MBLAQ Goes Dapper

This week we're drooling over MBLAQ's classiness in Smoky Girl!

The marvelousness can be found HERE

It came out on June 3rd, 2013, and as of June 30th, 2013 it had 1,594,522 views.

Overall impression:

Em: So this MV, at first glance, seems like a bunch of guys in suits. Sexy, sure, but is it interesting enough to do a review on? WELL. Just wait until 2:30, when this random girl drops her drink and everything is an explosion of happiness and rainbows (okay what was actually in her drink guys? Guys?) In all seriousness though, MBLAQ’s Smoky Girl was a well-put-together MV with a variety of interesting styles. They started with sleek black suits, then smooth white suits, then they got neon rainbows on their white suits (which glowed fantastically under a blacklight) and then finally more colorful outfits at the end. Plenty of dapper details to keep it interesting like snazzy hats and sunglasses.

 

Dapper as all @#%& in black suits

Acid is bad, folks.

White suits + blacklight + neon paint = this awesomeness

Ruby: I really think that this mv was all in the detailing. I mean, normally we see mv’s of suits and are like, well don't you guys look dapper and snazzy… and I’m bored. So for us I think this mv was really refreshing. Yes, it was suits, but it fit the cool and suave concept for the dance and song. And they were sooo well done. And I’ve seen the neon paint thing a few times recently, but this worked really well under the blacklights and I think added that unique spark to the mv. Unique is the wrong word here, but standout definitely still applies.

Corset detailing...file under sexy

Sneaky bits of color that made outfits much more than just boring suits

Glowing suits. Yes.

Other promotional Materials:

Em: MBLAQ did an oddly beige teaser photo where they wore tan and off white. The only color was their hair, which was rather distinctive in the MV itself too. It’s interesting how these vague, noncommittal colors play off of the stark black and white contrast and bold colors throughout the actual video. The video teaser was just clips from the MV.

Looking at the MV, I'm kind of confused

Ruby: Honestly, as much as the suits were amazing in the mv, something got miscommunicated to the stages. Don't get me wrong, some of their suit sets were really clean and quite dapper…. Others edged on just a bad idea. I mean, I understand, you had the altered suits in the mv, but those already walk a thin line of being stripperish or looking like a mistake. They seem to have driven an army tank over the line and declared war against modesty with the comeback stages. I understand where they were coming from, but come on guys…..

Sure this is fine, nice and clean, they look like a group

Wait is that a slit in your shirt?

They appear to have run out of fabric

Continuity:

Em: Smoky Girl was unique in that usually kpop bands have a few different outfit sets to switch between throughout the video, but in this one there were two sets for the first half and then two sets for the second half after the drink spilled, which marked the transition from black and white to Wonderland. Despite this jump in the middle, the level of dapper stayed pretty consistent throughout the MV. The white suits were essentially carried over, but transformed, and the other outfits tied in with each other nicely. The band ALWAYS looks like a cohesive band.

 

Sunglasses in black

Sunglasses in white

Ruby: I agree, I think the suits themselves really acted to keep the band consistent. I guess I would have liked to not have the street clothes set. It wasn’t bad but it lost a lot of its appeal when placed next to these extremely clean, sexy and classy suits. Also, for me, colored hair is great. I adore brightly died hair but it has to match the concept. That pink is just to much for this mv, its like, all I can look at…. Can’t…. look… away….

Street clothes--acceptable, but just not the same

What is the first thing you see in this picture?

Band’s Overall Image:

Em: MBLAQ has definitely done the sexy men in black and white thing in the past, and they do it well. They’ve also done colorful patterns before…it always makes a statement visually, so they’re using what’s worked for them in the past. It’s not that they can’t be cute, they just usually focus on sexy concepts.

Sexy, b&w concept from their album Y

Some colorful patterns like in the street clothes

CUTE WORKS TOO OKAY

Ruby: MBLAQ does sexy well. I mean they do the whole like black, sexy manly man man concept pretty much all the time. Although they’ve got cuddly and silly personalities they definitely pull it off well. Usually I think they’re a little wilder including elements of punk style or maybe color accents, but this comeback I think the new buzzword was classy. Not that they were not-classy before, but that this reaches new levels of classy for not only kpop but male pop star fashion in general. They just look good, okay?

Shot from the MV This Is War

Classy.

Trends in K-POP:

Em: Suits have always been a thing, and hopefully always will be a thing. They’re classic. In fact, even Lee Hyori wears them when she’s crossdressing, and looks just as dapper. Not actually kidding. Kpop fashion also has a liiiiitle bit of kink thrown into it. MBLAQ did it with a corset shirt thing. Ukiss did it with rope in a photoshoot. It gets snuck in.

Lee Hyori in Going Crazy

U kiss and their rope thing. Yeah the whole band did this too.

