To wear or not to wear, that is the question
So... I've returned to my mother country, planning on staying temporarily, that is, on paper, but in my mind wanting to stay long-term should the opportunity arise.
My first impression? An amazement at ... shall I say... the uniformity of the South Korean fashion? Pretty much all young women wore leggings with knee-high boots with barely visible shorts or skirts well-covered by 3/4 coats. Omitting the coat and the boots, the leggings appear to be the key factor in this winter's trend. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether they are even wearing anything over the black tights. And the most amazing part of it is that they willingly wear them in freezing temperatures!
I hate shivering in the cold, so I defied the silent demands to conform and decided to just wear my black flare pants around the Seoul neighborhood. And the comment I received today was: you dress like 아줌마 (middle aged and/or married woman).
But to my surprise, I was not a bit embarrassed by it. I simply didn't care. Does that denote my confidence in who I am and in my own good sense of appropriate dressing for the cold weather? There is a saying in Korean, which I've heard often from my mother since childhood: "멋부리다 얼어죽겠다" (loosely translated as: you could freeze to death from following fashions).
But who knows? Sooner or later I may conform to this society's expectations to dress just as one of them. I've only been here for about a week. Hopefully by then the weather would warm up a bit more than the present, lest I really catch a cold and become ill in this pseudo hostile (in regards to maintaining the "right appearance") country.
Don't get me wrong; I love this country and its people, language, and culture, but I'm a bit worried that couple years later, this same fashion/trend will also occur in America. Although there is less pressure to conform and more value in individuality in my now-home nation, I cringe at the thought of painfully shivering young ladies who follow trendy fashions--to their own deaths.
Just kidding. An extreme exaggeration I know, but it may really be wise to follow the advice of caring 아줌마's (elderly ladies) --like my mother--and really watch what we wear.
***
Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
- <1 Peter 3:3-4>
My first impression? An amazement at ... shall I say... the uniformity of the South Korean fashion? Pretty much all young women wore leggings with knee-high boots with barely visible shorts or skirts well-covered by 3/4 coats. Omitting the coat and the boots, the leggings appear to be the key factor in this winter's trend. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether they are even wearing anything over the black tights. And the most amazing part of it is that they willingly wear them in freezing temperatures!
I hate shivering in the cold, so I defied the silent demands to conform and decided to just wear my black flare pants around the Seoul neighborhood. And the comment I received today was: you dress like 아줌마 (middle aged and/or married woman).
But to my surprise, I was not a bit embarrassed by it. I simply didn't care. Does that denote my confidence in who I am and in my own good sense of appropriate dressing for the cold weather? There is a saying in Korean, which I've heard often from my mother since childhood: "멋부리다 얼어죽겠다" (loosely translated as: you could freeze to death from following fashions).
But who knows? Sooner or later I may conform to this society's expectations to dress just as one of them. I've only been here for about a week. Hopefully by then the weather would warm up a bit more than the present, lest I really catch a cold and become ill in this pseudo hostile (in regards to maintaining the "right appearance") country.
Don't get me wrong; I love this country and its people, language, and culture, but I'm a bit worried that couple years later, this same fashion/trend will also occur in America. Although there is less pressure to conform and more value in individuality in my now-home nation, I cringe at the thought of painfully shivering young ladies who follow trendy fashions--to their own deaths.
Just kidding. An extreme exaggeration I know, but it may really be wise to follow the advice of caring 아줌마's (elderly ladies) --like my mother--and really watch what we wear.
***
Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
- <1 Peter 3:3-4>