

Ruby: I just feel like these were impractical outfits for a dirt floor dancer face off. The video in general was full of stereotypes and just really mixed messages between clothing and concept. I can see so  many of these outfits working on other settings, but so few of them felt even slightly relevant to this video itself. It's hard when each piece of fashion is sort of okay, but the styling and combination of it all is so off putting its hard to watch. Also if a trend this year is out of place, scantily clad women, I will be frustrated. At least there was no plaid.

Let's do the lindy hop!

I mean she looks hot...

Em: All in all, I wasn't particularly thrilled with this week. I mean, maybe we're being a bit harsh...we have liked mismatched things in the past, and its not all bad to mix things up a bit. Unfortunately, it went too far in the wrong direction I think. Fur coats are fur coats, and we see them all the freaking time...nothing really radical there.

Dance Battle Dress Code is Black tie, right?

We're as confused as you are kid.

Chickens. Everywhere.

The Barber Shop set was kinda cool.

What do you think will be all the rage in kpop fashion this year? Let us know!

See ya round! 

Ruby and Em

Junsu's Incredible Wardrobe

Recently we've really kicked off summer. 2ne1 brought us to the beach and No Min Woo got us all pumped up for a massive rock and roll party! Leave it to Junsu to combine those two and toss in a little of his own special skills to top it off! Of course, this week, we're talking about
Incredible - Xia Junsu
get your party suit on and click here (or just watch below)

The video was released on two channels (loen and cjes both released the video) on July 14th 2013 and as of July 22nd had a combined 915,749 views. 

*as a side note, I'm flyin' solo this week, Em is still away so we're trying out singleton writing*

Overall impression:

Ruby: So Junsu’s solo work is always a little bit off-kilter. I don’t think anyone is going to forget Intoxication anytime soon. So. There’s that. There was A LOT of clothing in this video. Junsu changed a buttload of times and then he had a million and a half backup dancers who were all decked out for a super funky retro rave disco beach party. That is the technical term. Generally I found the fashion to be too much for me. I like parts or concepts but it was really massively overwhelming. I mean in a way it worked since I think they were going for chaotic summer nutso party. But there were parts of it that I was like, I just don't get it. Mesh tank top and a button down…. Why.

Secret filming location. I swear.

I mean i don't really understand where any of those pieces were designed to be worn.
Except the bra. Which was made to go under shirts. so.

I. just. I mean. He's wearing his suit pants, mesh and pastels.

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: The video teaser featured what I found to be the coolest part of the mv in itself. It was a good representation of the mv itself and it definitely intrigued me. I guess you could also consider 11 am, his mv before this was also sort of a preface to this. It’s incredibly simple and a really nice counterpoint to the insanity of Incredible. Actually it kind of looks like they got the order wrong. Maybe 11am was the aftermath of his crazy beach party. There was a showcase where he performed several songs. He changed accordingly, wearing a silver and black tassel-dangling suit for Tarantellegra but the red patch jacket for Incredible.

Now this is pretty.

must've been a wild party dude

Red coat with appliques and a newsprint tie.... oh blurry screencaps.

Continuity:

Ruby: I feel wrong discussing continuity in this mv. There is zero continuity. Okay well, maybe I’ll give it ½ a point for the main girl, she seems consistently like pastel hipster and I like that. Although she is really really out of place. I mean who wears lacy shorts and hipster headbands to the neon spandex flashdance cat mask party? Then again, Junsu was also clearly struggled with what to wear and his initial choice of black pants a white shirt was very wrong and later rejected.

FLASHDANCE

Don't worry guys, she's a pretty stalker.

Crap, I misread my own dresscode.

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Junsu likes to be the sexy pop star when he’s not performing with his group, JYJ. I mean, Tarantellegra and Intoxication were equally as racy and provocative. I mean 11am was much more reserved, which was a big change for him. I guess he might be trying to work maturity into a very risqué image that he’s maintained throughout his career. He’s 26, so I can understand him wanting to emulate his age and experiences in his life. I would miss Junsu if he decided to be conservative or cutesy, but it good to see him take on a more serious role as well. Thus 11am and Incredible were well paired.

