Seoul Male Style

Sometimes, and it is only a momentary thing, I think being a guy really opens your eyes up in terms of personal style and gives you a certain amount of clarity.  Womenswear is overly saturated, frightfully varied and can be hard to navigate.  Menswear, though a lot more diverse than what it used to be is still somewhat restricted in where it can go and one probably ends up ‘finding themselves ‘ style-wise a whole lot quicker.  After being introduced to the wonderful Your Boyhood, a Korean streetstyle blog, snapping hyper cool guys on the streets of Seoul, I’m convinced I have to see it for myself.  Therefore my next far-out destination will be Seoul.  Stopping there on a flight interchange definitely does NOT count.         Bernhard Willhelm, Kim Jones, Martin Margiela from left to right yet worn in a way that speaks to me as ‘them’.  If only I could be so disciplined with the way I dressed.  Guys may disagree here but you know, there is something very direct about the way you can dress. 



21 comments

  1. weird
    I lived in Seoul for many years and most guys wore true religion jeans and deep deep v-neck shirts. Where were these guys?

  3. Actually, these guys (and people like these guys) can only be found in one area of Seoul called Insadong where all the bohemians flock. It’s a really great area with a budding music, art, and fashion scene. Everywhere else in Seoul is pretty much mainstream.

  5. I’m korean and I can confirm that you will be thoroughly disappointed if you come to korea looking for stylish men. And also, I was introduced to this site some while ago, and you end up noticing that the same people keep popping up. So I’m assuming the photographer is aquainted with the subjects, so they might not be strictly street style photos.
    So, yeah. I hate to sound ..er, unpatriotic? but I wouldn’t recommend you to spend your money going to Seoul expecting to see such beautifully dressed boys. Cos I’m a fashion fanatic myself, I’ve got Korean male friend who are also Willhelm, Simons, Comme des Garcons etc. obsessed, but they wont be hanging round the streets of Seoul on display for a googly eyed Susie.. Sorry! From the background in the photos, the designers the boys are wearing, and personal experience, I’d say they hang round galleries and over priced cafes in Ap Gu Jung – kinda like a commercialised Soho minus the sex shops. Or I suppose you could live in Galleria (equivalent of Selfridges) for your entire stay. But wouldn’t you rather go somewhere like Paris or Antwerp? Even for shopping, I don’t think you would find it much interesting as the cheap thrills you can find there are similar to Hong Kong.
    If you want good food, go to Seoul. Ah, authentic Korean dishes.. Mmm..

  6. No Bubble, limited men’s fashion is just that – limiting. Men’s fashion choices are no more expansive then they have ever been. There are not more men’s clothing stores now, there is not more space devoted to men’s clothes in the department stores then there has ever been. There has always been the fringe element in men’s clothes from bohemian to hippie to punk to goth etc., but mainstream has always been conservative. You as a woman can dress in your wonderfully self expressive way and be thought of as fashionable, if I try it I am thought of as weird. I will trade the men’s fashion world for the woman’s any day.

  7. i agree with what most of the others have said; furthermore, korean women have a reputation in asia as boring dressers. my japanese friend says that they’re known in japan for favoring baseball caps, which i guess is not very cool.
    and while it’s cool to see that korean men are into dior homme, it would have been even better to see them wear some korean designers.

  8. I think its wrong to criticise that most Korean dressers are boring. Japanese are known to dress in crazy and sometimes stylish ways but if you really live in Tokyo you know that majority of plp there esp. women in particular dress in expensive Chanel and Prada believing that luxury label can buy you style. Likewise Hongkong plp in general tends to follow Japanese fashion, buying anything thats popular in Japan like Westwood. Same thing can be said of NY, Paris etc etc. If you really live in Seoul and have friends that are in fashio/arts/design/alternative music etc than you will see alot of plp that really dress to their own beat. They dont refenrenc their selves to Japanese fashion or european luxury labels etc which can be very inspiring. Obviously Korea is still a very traditional and somewhat close-minded country so not everyone is stylish but I think thats same in any country. London is exciting but if you look closely, majority of plp wear Topshop and follow whats suppose to be hot in Grazia mag.
    And just another point about what Ic had said, I dont think its right to say Korean women favors baseball caps.. I dont know where you got this info but I have lived in Korea and I cant recollect ever seeing women wearing them.. Mayb they were Ed Hardy? haha

