BoomShakaStylin’
adj, n, v
- A term created by Siree and Talyssa to describe their new Blogging Fashion Segment focused on their mutual love of fashion and Kpop.
- A critical but casual review of the fashion present in various Kpop music videos.
- BoomShakaStylin’ originates from the word ‘BoomShakaLaka’ made famous in the Kpop world by BigBang rapper T.O.P in BigBang’s 2012 hit song ‘Fantastic Baby.’
– “Wow! That girl looks like shes dressed straight out of a KPOP music video – she’s so vibrant and stylish!!”
– “Yeah! I agree!! She’s BoomShakaStylin’!!”
And so, let the curtains open as we begin our BoomShakaStylin’ segment with none other than….
HYUNA’S ICECREAM
i’ll melt you down like ice cream”
The fashion style present in Hyuna’s Ice Cream is all about communicating one thing, and considering this is Hyuna we are talking about, there is really only one possibility as to what this could be. Yes, that’s right folks!
SEX APPEAL
Korea’s female diva does not just feature one or two sexy outfits within this clip, oh no, instead she flaunts a total of 9 different outfits!?!?! You see, pressing your boobs together in a bath tub does not convey sex appeal enough that numerous outfit changes are completely necessary! DUH!! IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!!
Regardless, Siree and I actually find the outfits in Ice Cream super vibrant, quirky, cool, fun and colourful and we actually really enjoy the overall look within the clip. When it came to deconstructing each outfit separately however, it was a completely different story! Almost every outfit is a total Monet! From far away it’s all okay but real up close its just too gross!
THE LEOPARD
We can’t help but think that Hyuna’s bright yellow leopard print crop top and maxi wrap skirt…are just…really gross and tacky!! The wrap skirt, of course, leaves itself perfectly open to a full view of Hyuna’s black underwear as she dances..Yes, this outfit is really something that only Hyuna could pull of…Damn girl!! Why you be so nastay?!?!?!
The accessories on the other hand are awesome – totally loving the street style of the hat + scarf combo and Hyuna’s shoes! But again, our problem – we’re just not exactly sure if the entire ensemble matches! Hyuna’s fashion in Ice Cream follows Simon and Martina’s theory – the Kpop Music video styling trend where everything on the whole looks really great, but when you actually begin to look at what is being worn, it’s as if the stylists have gone though a used clothes bin, picked a random bunch of items and threw them on the idols!!
A prominent element of Hyuna’s look in this clip is her ‘tanned’ skin colour (it’s tanned compared to other Korean celebrities) which differs greatly to the usual porcelain skin colour Korean celebrities don in their Music Videos. In a country where most high profile celebrities seek to acheive a white or porcelain skin colour that is culturally associated with things like beauty, elegance, innocence and aegyo, tanned skin in Korea, in relation to celebrities at least, is associated with “sexiness”. Therefore Kpop stars known for their sexiness such as Lee Hyori, Bora and Hyorin, feature tanned skin as part of their signature look. A powerful and sexy Kpop star such as Lee Hyori with her beautifully tanned skin has a very different image, physically and personality wise, than the Kim Yoona’s and IU’s of the female KPOP world. This is why Hyuna, being Korea’s current no. 1 sex symbol, sings “Chocolate ice cream like my dark skin” so she can further align herself with the image and notions associated with being sexy in Korea: she has dark skin like chocolate and is therefore oozing with sexiness and indulgence.
THE COLOURFUL SNOW LEOPARD
This is probably one of two wearable outfits in this MV, and what an amazing outfit this is! I love the pop art colours featured in Hyuna’s sequinned leopard print jacket. Heck! I just love this jacket! Texture wise – tick, print wise – tick, colour wise – tick, its 80’s inspired style and cut – tick!!
Surprisingly, Hyuna wears this jacket over a fitted sequinned corset top with coloured false gems for embellishments. Who would have thought! Sequin over sequin MATCHES! This works in this outfit as both garments feature different types of sequins – matte sequins in the jacket and regular shiny ones in the corset.
Hyuna’s blue head scarf helps to tie the blue denim shorts into the outfit, completing the look and adding a very cute touch! The bride to be glasses however? A complete NO-NO! What is with the on-going junk and tackiness that Hyuna seems to need to attach to her branded outfits?!
And woah! Did anyone else impossibly miss the ‘in your face’ Chanel product placement?? I hope not.
Hyuna’s makeup throughout the clip is very ulzzang style, which suits her colourful outfits well. Each outfit’s makeup has subtle colour highlights to help tie the look together. Hyuna’s make up for this outfit featured subtle hints of light blue on Hyuna’s eyes. Her wild hair with blue streaks help add that extra cool, hip, and street style feel to the outfit.
A LITTLE BIT OF BONDAGE AND BUBBLES
For all the boys who have fantasied about Hyuna in bondage, all your dreams have now come true!! With her smokified eye makeup and her “kiss me NOW” seductive red lips, Hyuna is asking for youuu~! What we found most weird about this outfit is how it completely contrasts all the other alternative, street style fashion in this clip.
And then we thought! AHA! It must be to suit the random music change in the song!!!!
*cracks up* ahahahahaha! I laugh because we both know that’s not true.
