The Chicest K-Drama Outfits To Inspire Your Office Wardrobe
Elevate your corporate girlie wardrobe with these looks from our favourite K-dramas
By Ho Guo Xiong & Chloe Loh -
Going back to the office can be dreadful for most of us. And while we try to overcome the feeling of dread that washes over us every morning, we’d still have to face the struggle of finding an outfit that would make us feel confident and comfortable for the day ahead. Now that we can no longer get by with a professional-looking top and pyjama bottoms, we’ve rounded up some stylish back-to-office looks that you can recreate from our fave K-drama outfits.
Inspired by some of the actresses from the top K-dramas such as The World Of The Married, Crash Landing On You and The King: Eternal Monarch, here are some of our favourite looks that we have on our radar.
In this day and age, it’s all about looking put together and doing so with your work outfits is easy. Take a cue from Shin Hye-sun in Welcome to Samdal-ri. Keep your ensemble simple and wear a plain top and layer it with a shirt like the one she’s wearing. We’d recommend wearing a shirt that’s white so that it matches easily with any coloured top you’re wearing as the first layer. Pair it with a pair of black pants or denim jeans to complete the look.
We’re all familiar with the cold and chic heiress Hong Haein from the well-loved K-drama, Queen of Tears, played by Kim Ji Won. All her outfits in the drama were certainly statement pieces but this particular outfit of hers was one of the few which caught our eye. Layering a vest over a white shirt is certainly a nice way to add some visual interest to the overall look, or if you’d prefer, you can simply wear a vest and pair it with a pair of pants to anchor the look.
What’s not to love about the denim ensemble donned by Kim Yoo Jung in My Demon? The look showcases the versatility of denim – casual yet sophisticated.
For a change, try pairing a denim jacket with wide-leg denim jeans. The jacket adds structure, while the wide-leg jeans elongate your silhouette, creating a stylish and cohesive look. If you’re worried that the denim-on-denim style might be too bold, opt for a white or plain top underneath the jacket to offset the denim.
Like Yoona in the show, King The Land, cardigans can be a great way to add a pop of colour to your mundane work outfits.They are lightweight and great for Singapore’s unpredictable weather. They go well with a simple top underneath and a comfortable pair of pants or jeans. You can also choose to either leave your cardigan unbuttoned like Yoona, or button it up for a preppy look instead! Furthermore, its versatility means you can wear it to work and head for your sweet date right after work without changing.
For those of you who just want something simple and low-effort, why not opt for a button-down shirt which can be easily added to your capsule wardrobe? You can even style it in different ways: doing a simple tuck-in like what Park Eun Bin did in Castaway Diva, leaving the lower buttons unbuttoned and tying the shirt into a crop top, layer it under a dress, or simply letting it hang out.
While Kim Go-eun might be the main character in The King: Eternal Monarch alongside Lee Min-ho, Jung Eun Chae was the actress who served up powerful office looks befitting of her role as ambitious Prime Minister Goo Seo-ryung.
Here, red is evidently her power colour as she went with a red lace body-hugging dress. The matching lipsticks and nail polish further set the tone for her imposing characterisation. So if you’re looking to make a powerful statement on your first day back to the office, tap on Jung and don your power colour with oversized sunglasses and a purse (Roger Vivier clutch perhaps?).
Even though Kwon Nara is only wearing white and black in this scene of Itaewon Class, she still looks polished and sophisticated. Why? It is all thanks to the statement houndstooth top she sports. Thanks to the simple yet classic colour combination, the top adds style points without looking OTT and can be a consideration when you’re shopping for a statement item. Moreover, the blouse has a draped bow detail that adds to its uniqueness.
If you don’t want to draw too much attention with a statement-making top, you can stand out with some bright coloured pants, neon strappy sandals or a bag instead.
Going back to the office means you have to be prepared for the air-conditioned environment, which you might have forgotten after spending so long at home. That is why for this look worn by Kim Tae-hee in Hi Bye, Mama, we want to draw your attention to the knit sweater and floral dress combo.
Both pieces are purple, which makes them a harmonious blend, while the knitted quality of the sweater adds texture and visual interest to the soft, flowy dress. Recreate the look either by layering a sweater over a dress or over a silk or cotton shirt, for example.
Like Son Ye-jin in Crash Landing On You, we know the versatility of a blazer for both formal and informal occasions. To jazz it up for work, we say to ditch the basic black blazer and pick something colourful and printed like the checkered number she’s wearing. Pair the blazer with bottoms with matching prints or opt for solid-coloured trousers or skirt to anchor the look. This is a winning look that doesn’t need much effort.
Search: WWW featured three formidable women who worked in the competitive tech industry and this particular look from Jeon Hye-jin found a place in our hearts. We loved how she wasn’t afraid to show some skin (tastefully, of course) and wore a lace-trimmed V-neck top underneath her blazer to show off her confidence.
In addition, we loved the accessorising too – from the wearing multiple rings to pairing her leather watch with a jewelled bracelet.
Another way to style your blazer a la IU in Hotel Del Luna is to employ a belt. This helps to cinch the boxy silhouette of the blazer into a more flattering hourglass shape. This can be particularly useful to jazz up plain blazers with belts that have unique details such as leather braiding (such as Bottega Veneta), dramatic silhouettes (see: Loewe’s Obi belt) or even crystal or feather embellishments (e.g. Paco Rabanne or Loeffler Randall).
One trick about going monochrome is to play with varying tonalities. Her blazer and the shirt of both red in colour yet the former veers towards burgundy with the shirt leaning more orange-hued. Furthermore, notice how the shirt collar is placed outside of the blazer and on the lapels – a cheeky way to dress up the formulaic shirt and blazer combo according to Kim Hye-soo in Hyena.
This look worn by Kim Hee-ae in The World Of The Married is already a winning number thanks to the use of clashing prints. Beyond that, the outfit actually cleverly juxtaposes silhouettes too. The tucked-in top provided a squarish silhouette while the checkered straight-legged pants gave an elongating rectangular shape.
An alternative way to get on this boxy route is to pair your blazer with a pencil square or straight or wide-legged pants.
This article was originally published on Her World.