  9. I walked the streets of Seoul, and the counterculture kids there, few as they were, exuded an independent, almost rebellious spirit, and you could tell they were passionate about what they were wearing.
    Most of the guys wore graphic tees and slim dark jeans, dark-rimmed glasses. A lot of them seemed to be sneakerheads. Here in America that type of dress would be considered rare and very fashionable. The standard is simply set higher over there, so almost everybody looks polished. But the homogeneity cancels it out.
    It’s hard though, being in the shadows of Japan and Hong Kong. It will take more time for Korea to find its own distinctive niche, one that will be recognizable as “Korean fashion,” because in the meantime, it is a bit derivative of Japanese street fashion. But we all gotta start somewhere.

  10. I agree and disagree with some people. The Korean half of me wants to say Koreans are super fashionable, but the same rules apply throughout Asia – labels = style. Of course this isn’t true. Ap Gu Jung is a great recommendation though. I’m not being unpatriotic, but not a single mention of a single Korean designer? That is where Korean fashion is at right now. Korean designers have access to high quality production, money from the government to promote fashion, and a fashion obsessed public. As for Korean girls in baseball caps, as if. Koreans and I’m speaking from experience here, feel the same way about sportswear as the French do – ani ya (no). Which means I should really hate sportswear being also half French, but I don’t. The only Korean girls I know who wear sportswear are the Giggas – slang for Koreans who dress like girls in rap videos or, Kimora Lee Simmons.
    Seoul is a great place to visit otherwise, but very difficult for the non-Hangook. Plus remember, it’s even more expensive. According to Forbes magazine’s latest poll of the world’s most expensive cities, it’s even more expensive than New York and London and in second place behind Tokyo.

  11. Umm,,
    07 s/s ‘Garconne’ collection of Suh sangyoung… IS a korean collection..
    It looks like the guy is working in the fashion industry. A lot of people working in the industry are extremely fashionable, mainstream or not.
    I love the pictures on the Boyhood site, however, that is not how the majority of people dress in Seoul.
    Neverthless, Seoul is a great city, and it is an awesome city to visit and spend some time in. =)

  12. About things being expensive, it all depends on what you want to do and where you want to go.
    Remember, Seoul is one of the biggest city in the world, so not everything is going to be DIRT cheap.
    But you can still have tons of fun even if you are on a budget. Esp if you have some Seoulites to guide you. (I’m sure there are tons of ppl visiting this blog who will be more than willing to be your personal tour guide in seoul 😛 )

  13. i don’t really mind as to whether or not this is a good representation of Korean street style- i love yourboyhood’s photos (especially the ‘grandmas’ and ‘grandpas’ actually). and go to Seoul! face it, most places don’t have you gushing over their streetstyle while you walk through the streets, but Korean fashion is fantastic and maybe you’ll liven up the street scenes instead of the local 😉

  17. Ar!
    I think people who dis korean style are just in favour of japanese style.
    I think everyone is to their own style.
    To some one thing can fashion and to other not so much.
    Japanese street fashion is very emotion base.
    I have live in both country for one year and have many friend in both country.
    every country is to their own fashion style.
    I think korean are very stylish people.
    Their style is very clean and formal.
    You don’t have to be loud and out there to be consider as a trendsetter!
    People who style them-self to their mood and emotion are not out there to set trend.
    After all we all copycat.
    Just say! We all copy someone!
    Only if you make ur own clothes without no, No! out side view then you can call another boring.
    I think that american are the worst dress people in the world! there is no style and changes in their fashion!
    Hong Kong is not a stylish place!
    People there are all copycat of japanese style^^ or what thier see in japanese style. It seem that they have no style of their own what so ever.
    So sad: (
    And shopping in hong kong is so boring!

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