blue item

I'm not sure if you know the Indian city of 'Jodhpur.' In a film called 'The Fall' by an Indian director named Tarsem Singh, this Jodhpur appears as one scene in the film's backdrop. (It's a visually very impressive film, though the story isn't on the same level—still, I recommend watching it once.) The reason I created a fashion VOGUE category on the blog for the first time and brought in a photo of the 'blue city' as its first picture is that this year's trend color is 'blue.' The reason I feel attached to this blue is that I was, in fact, one of the people who had been thinking since last year that 'blue' items would soon take off. Blue items are a color that, ever since I became interested in clothes, had never really gone through a trend you could call 'extreme.' Two years ago I bought blue glasses, and at the end of last year I'd meant to buy a blue shirt and tie, but in the end I couldn't and left it, though I plan to buy them in the fall. In any case, it was fascinating to see a real blue boom actually happen.

Even though it's my first post, I should briefly explain the structure of the fashion industry and how the public ends up wearing 'trendy clothes.' The seasons are divided into S(spring)/S(summer) and F(fall)/W(winter) seasons. For each of these seasons, designers and companies in the fashion industry present their own 'collections.' Of course the timing differs a little. You can think of it as them putting those announced items on the market and us buying them (though not everyone can buy them all); usually the distribution structure is formed such that SPA brands (Uniqlo, H&M, Eight seconds, GAP, etc.) look at the high-end brands' collections, grab the things they think 'this will sell well,' and sell them, and then we buy. Since overseas SPA brands are gradually launching, the options will probably increase a bit, but honestly I can't really feel the differences between most brands. Sadly, menswear is mostly 'similar.' At best, it's something with a bit of pattern like the first shirt below.

That said, you can't really pull off items like these well. There aren't many Koreans with this much boldness. I'm not sure whether I've ever written about Koreans' 'fear of isolation' psychology, but Koreans' fear-of-isolation psychology ranks high. 'Fear of isolation' refers to the anxiety about going differently from others. The feeling that I too should do something when the majority of people other than me perform a 'certain act'—that's 'fear of isolation.' To put it more simply, the psychology where, if all four of your closest friends are dating, you feel like you should date too—that is precisely the 'fear of isolation' psychology.

Recently, the China collar has been selling well along with it. Items with this kind of collar variation contrast with the second shirt in that they're plenty worth trying. The second shirt seems like a shirt you'd only wear at a resort. I'm not sure if my opinion is too strong, but to wear the second shirt in everyday life would hurt the eyes of the person looking at it too, and it's really, really, really flashy. If you want to stand out, you can wear it.

This kind of shirt is also pretty flashy. It lays a check pattern on the bottom and adds a black pattern on top. The pattern seems to have many shapes resembling stylized flowers, mostly curved. However, since a darker-colored pattern is laid over it than the second shirt, I think you could make a somewhat more wearable attempt at it. Personally, if asked to pick a bold item, I'd choose the fourth item over the second.

If there's one thing that hasn't quite come in yet, it's the 'blue eyeliner' (Blue eyeliner). People still seem reluctant to use this item. It's used well on the runway, but it's not yet the situation in Korea where everyone has one of these. The school I attend is inherently conservative and tends to catch on to trends late (this year there's been quite a boom in floral patterns (flower pattern)..), so the odds of this item coming in are only in the single digits, but I think within a year this item could create a boom in Seoul too. Since middle and high school students get scolded for even black eyeliner, black will be plenty for them, but I think blue eyeliner will establish itself as a decent item for people from their early twenties to their mid-thirties. If they sell it, people are bound to buy it.

Speaking of which, an article I saw today reported that several overseas cosmetics brands including SK-II are raising their prices, and it's a shame that in Korea the saying 'raise the price and it sells well' really seems to be becoming 'truth.' I can understand to some degree the sellers' mindset of thinking that if blue items get more expensive, people will buy more. There must just be so many cases where raising the price made things sell well..

Lastly, I've brought a very basic blue shirt. Since it's not an Oxford shirt it's not button-down either, but isn't this the most casual 'dress shirt'? Most people feel that a button-down shirt is a bit more formal (formal). I plan to buy one sky-blue shirt within the year. I think a 'sky-blue' shirt, lighter than the colors of the shirts I've put in this post, is better. The practicum period is coming soon, I'll have to wear a suit, and then wearing a shirt with such deep saturation would be a bit much; even if I buy a navy (navy) suit, rather than such a deep shirt a white dress shirt or sky-blue dress shirt was better.

In any case, if not this year, who knows when another chance to wear 'blue' clothes like this will come around. Not just clothes, but bags, shoes, coats, pants, even eyeliner. How about everyone getting at least one?