Photographer: Yeahwon Kang 강예원 | instagram.com/yae__123/
Location: Mangwon, Seoul, South Korea
Photo Shoot Date: September 20, 2020 | | Post Release Date: January 1, 2021
CHIC
UNNIE
INTRO
Hey y’all~ Well it’s been a HOT second (3 years to be exact) since I last made a post. So much has happened in between in my personal life (read: experimented with new hair colors, graduated college, moved to Korea), but something that has always remained the same is that I’ve been doing fun creative projects and experimenting with my style whenever I get the chance. Having lived in Korea for some time now and once again enabled by the cute and affordable clothing and accessories that surround me, I missed blogging and wanted to jump back into it. This was originally planned to be a 3-part series about how to style mom jeans, but given COVID restrictions, busy schedules, and colder weather, I am not sure if that vision will come to fruition as soon as I had hoped. I also have no idea how often I will be able to update this but for now I’ll just go with the flow and put out new stuff when I get the chance aka when I 1) feel inspired 2) want to throw myself into projects to distract myself from other things happening in my life and/or 3) manage to coordinate photo shoots (if you’re interested in collabing, hit me up). I don’t want this intro to drag on for too long so essentially, I’ve missed this platform dearly and am touched by how many loved ones have expressed excitement for this comeback. Here's hoping to more photo shoots in 2021, but for now let’s get into it!
Black Knit Tank Top | Brand Market
Mom Jeans | Hongdae, Korea
Combat Boots | Dr. Martens
Black Belt with Metal Detailing | Artbox
Geometrical Dangly Earrings | RedEye
Silver Circle Choker | RedEye
Silver Nose Ring | One Piercing
Black Sunglasses with Gold Detailing | Dry Goods
Black Mask | Nets
Dashing Diva Simply Chic Press On Nails | Olive Young
THE LOOK
THE OUTFIT
Quick story time: When I was younger, I used to HATE wearing short sleeves and sleeveless tops because I was SUPER self conscious of my arms. Because I have been quite thin all of my life, someone usually commented on how I must not eat enough (if you know me, you would know this to be very FALSE) and start making a ring with their fingers around my wrist to exclaim how tiny they are. Annoying, right?! Friendly reminder: your unsolicited comments about people’s body are most times never requested nor cared for, so please stop before you make a fool of yourself.
Anyways, as I’ve gotten older I try my best not to care about what others think and just focus on what makes me feel good, which I think is something I’m learning a lot about through fashion. I realize my obsession with dress up games has translated into me loving the ability to try on new looks and give off different vibes depending on how I want to style myself. For this look, I wanted to go for that badass, chic vibes. I was trying to channel a “뭘봐/What are YOU looking at (punk)?” sort of gaze. Think older sister who would beat up anyone who dared mess with her beloved youngins.
I kept things simple with this black knit top which can be worn on its own or layered on top of some other article of clothing. To show off my arm muscles (lololol jk) I just styled it on its own (I also had an oversized ripped denim jacket, but sadly none of the shots with it made the cut). It’s a little cropped which works perfectly with my high waisted high jeans aka the star of the show. Besides being super comfy, these mom jeans are SO VERSATILE. I rolled up the cuffs to hide the frayed edges and show off my boots, which I will take about more in detail later.
More on the denim jacket. It was fall so it was a little chilly and appreciated some extra warmth when needed. You can see what it looks like here from an unreleased photo shoot I took a few years back. Although I am usually not a fan of denim on denim, the look has sort of grown on me. It all comes down on how you style and wear it with confidence. Since the jacket is oversized, it really gave off that old, retro 90s vibes. Because the top shows some skin and my rolled up jeans showed off some leg, it didn’t look like I was drowning in fabric.
Not sure how to pose when you're on a stair? Have no fear! You can of course do your standard sitting and looking straight intensely at the camera (as exhibited in one of the earlier photos in this post) but you can also add a bit of flair by looking off to the side, angling your legs and arms, and saying the word "prune" so your lips slightly purse. Really gives you that effortless sophisticated and sexy(?) vibes. Alternatively, you can swing yourself from the staircase handles and try to create cool angles with your arms and legs. I don't think I did that great of a job in the above picture but eh I'm always down to try new things and wow do my legs look super long. The power of angles y'all.
FUN TIP
HAIR
I've gone back to black hair (for now) and just opted for beachy waves that I pulled back with my sunglasses. I now understand the appeal of wearing sunglasses on your head. It keeps your hair tendrils from getting in your face and it gives you an edgy vibe. I like things that serve multiple purposes.
ACCESSORIES
Starting from my head, we first have my black sunglasses with gold temples and rims. Up next we have my silver geometric dangly earrings, fake nose ring (one of my fave buys), and circle choker. I went for silver accessories since I wanted to stick to the cool tone to go with the overall edgy vibes. Also can I just say, I love how in the photo to the right, the sun casts really cool shadows of the geometric pieces.
Moving to my waist, I chose my black belt with silver lining for the the belt holes. The other statement piece in my outfit are chunky black combat boots that that never fail to make me feel like an absolute badass ready to trample whatever is in my way.
I'm not sure if they count as accessories but I'm just going to give a quick shoutout to my gray contact lenses. I've never experimented with color lenses until I came to Korea, but I'm so glad I did. Changing your eye color really changes up your overall aura. It's funny how people have come up and asked me if my eyes were real, so I guess that's a testament to how natural they look. But yeah, the gray eyes were chosen for the cold gaze that pierces into your soul vibes. So glad I have perfected the winged eyeliner to add that extra OOMPH.
For the pictures below, we put tan tights over the camera lense to achieve that hazy, soft focus aesthetic.
