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Category Archives: Style

Linda Wrigglesworth collection under the hammer

04-Nov-08

Linda Wrigglesworth collection under the hammer

Last year during Asian Art in London I paid Linda Wrigglesworth a visit. She has an interesting collection of antique textiles and Korean costume alongside her own more modern takes on the oriental style. I particularly liked the rather fine 19th century purple official's robe (below), not that I would have a use for it for everyday wear. For decorative wall-hanging though she has some beautiful pojagi - decorative wrapping cloths (example right). Wrigglesworth's complete Korean collection is coming under the hammer during this year's Asian Art in London, at an auction at Christies on 6 November. At their South Kensington sale rooms (85 Old Brompton Road) at 10:30am her collection is included in the sale of Japanese Art and ...
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Han style comes to London

24-Oct-07
It seems that Hanbok events are like buses. You wait for ages, and then three come along at once. The first week in November brings the opportunity to (1) admire, (2) try on and (3) buy your own (genuine antique) hanbok, at (1) the Royal College of Art, (2) the V&A and (3) Linda Wrigglesworth. The first two opportunities are linked, while the simultaneous occurrence of the third is pure chance. Early 20th century chigori at Linda Wrigglesworth First, the Royal College of Art Fashion from the Far East: Hanbok by Lee Rhee-Za 3-8 November 2007 Seminar Rooms 1 & 2 Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU 10am-6pm A four-part exhibition which shows how hanbok was used to mark significant moments in Koreans' lives in ...
Also filed in Art & Style in November, Asian Art in London, Design, Events news | | Comments (0) »

The Han Style campaign

23-Oct-07
Realising that the Hallyu may not last for ever, and recognising that the best marketers do not stake the financial health of the company on just one product, the Culture and Tourism ministry earlier this year decided to diversify their product portfolio. Recognising that some of the key differentiating features of Korean culture are designated by words which start with "Han", they started the "Han Style" campaign. One minor problem with this initiative is that "Han" has Chinese as well as Korean connotations. To a typical educated westerner, "Han" is a Chinese dynasty or the name of the dominant ethnicity in China, and not the river running through Seoul or anything to do with things Korean. And if you search "Han ...
Also filed in Art & Style in November, Design | | Comments (2) »

Jackie Choi London showcases new designs

18-Sep-07
Jackie Choi London, the Korean designers whose "Eye" chair was featured on Graham Norton's show, are showing new designs at 100% Design 2007 (Earls Court, 20-24 September). The sideboard above was inspired by Lucio Fontana and his "Slash" series of works, (example right). The Choi sisters will also be launching a pewter candelabra (left) in collaboration with British lighting company Innermost. Meanwhile, at the Portico Rooms in Somerset House, 18-25 September, the Choi sisters will be presenting their project commissioned for Eureka 2007 (part of the London Design Festival): a sofa inspired by the landscape of the Malvern Hills (below). Links: 100% Design site Jackie Choi London site Fontana and spazializmo at the Tate website Related posts:Graham Norton sits on the best of Korean design Congratulations to ...
Also filed in Business, Design, Events news, Koreans in UK | | Comments (0) »

British designer boosted by degree faker

08-Sep-07
Alexander McQueen's tops have been flying off the shelves of a trendy Apgujeong department store (at $200 a time) ever since Shin Jeong-ah was papped in JFK wearing this: McQ can be bought at HANDSOME-SPACE MUE, 93-6 Chungdam-dong, Kangnam, if you're quick. Source: Chosun Links: Alexander McQueen website Related posts:British-owned culture cafe opens in Bucheon Thanks to Peter Orange for letting me know about an...The FT’s smooth weekend in Seoul I don’t usually spend much time reading the Weekend FT’s...British veterans remember the Korean War on Radio 4 Yesterday’s edition of The Reunion had Sue MacGregor talking with... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Also filed in Business, Design, Foreigners in Korea, In the news | | Comments (0) »