Junsu in 11am, very simple and never changes.

And then there was Tarantellegra,

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: There were so many many things….. Can gold suits not be a trend? No no no. There was another video released recently where they wore something similar. All I can think of is pornstar-oppa. We see the return of oddly patterned suits, something SHINee is well known for. Maybe Junsu borrowed one of Jaejoong’s mesh shirts. I guess the randomness in itself is a trend right now. Like 4minute.

Tarantellegra teaser!

Porn. Star. Oppa.

And then there was more gold fabric.

Conclusion:

Ruby: I like the song and I like the video in a way. It was one of those, this is terrible and I love it. It's a mess and its very confused and I shouldn’t like it. But I do. I found Junsu’s outfits sort of unimpressive but the chaos behind him is kind of wonderful. For me I think I’ve enjoyed some of his other mv’s more but this was quite interesting and it’s summer, so it's a good time to have crazy-butt parties and go wild.

But I mean in all honest I paused the video more than once just to be like, what the hell are you wearing. dear god.

This part was cool.

but then I was like, dear god where did you even find that!?!?!?!

Daily Dose of Daebak:

FISH HAT and CAT MASKS

SHAKE YOUR SPACESHIP CANDY

So tell us what you would wear to Junsu's massive beach party!!!!

Or just leave lonely me some love :(

see ya soon!

Ruby...... 

Going Crazy for Michigo

Happy Tuesday internet! Starting now (dramatic fanfare) we will be updating on TUESDAYS. Maybe making the worst day of the week a little more fashionable will make it more bearable. ;)

SO ON THIS GLORIOUS TUESDAY, we are talking about one of the most well known artists in kpop and his recent eclectic, crazy, off-his-rocker comeback. 

MICHIGO- GDRAGON

The MV for Michigo came out April 19th, 2013 and the video had 4,478,853 views as of April 30th. 

If you haven't seen this insanity yet, please experience the wonder here: 

TO THE CREEPY SUBWAY( click )

Overall impression:

Em: As always, GD has a sassy, weird style that is totally and completely his own. It was reminiscent of the insanity of Crayon, but with elements of One of a Kind thrown in. Initially he started in a relatively innocuous ‘street-clothes’ type outfit, then quickly moved dark leathery outfits as part of his alter-ego. Lots of tight pants or weird shorts, jackets, and wigs EVERYWHERE for him. The other people in the video ranged from fairly simple punk-y outfits to the super badass girl with green lipstick and leather and spikes everywhere. Oh and one more thing—most of them had masks. Creepy anime girl masks.

Don't worry, dancer girl is just high off life.

What a luscious wig. (Because he's worth it...)

On my way to school. Riding the scariest subway ever.

Ruby: Animegao. Yeah. They were a…. surprise. It definitely held the hallmarks of  GD. There were A LOT of exaggerated hairstyles and heavy (though really well done) makeup in this video. Some really interesting individual pieces got lost in the wonderland-esuqe muddled confusion. That being said the shapes and styling was very intricate, creating a complex and unique atmosphere. Gotta love skinny jeans and a loose, cropped jacket. There was a very clear distinction between the dancers and GD, as they stayed mostly in street clothes and added masks.

my face scarf is super cool! too bad it was in the video for all of 3 seconds.

One of the many animegao....

Other promotional Materials:

Em: There appears to be almost no promotional materials for Michigo. Guess GD just didn’t need them…the video spoke for itself.

Ruby: He has dropped a hint for the performance of this song during his concert series. He wears a very long, red leather car-racing suit with appliques. It’s interesting. Really not connected to the video at all. I bet it looks cool from afar, but from close up the coat is overwhelming since GD is so skinny.

GD live stage outfit for Michigo. 