Ruby: Please let suits never go out of fashion. Like well fitted, black, non patterned suits. ON AN UNRELATED NOTE the paint thing has been in kpop-yester-comebacks. You can go back to 2ne1’s Ugly in 2011 or look at 4Minute’s What’s Your Name from this year. MBLAQ uses the trend well here and I think it can be really fun if done right. Also, when setting MVs in night clubs I think they tend to struggle with the background clothing, but I liked the really stark, fairly conservative approach with the white. I think it worked and really reduced the visual noise in those scenes. This SHOULD be a trend….. ;) 

2NE1's Ugly MV with neon paint

What's Your Name by 4Minute

Simple white nightclub outfit fits the MV

Conclusion:

Em: This was a good showing from MBLAQ. The suits were sleek, well fitting, and were interesting without being too ‘creative’ to the point of trying too hard. They managed the tough balance in men’s clothing between color and manliness by keeping the details subtle and countering the color with an overall classic appearance. Partly dapper and partly good for clubbing too.

This is not MBLAQ. This is SHINee, after being attacked by their stylists.
Don't do suits like this. Just don't.

Better.

Ruby: MBLAQ nailed it. This song and dance and clothes match really well. This isn’t a concept to use all the time. It wasn’t super exciting in some ways, I’ll admit it. But the song was really asking for that classy with a twist attitude. Plus we got the fun parts later with the paint and the black lights and our hints of sexy with the eyeliner, hats and shades. I could have done with different hairdos in some cases, but there was just so much yes in this video, I can’t really complain.

Guyliner and is that lipstick too? but he still looks good, maybe it's the hair

Hellooooooooo

Daily Dose of Daebak:

Sometimes stylists go crazy with scissors. Sometimes we let them.

Mir, glasses, hair back, eyeliner…. We don't have a like, SEXXYYYYYY category. But this can go in that category….. on top…. Of the list…. Drools

So what did you think?  Were they as classy as we thought or did they miss the dapper boat? Let us know in a comment!

Love,

Ruby & Em <3

The Most Darling of all Outfits

This week we're celebrating the start of summer by reviewing a sunny-shiney, feel good video! 

We're wishing for good weather with:

SunnyHill's Darling of all Hearts!!!

This glorious 4 minute ball of cheer and happy can be found HERE.

The mv was released June 19th 2013 and had 164,573 views as of June 22nd 2013. 

Overall impression:

Ruby: This is by far the closest to my own style of any video we’ve reviewed, so I’m pretty dang excited to gush over the retro-wonderful outfits. Sunny Hill is always a little alternative and this time they went full out old school referencing in parts the 30s, 40s and 50s of western fashion. However making outfits more fitted and shorter and by using bold colors modernized the looks. It’s very indie, very current and completely adorable. It’s cute without going aegyo and super wearable. There weren’t very many outfit changes, but every detail, down to the back up dancer’s shoes was well thought through.

Dancers in loafers! Practical, shiny and super retro!

Retro, quirky and super cute.

Em: This was super super adorable and sweet, and not in a fake frosting kind of sweet but in a homemade chocolate chip cookie kind of sweet. Yeah. I was a big fan too. In the all-band outfits, one main color tied the scene together, like blue, and then there were some bright pops of color to add interest, like in the shoes. I kind of hate myself for using the phrase ‘pop of color’ cause its so overused (Ruby: THAT PHRASE IS TOTALLY A THING.) though…hmmm…like a miniature explosion of aesthetic happiness. Better. In all seriousness though, the outfits were consistent and cute and had a fun variety of retro styles and shapes that were very flattering, especially in the solo outfits. Nice mix of swingy skirts and high waisted pants too.

Shoes that add A POP OF COLOR.

flouncy, bouncy, floofy skirts add some pizzaz to dance scenes.

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: The teaser for the mv was cute and playful. It featured one of the coordinated dance outfits. (POKASPOTS) They did do a showcase where they wore new outfits, but they very much fit within the theme established in the mv. These were a bit more mismatched. I liked the outfits once I saw them in the interview portion but in the first stage they looked really oddly colored. I think it may have been the lighting… But they were cute anyway.

 

teaser outfits and sass

at the showcase with cute outfits and weird lighting

Em: The video teaser played a lot on the retro theme with the surroundings too, emphasizing the era the outfits stemmed from. The interview clothes stayed consistent with the retro theme too, right down to the bright red lipstick. Even their hair is cute. The interview looked a BIT more mismatched, and it was interestingly casual. Somehow it didn’t feel like high fashion mismatch but just fun and a little random, which is odd for kpop. It’s cool that they’re doing something different.

 

some coral lipstick adds a dewy, pink look when paired with blush

while some red lipstick with a heavier eye makes for a more dramatic look.

