With 2NE1's imminent release of their second summer digital single, "Do You Love Me,"
literally around the corner (set to be released on August 7), the girls
have swept Blackjacks up into one big frenzy. In a fun teaser for their
homemade MV, we hear snippets of the restless beats and contagious vibe
that's so befitting of our eccentric 2NE1 foursome.
Whether
knowingly or not, we always associate the ladies of 2NE1 with their own
nuanced color that stands apart from your standard, cookie-cutter K-pop
girl group. But on what basis do we make such daring distinctions? The
thought of my sitting here, belaboring each of 2NE1's idiosyncratic
points of attraction would be comparable to that of beating a dead horse
over and over again (how cruel), or hammering nails into a coffin
that's already been sealed shut (how unnecessary).
So
for the sake of simplicity, let's narrow it down to their fashion. In
all honesty, some of their outfit choices are so singularly bizarre, and
trying to diagnose what it is that went wrong can leave you emotionally
drained. But hey, from my own findings, that's what I adore about them -
they're different, but for all the right reasons.
Let's
take a look at some of the more questionable fashion choices 2NE1 has
made throughout the years, and in what ways they bring to mind other
objects that bear an uncanny resemblance to said choices.
This Jeremy Scott dress looks stunning on our beloved charismatic leader, CL.
It's a staple black dress with an asymmetrical hemline that flatters
her toned legs and hints at her sophistication with that sheer, flowing
train. Oh, then there's that ugly unicorn plastered
atop her bosom (just in case it slipped your line of vision). I don't
know what kind of business that unicorn has doing there, but it should
seriously consider sorting out its priorities and getting out of there.
Another Jeremy Scott original, this fruity two-piece tightly hugs Dara's
frame and accentuates her slender physique. Though it could be argued
that the dress makes her look like a bag of Skittles (taste the
rainbow), I was reminded more of those color tone strips you pick out
when you're shopping around for paint colors at any hardware box store.
Park Bom can
pull off anything. Hell, she can pull off bald if she ever wanted to and
make it look like she enjoys looking like a giant toe. But this
particular shade of blue she sported for 2NE1's "It Hurts" MV was
a bit murky. Granted, the entire MV was exceedingly gloomy (moping
around in the absence of a lover who's gone on to bigger and better
things will do that to a girl). Bom's not a blue-haired kind of girl -
leave that to a vocaloid like Hatsune Miku (pictured above). Warm brown or fiery red hair tones most aptly complement her power vocals and wildly endearing quirks.
Minzy channeled her inner Minaj
with this Barbie pink bob. The symmetrical cut with straight bangs
simultaneously flatter her cherubic face and brighten her complexion. As
an added bonus, the bob gives her a summery chic feel that parallels
the airiness of 2NE1's "Falling In Love" promotions. Frankly,
though, I've yet to get used to seeing pink-haired idols in K-pop. For
some reason, pink hair reminds me too much of cotton candy, and so all I
see when pink-haired idols perform are floating cotton candies on
stage.
I appreciate how consistently CL pushes buttons when it comes to what is
or isn't considered appropriate stage attire. Whether or not you admire
her taste is completely up to you, but you've got to give her points
for her ballsy creativity. Sometimes she ends up looking exquisite and
unique. Other times, she ends up looking like one of Lady Gaga's backup
dancers.
When Dara first appeared on the scene as part of 2NE1 in their "Lollipop" MV with Big Bang,
I was fixated on her hair. But in all honesty, weren't we all? I mean,
she's clearly dancing and bobbing around in the video, but how the hell
does her hair stay so straight? It was definitely one of the great
mysteries of 2009 that left me dumbstruck. But as with all things
relating to time, there's always the beauty of hindsight. Looking back,
it's now not so much my musings over the science involved in getting her
hair to stay intact, as it is my musings over why her stylists made her
wear it in the first place. It straight up makes her look like palm
tree, or one of those feather dusters that come as props when you purchase french maid costumes for Halloween.
From what I've noticed, Minzy is prone to a ton of hair changes. Since
Minzy seldom strays away from her standard chin-length hair, her
stylists get really creative with cuts and colors, which make for
some incredibly dramatic looks. In this case, all I see is what appears
to be Minzy wearing a giant blueberry helmet. For goodness sake, she
has a round face to begin with, so don't make it any more round by
cutting her hair up to her ears.
When it comes to airport fashion, the word of law to abide by is comfort.
Leave the heels and silk blouses at home. You want to dress up just
enough so you barely skim the line between pajama and appropriate
loungewear that won't get you any dirty looks from the general public. I
don't know that I'll ever find it in me to wear something of the likes
of Dara's Tigger-inspired zip-up, but hey, to each her own.
There's nothing more I can say about CL's yellow shawl other than the fact that it looks like she's wearing the Lorax's mustache. The texture, the placement, and the way the strands flutter with movement - seriously, does nobody else see this?
Honorable mentions:
I had a more difficult time than you would've guessed trying to figure
out whether the blue carpet hanging over Dara's body leaned more toward Katy Perry's hair or the Cookie Monster.
In one respect, the texture of Dara's caveman cloak (or whatever the
hell that is) can be deep-conditioned to look like Katy's smooth, loose
curls. On the other hand, something tells me the cloak might be itchy
and fuzzy, a la Cookie Monster. Whatever, I can't be forced to take
sides, so I'm letting this one sit.
I don't even know what to make of this. Something tells me that if (God-forbid) Big Bird
were ever to mate and have an offspring of his own, the hatching would
look like CL here. Then there's the obsessive compulsive component of my
brain telling me that I should probably get around to dusting my
collection of classics on my bookshelf, in which case I would fervently
wish CL were miniature so I can get into all the nooks and crannies of
the books.
Any guesses for some dramatic looks from the girls for their "Do You Love Me" promotions and beyond?
Credits: Allkpop
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