#OOTD like a Korean pop star off-duty

MANILA, Philippines -When you think about it, a powder blue, black-trimmed suit with a bow tie, cropped slacks and brogues isn’t even half as outrageous as a swan dress, but something about the way Koreans wear their fashion makes even an otherwise simple ensemble seem wacky. Yes, I know there’s more to Korean pop culture than Psy –– perhaps a better example would be girl group 2NE1 or all-guy group 2PM, who have become style icons as well as pop music sensations.

In my building, there is a pretty huge Korean population. Every hallway is a runway and every day’s a fashion show. This morning, I saw a woman wearing a chartreuse electric pleated skirt with a denim jacket and a lace top underneath, and white Mary Janes with four-inch stacked heels –– all basics, but put together in a rhyme and reason maybe only 2NE1 or 2PM would understand. It’s amazing how they pull it off and how they’re all just wearing basic pieces styled with so much character.

Korean fashion label Basic House recently opened at SM Megamall. That a Korean brand would call itself “Basic House” is telling of their collective sense of style. The label carries the building blocks of Korean fashion, or any genre of fashion for that matter, in its collection of classic pieces across all of its 158 stores worldwide. The looks are simple and rather preppy –– slim-cut pants in five different colors, jackets and blazers in lightweight fabrics and timeless designs, basic tees in the season’s hot hues, and a selection of pieces in trendy prints.

Brand manager Owen Tee says, “Basic House started in Busan, South Korea 13 years ago and is the first Korean global fashion brand to come to the Philippines. We carry classics –– with several different colors of the same cuts because we know how people buy different colors of one thing when it fits them really well and they really like it.”

In a retail landscape peppered with high street brands, each with its own distinct style, Basic House has the goods to deliver an inspiring shopping experience. There’s just so much more potential in a plain, white T-shirt than a tie-dye top with a pop star’s face emblazoned on it. While inside the store, my head absent-mindedly bopping to a nameless Korean pop tune, I started envisioning my next OOTD. Dangerous territory, this one. Everything in the store goes with everything else. Add to cart, add to cart, add to cart.

With the Korean street style fever at a record high, thanks to high-resolution “Outfit of the Day” posts in Korean fashion blogs (like Rokstyles, Minibbong and Ariska Pue), and also thanks to TV networks showing Koreanovelas morning, noon and night, Basic House’s arrival at SM Megamall could not have come at a better time. Want to dress like your favorite Korean pop star? They have a blue blazer that looks close enough to Psy’s. Bow-tie sold separately.

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Robinsons Specialty Stores, Inc. (RSSI) is the exclusive franchisee of Basic House in the Philippnes, with branches at SM Megamall, Robinsons Metro East and The Shops at Greenhills Shopping Center. For more info, like BasicHousePH on Facebook or follow @BasicHousePH on Twitter.