It seems that in any way they can, Hyuna’s producers will push her further down into the depths of sexiness. It’s as if they just want to make sure that we didn’t get confused with Hyuna’s sudden cool hip hop street vibe, and that she still very much is that sexy sex symbol who constantly rubs herself up and down with her “ooh” and “ahh” pouting facial expressions. To be honest, this scene communicates exactly how Hyuna often crosses the boundary between sexy and tacky, where Hyuna’s sexiness just ends up looking cheap and unnatural.
And. A side note…When did Hyuna’s boobs get so big?!?!?!
STREET TOMBOY
The composition of this outfit is a great way to show of the “Tomboy” style – which is a look I’m really loving on girls at the moment. An important aspect in achieving this look is definitely layering. Hyuna layers a baggy sweater over a white blouse with the collar and cuffs kept visible. Over this she wears suspenders which adds to the cool street vibe. The sweaters modern street art design works well with the beanie and I’m really liking those glasses!
Hyuna features a heavy amount of body art in this clip – whether it be makeup stars or psuedo tattoos, it all adds to the over-decorated vibe associated with the street style. I think Hyuna’s body art works particularly well with this outfit
GEOMETRIC SHAPES AND MY LITTLE PONY
This outfit is a variation of Hyuna’s leopard print outfit, but the skirt has been removed and a triangle print top has been added over the leopard print crop top…The outfit looks alright and manages to work well..until you look at Hyuna’s legs – orange and black striped legwarmers with yellow jeffery Campbell heels? I don’t get it.
We were loving the beanie and the HUGE Chanel necklace bling..until we saw it was decorated with..my..little…pony’s?? Again…we just don’t get it. We can’t understand exactly what message this whole SEXY X TACKY vibe is meant to be getting across?!?! We’re not getting a good one, that’s for sure!!!
TACKY ELEGANCE?
Ahh..yes even I’m getting tired of writing about all these outfits. All I can say is, Hyuna’s hi-low printed maxi could have totally brushed off as elegant, but she pairs it with red sport socks, a pink beanie and sneakers?? It’s just messy and mixed matched!
CAMO OVER HERE
Hyuna was right on trend with the army aesthetic in this look! Especially since army print has become increasingly popular in MVs following this clip quite a few months later – such as SNSD’s I Got A Boy. I’m quite liking the whole Army vibe at the moment and so I quite like this look – especially the fit of Hyuna’s dress/jacket.
This is one of Hyuna’s simpler looks accessory wise, however she still makes a bold statement with her coloured hair, belt, and extremely awesome shoes. See Hyuna, you don’t need to take the tacky route!
PREPPY ICE CREAM
We love love love this outfit!!! It has that preppy and cute vibe created mainly by the short’s printed retro ice cream pattern. This is probably the only outfit Hyuna wears that really suits the song. Hyuna emphasises the preppy nature of the outfit by tucking her top into her shorts, accessorising with vintage-esque Jewelry – the silhouetted woman piece and pearls – and her above ankle socks with diamond pattern. I am absolutely in love the the contrast created with Hyuna’s high top sneakers. This outfit was definitely thrown in to remind viewers of Hyuna’s cute image and in keeping with this, her skin in this look is also much paler.
JUMPSUIT…I THINK..?
And finally, the most ridiculously tacky outfit of all. In fact from the front it looks like just your regular everyday jumpsuit…..
UNTIL SHE BENDS DOWN AND TURNS AROUND!!!
What the!?!?! This is not a jumpsuit!!!!! This is half a jumpsuit…no this is an APRON that looks like a jumpsuit!!! Don’t let the one billion and one cords to tie up deter you from wearing this apron as you get down and dirty in the kitchen!!
Just…I don’t even…
Great little funny review and I haven’t even seen the video…you guys rock.
The one thing that I find fascinating is the connection between “white skin = classy” and “brown skin = sexy/slutty” in Korea. WTF? I mean, in places like the U.S. where you have the whole terrible “jungle fever” racism, where the darker you looked the more “animal” you were and the more you were supposed to be all controlled by those “dark lusts” that the white folks said were born into the brown folks, yeah, I can see how that would still turn up in things like movies and videos. But Korea? Wassupwitdat..?
Haha glad you liked it! You know what I think it is, I think with the exposure of western popular culture in the East, and our preference on being somewhat tanned (I know in Australia being tanned is more desireable), when Koreans think of tanned skin they think of Brazilian Bikini models or Western sex symbols like Jessica Alba, Adriana Lima etc etc. Generally speaking tanned skin is not considered attractive in Korea or most of Asia in general – I’ve heard a few reasons as to why this is but most commonly people have told me it’s because 1. the poorer “classes” spent most of their time outside in the sun and therefore developed darker skin than those who were well off, 2. many Asian’s have told me they think white skin suits Asian features more. Regardless, the amount of skin whitening products in Korea is ridiculous, so being “white” is definitely the most preferable option. I think the image of tanned skin (in Korea) only changes to one of sexiness when a celebrity is involved…
And since I was not exactly happy with my explanation above, I found this article for you which explains different theories pretty well I think:
http://seoulbeats.com/2012/07/the-dark-side-skin-colour-and-k-pop/
great post!
inspiring compilation:)
Thanks Antonieta!!
Interesting link, and thanks for the explanation. And, yes, there’s “colorism” here, too; the old African-American kids’ rhyme went something like “If you’re white, you’re all right; if you’re brown, stick around, if you’re black, see ya’, Jack…” Strange how people are about stuff like that…
amazing pictures! :)
Thanks Ania!