Continuity:

Em: Though it had the usual insanity of a G-Dragon mv, there was also consistency in the level of craziness. There was a different wig for every outfit, each one crazier than the last one (afro, Mohawk, etc) but they each went with the outfit. The color scheme for GD himself was almost all black and white, with some smaller exceptions. The masks also remained throughout the video, tying the scenes together.

My my what a wig collection you have.

Ruby: The scenes were continuous in their weirdness, I guess. I mean the theme for the video was insanity, so good work everyone, you worked hard today. Mission accomplished? A lot of it strayed into ground that was a little fetishy, with the harness for example. But hey, the slightly sketchy, very odd quality in this video really is consistent.

GD's shiny new harness.

Band’s Overall Image:

Em: Like I said, this is VERY GD. Though it has different themes than previous videos, you can still tell pretty easily that it’s him. His style is distinctive in its craziness and testing of boundaries. Also he seems to have a thing for weird shorts. He has a well-established image of a unique, out-there artist using playful concepts with…twists. Such as the kink in this video. O.o

you know what they say about men with big feet.....

Ruby: Interestingly, GD’s solo work takes on a very different style than his hand, BIGBANG, does. G-Dragon recently has been going increasingly crazier in his wardrobe choices. Although heartbreaker era was slightly less out-there, he has always opted for weirdness and off trend fashion to set himself apart. Its one of his selling points; you’ll never be bored.

This is from Heartbreaker.... hey that mask looks familiar....

Heartbreaker makeup. A little bit wacky, a lot of a bit cool.

Trends in K-POP:

Em: GD sets the goddamn trend. However, this is consistent with themes of having fun and partying that we see from a lot of bands (his just might win craziest). Though the video wasn’t specifically about a party, it had the same ideas of letting loose, going nuts, and having fun.

 

PARTY IN THE LIBRARRRRRYYYYYYY..... study party. duh.

Ruby: AND THEN THERE ARE THE FETISHES. This video, from the bathroom voyeur to the super phallic gun to GD’s enormous feet, was filled to the brim with pseudo-sexual innuendo and imagery. Kpop recently is RIFE with fetish-related fashion! It’s not a new idea, going back to much older ukiss and tvxq songs, but there does seem to be an increase in it recently. Jaejoong’s Mine and Jo Kwon's Animal both make different references to the idea. Other examples are pictured below.

Voyeur GD approves.

Spanking. Apparently GD thinks this "feels good"....

Bom in 2ne1's I am the Best ft. Poodle and Spiky Boobs

Jaejoong's Mine, he sure does like his chains....

Dongho in Ukiss's Man Man Ha Ni. At the time he was 15.

NOTHING SEXUAL GOING ON HERE T-ARA. NOPE.

Can't even defend Brown Eyed Girls- Abracadabra....

Conclusion:

Em: I think the song and video worked very well with the image he had cultivated, and I suspect he had a lot of fun filming it. He certainly enjoyed riding the giant pink elephant. GD appears to be testing the limits of how weird (and sexual) he can get in an mv before he’s forced to leave the country, and it’s certainly entertaining. As usual, another successful single.

He sure enjoys waving around his.... elephant trunk.

Ruby: I always enjoy a little bit of weirdness and originality in videos. Typically I adore GD’s complete disregard for other’s opinions or social acceptability. While I loved most of this video I found it a little underwhelming following That XX and Crayon. I mean, That XX had this grungy elegance, which GD pulled off so well, despite the obvious contradiction in that statement. Beyond that Crayon managed to go insane (oh that wonder-woman cape) without being confusing or disorienting. While I loved the feistiness and snarkiness of the video, I wish it had been a tad bit more focused. Honestly.

 

From Crayon- GD and his favorite jammies.

From That XX- CLASSY AND SASSY.

Daily Dose of Daebak:

LIP RINGGGGGGGGSSSSS

EXCUSE ME WHILE I WHIP YOU WITH MY RIDING CROP FLY SWATTER. 

Leave us some good vibes or suggestions here or on tumblr! 

You can answer this, if you like: Which is your favorite GD comeback from this year? 

I know what mine is >.<

Lots of love,

Ruby & Em