Tuesday, July 21, 2009

First Ever (Only Ever?) Fashion Post

Coming to Korea this summer, I didn't have any idea what to expect with regard to fashion. I figured with my Phillies hat, polo shirts, and khaki shorts my clothes would broadcast "American" even more loudly than my skin.

In this I was somewhat mistaken. Korean fashion is a lot more complicated than I'm capable of understanding, but I see lots of polo shirts and not a few pairs of cargo shorts.

The big surprise comes with regard to the Phillies hat. In Korea, Major League Baseball hats are in style big time, especially among men but also among women.

The most popular teams are (expectedly) the Red Sox and the Yankees, followed by (unexpectedly) the Detroit Tigers and maybe the Pittsburgh Pirates. I don't think the people wearing the hats generally know anything about the teams, and so I suspect that the cool script "D" on the Tigers hat explains its prevalence.

I have only seen a Phillies hat twice. Perhaps when they win the World Series again this year, I will be able to welcome many Korean friends onto the bandwagon.

3 comments:

Katherine said...

Kids recognize the Phillies, though—and the Phillies and the Indians are the only MLB teams to get consistent TV coverage here. (Korean baseball superstars play on both teams, that's why.) I told my older students I was from Philadelphia and they immediately replied: "Teacher! Teacher! You know Park Chan-Ho? Baseball team!"

Which is what's awesome about being in a nation that loves baseball and has embraced it as its own: you see more than just Yankees caps. One of my students was wearing a White Sox cap and I asked him about it. "White Sox, huh? Are you a fan?" "Yes, Chicago," he told me. "Favorite team."

Anonymous said...

I think the most-sold American sport cap in Korea History (???) is "Chicago Bulls"-one. That's because Michael Jordan has been the Top-star in Korea as well as people loved that red and white colored-fashion. In case of LA Dodgers and Phillie cap, that is probably due to Chan-Ho Park.
But speaking in terms of NY, most people don't know which players there are. Therefore, the lots of NY cap in Korea is just simply its simple design.

Two different principles working independently!

~Who am I? ^^

Rachel H said...

Yeah the Bulls! (I lived in Chicago for 6 years).

Have you noticed how plastic surgery is considered a "fashion accessory" in South Korea?