This summer's best Korean street style looks

This story was originally published on October 21, 2018 at Jotmagsb.com

Seoul, South Korea—the pinnacle of street style. Or, as Topman describes it, "the place where trends are trends before they're even trends." I couldn't have said it better myself.

When I visited this summer, I couldn’t help but get experimental with my style, and that's a rarity. I found myself wearing trends I had never tried before—I even considered getting bangs (fortunately, I was not able to totally convince myself to cut them. Curly bangs are not a look). Believe me when I say that I broke the bank trying to recreate a new wardrobe there, and my suitcase was nearly too heavy to bring home. Now, whenever people ask me where I got my outfit, I say “It’s from Korea”—yeah, I’m that girl.

Nonetheless, let's take a look at some of my favorite street style looks from Korea this summer.

Korean women dye and highlight their hair with subtle orange undertones to make their skin look brighter. The trend was first spotted on K-Drama starlets like Hyun Jung, Jung Joo Yeon, and Park Eun Ji.

Two girls with see-through bangs admire themselves as they stand in line for the bathroom at a night club in Hongdae. The see-through bangs trend emerged in 2015 after female leads in K-Dramas, like Yoon Eun Hye, Song Hye Kyo, and Lee Yeon Hee, debuted the look. The thin and wispy bangs are referred to as “see-through” because they expose just a bit of forehead. The hairstyle is popular among Korean women because it creates the illusion of a smaller face.

“Are we having fun yet?” Korean street style consists of oversized tops and statement pieces like patterned pants or embroidered bags.

Dylan Warnwry, a dancer from Sweden, said that Korean hip-hop fashion inspires her. She added that she doesn’t usually wear chains, but when she saw these in Korea, she had to buy them. Wallet chains are making a come-back.

School girl fashion: Socks are often worn as statement pieces in Korean street style.

Soyoung wears her blue circle lenses everyday because they make her feel more comfortable. Koreans often wear color contacts called “circle lenses” to make their eyes look bigger. The trend started in Japan, where it’s referred to as “dolly eyes.” The original idea was for the wearer to resemble an anime character.