Deadly Elves and other recent tabloid stories

28-Aug-07

Deadly Elves and other recent tabloid stories

It's a while since I did a round-up of celebrity news, which means that I've almost forgotten all the things I was going to mention, and lost most of the links that I was going to use. So before things get completely out of hand, here's one of my not-so-regular posts shamelessly plundering the celebrity blogs. 1 Bada After my recent post defending Bada against the assaults of Popseoul I exchanged a few emails with the Popseoulites. They don't have an issue with her singing ability, just her sense of style. I'm coming round to their way of thinking, based on one of their more recent posts. A weird vision. And the singing ability? Well, I've now listened to Made ...
Also filed in Bada, Beauty, Celebs, Honey Lee, Jang Dong-gun, Jeon Do-yeon, Jeon Ji-hyun, Kim Yun-jin, Lee Hyolee, Rain, SG Wannabe, Samsung, Super Junior, Uhm Jung-hwa, VoDs | Tagged , | Comments (0) »

The beauty of particular body parts 2

07-Aug-07
Thanks to Mrs Daeguowl for the nomination of Gong Yu (공유) for the competition of most sculpted six-pack. Here's a sample: And something I forgot to include in yesterday's post. With a big hat tip to Scott Burgeson ((Sourced from Korea Bug)), here's an itemisation of how the body parts for Miss Korea should stack up, taken from an article about the scoring sheet used by the Miss Korea judges, in the Korea Herald in 18 May 2001: The contestant's face should not be too big. If one has had plastic surgery on the eyes and nose, it should not be too obvious. Shoulders should fall 20 degrees from the neck. The size, position and lines of the breasts should be balanced. Arms and legs should ...
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The beauty of particular body parts

06-Aug-07

The beauty of particular body parts

Browsing through the celebrity rags the other day I came across a report of a survey which struck me as rather distasteful: the actress with the most beautiful chest. I'm not sure why it struck me as distasteful, seeing as in the UK we have a light-hearted annual survey as to which female celebrity has the most shapely backside. Anyway, the owner of the finest pair was judged to be Song Hye-kyo (송혜교)... followed by Kim Hye-soo (김혜수 - also proud owner of Korea's most beautiful face - below left) and relative newcomer Han Chae-young (한채영) (below right) To even things up a bit, shouldn't there be something for the girls? How about Korea's most sculpted six-pack? Two contenders immediately spring to mind: ...
Also filed in Beauty, Celebs, Han Chae-young, Honey Lee, Kim Hye-soo, Kwon Sang-woo, Rain, Song Hye-kyo | Tagged | Comments (1) »

Last chance to book your makeover

03-Jul-07
Seong Won Kim's brief tenure at the Dior counter in Selfridges ends tomorrow. This is your last chance to book a makeover with one of Dior's international beauty commandos. Details here. Here's a picture in from a makeover last Friday, with artist Francesca Cho doubling as catwalk fabulous supermodel. Related posts:Discover the secrets of Korean beauty at Selfridges And no, this is not a post about plastic surgery....July events Here’s what I know about: Visual Arts The big news...Francesca Cho’s meditative work I happened to meet artist Francesca Cho at the Jerwood... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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UK-trained beauty expert opens Busan Academy

24-Jun-07
My dear friend Nam-hee Kim (김남희) has just taken the bold step of opening her own Beauty Academy in Busan: the Michae Beauty Academy (미채 뷰티 아카데미): www.mcbeauty.co.kr. Nam-hee studied at the London College of Fashion, part of University of the Arts, London -- and part of her course was theatrical make-up and design. I remember chatting to her about the relative merits of the prosthetic make-up on different Doctor Who monsters while she cut my hair in a salon off Oxford Street -- but I digress. Nam-hee also trained at the Vidal Sassoon hair academy, but her skill goes beyond what you find in the average Vidal Sassoon salon. Speaking from personal experience, my wife's hair has never looked better ...
Also filed in Beauty, Busan | | Comments (2) »