Continuity:

Ruby: I thought the mv as a whole was really nicely put together. I mean, the dancers in the rompers and the loafers were great. Often dancers get slighted but they really added to the whole concept. The dance scene outfits were really simple cuts and really consistent which helped since the pattern was soooo busy and could have easily overwhelmed everything. The girls just felt fresh and young and stylish throughout the whole thing. Bold patterns, pop colors, and details, like puff sleeves or a high waist, really make this feel new and bright, perfect for summer style.

 

puff sleeves make a normal button down 394832x cuter.

rompers! easy to move in and great for summer.

Em: I agree about the backup dancers. Their outfits were interesting without being distracting, and even their hair was consistent. Good fashion for the backup dancers helps them do their jobs of supporting the band without distracting from them. I also liked that POKASPOTS were everywhere, even in some of the little details that are barely noticeable. They even went on the guy’s jacket. Win.

 

Sure, the giant white polkadots aren't subtle, but the little black ones
are super classy and super wearable.

Mr. hypnosis and his mesmerizing jacket

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Sunnyhill’s second incarnation had their big break with a super cheesy, ooey gooy goodness track called Pit-a-Pat, written as an ost for a drama. They were super cute and super girly. Then they moved toward something darker and a little weirder with midnight circus and the grasshopper song. Both of these concepts relied heavily on the metaphor in the song, one was a circus concept and the other was a businesswoman meets grasshopper concept. No, I’m not even kidding. So I think this strikes a nice balance moving in a quirky and unique but wearable and cute direction.

 

Oh for the outfits in the Pit-a-Pat video....

Even the coats had wings in The Grasshopper Song...

Em: They are always different from the main direction kpop bands go, thankfully for us since they do it so well. They’ve experimented with a lot of styles, and they’ve always had interesting fashion to go with it. In Princess and Prince Charming, they had a totally different style, but they had the same sense of experimentation and humor. Even though this was stylistically different than some of their previous stuff, it fits right in with what Sunny Hill does.

 

And for something completely different..... Princess and Prince Charming!

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: Well I mean. Retro is in, though the era’s vary, a lot. Being girly will always be in, but SunnyHill does it differently in this mv, and I think that says something. They really represent a more mature take on the tendency to push younger concepts for girl groups, no matter their age. Look at SNSD and Rainbow; both promoted as giggly high school girls, when both groups average age is 23. The eldest member (Woori of Rainbow) is 25 and the youngest (Seohyun of SNSD) is 19. Hardly giggly 15 year olds. The point is that with an average age of 26, SunnyHill is adorable and grown up. I think they’re cute but I also trust them to like, use the grown up scissors or dress themselves.

 

Taeyeon of SNSD looks confused while Seohyun looks petrified....
there's a man at the door.

we'd want to pull our hair out too if we were in Rainbow's Sunshine video,
and we're not in our mid-twenties yet.

Em: AGREED. It’s one thing to have fun and be cute with a video, its another to literally be pretending to be far younger than you are. I mean, some girl groups act like younger girls who are then acting like younger girls. Too much. On a more positive note, Lee Hi’s It’s Over was rather retro and had a childlike style, yet I never got the sense that she was literally pretending to be a 4 year old. Maybe it’s something in the way the artists present themselves in the clothes. Lee Hi is still pretty young, but her attitude changed the clothes from silly to something much more interesting.

 

Lee Hi, who is 16, adds class and sophistication to her innocent look
in It's Over.

Ruby: Other songs that use similar fashion eras include: Shy Boy (Secret), Nobody (The Wondergirls) and Going Crazy (Lee Hyori)

DOOWAPDOOWAPDOOWAP.... Shy Boy.

Nobody concept photos

Conclusion:

Ruby: I think its pretty clear that I am in raptures over this video. I just adore it. I love their fashion, I love the hair and makeup and the details. It my style in both fashion and in precision. There are no details left un-tended to and it felt like someone had actually really taken the time to think it through. Poofy skirts and retro sunglasses, high waisted pants and rompers all these things are flattering and right on trend. It just worked. 

 

Can I have this dress? Like, pretty pretty please. (it's pretty, after all.)

Her pants and glasses match. Retro and coordinated! 

Em: Yeah this was wonderful. I really hope the retro trend continues in an equally spectacular way, and also that Sunny Hill keeps doing stuff like this. It was clean and well done and wearable and just so many yeses. On the checklist of good things that happen in kpop videos this one wins.

 

Relaxing (........) on the web in a tied up shirt and high waisted shorts.

Daily Dose of Daebak:

What do I do when I’m home alone? I ROLL MYSELF UP IN FABRIC AND THEN UNROLL MYSELF. OH BOY FUN TIMES.

They all match their furniture. That, ladies and gentlemen, is coordinated.

POLKASPOTS.

How do you rock the retro look? Let us know or leave us a comment about anything you want! 

We'd love to hear from you!

Hope your summer starts off with lots of sunshine and great style.

Ruby and Em <3