Discover the secrets of Korean beauty at Selfridges

17-Jun-07
And no, this is not a post about plastic surgery. At an event organised by Christian Dior, a team of their best international make-up artists (called their beauty commando force) will be showing off their talents at Selfridges, Oxford Street, from 28 June to 4 July. Part of the hit squad is Seong Won Kim (pictured right). Here's the attractive pitch: Dior's professional make-up artist team use their Backstage Makeup expertise to help women become catwalk fabulous: achieving your beauty dreams, destination aspiration. From pared-down chic to show-stopping glamour, five highly skilled members of the international Pro Makeup Team will solve your beauty problems and share with you their secrets from around the world. And here's the deal. You ring the Dior counter ...
Also filed in Beauty, Events news | | Comments (0) »

Kayageum player #4 in Miss Universe

03-Jun-07
Honey Lee, crowned Miss Korea in August 2006, studies traditional music at Seoul National University, specialising in the kayageum. Her mother is a professor at Ehwa, and was designated a "living cultural asset" in kayageum music earlier this year. Lee was a strong contender in this year's Miss Universe contest, recently held in Mexico. In fact, in the unofficial polling at Global Beauties, a site affiliated to the contest, Lee came top in many categories: Face of the Universe, Best National Costume, Best in interviews, Best in a gown, and overall unofficial winner. It is of course the real competition which counts, and Lee came fourth. A rumour over at Popseoul suggests that a poor translation service cost Lee her victory: Alert POPSEOUL! ...
Also filed in Beauty, Celebs, Honey Lee, Korean traditional music | | Comments (0) »

Graham Norton sits on the best of Korean design

27-Dec-06
Congratulations to Korean-born Jackie and Lloyd Choi of Jackie Choi London for winning one of the Mayor of Hackney's annual Business Awards 2006. The awards are designed to "celebrate entrepreneurs with business acumen and innovative ideas that generate jobs throughout the borough". The awards were presented on 14 November, and the Choi sisters won in the best new product / product design category. Viewers of Graham Norton's show The Bigger Picture will be familiar with one of Jackie Choi's products: the Eye chair. The chair was a university project and was spotted by a furniture manufacturer at the Chois' graduate show in 2003. Since then they have expanded their product range. You should be able to find their "So" coat stand (below) ...
Also filed in Business, Design, Koreans in UK | | Comments (0) »

The magic straight perm

29-Nov-06
After receiving two requests from readers about Korean hairdressers in London who do hair straightening, I thought I'd do a bit of research. My first problem was this: why on earth would Koreans (and Japanese for that matter) want to develop complex mechanisms for straightening hair when their hair is straight anyway? The Chosun has the answer: Most Asians in fact do not have naturally straight hair, and today few of them have time to dry their hair naturally without a hairdryer. Misconception number 2: I thought perms were something your average ajumma had, and were designed to make your hair go curly. Wrong again. Kim Hye-soo, the owner of Korea's most beautiful face, is far from being an ajumma. So what are the problems? Well, ...
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Korea’s most beautiful face

22-Jun-06
After yesterday's heavy post, something a bit lighter. Kim Hye-soo has been voted Korea's most beautiful face. The picture in the Chosun news story is a fairly low-key affair - but you can find far more glamorous images by googling her name. The image here is a still from the film Hypnotized aka Faceless Beauty. Whatever, I still think Lee Mi-Sook is tops. What puzzles me more though is the following quote from the Chosun article: No matter what kind of clothes she has on, she speaks in a straightforward manner. Does she speak in convoluted sentences when she's in the bath? Update (7 August 2006): Kim Hye-soo has competition. While she's Korea's most beautiful face, she's not Korea's most beautiful actress. Go work that one ...
Also filed in Beauty, Celebs, Choi Ji-woo, Kim Hye-soo, Lee Mi-sook | | Comments (3) »