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lauradi7dwI think it is fairly common for people who have had a wonderful experience to feel let down when it's over. My vacation (about which I will continue to post for a few days) was even better than I had hoped, except for giving Flo my cold and worrying and feeling guilty about it. So one would expect some low feelings in general but in this case it will probably be worse than usual because aside from a couple of special days in the next couple of weeks and the fact that it's farmers' market season (which always cheers me up), the rest of the summer is scheduled to contain dreadful things (meaning that I am full of dread). I can keep reminding myself that I am a lucky person - colonoscopy prep makes me feel very ill, but at least I can afford to have that kind of testing done. I can't wish away every bad thing, but short-term I sometimes manage. I have been having body self-image issues, but it was entertaining Tuesday that when I did the very touristy thing and rented a hanbok, several of the middle aged Korean women on the tour of the Huwon kept remarking how beautiful I looked.
https://www.theseoulguide.com/huwon-secret-garden/
I think what they actually meant was that it was good to see something looking traditional rather than the lacy and sparkly outfits some women in their teens and twenties pick. But I had a clear idea of what I wanted and picked carefully. I thought that garment-wise, it did look good.
There is gender-non-conformity too, though. Some young men were wearing clothes that were traditionally (and are currently) for female people. Some frilly, some plain, but at more than one palace. We also have seen female looking folks in male style clothes, but that's a fairly common trope in historical dramas, at least more so than the other way.
We were at a place where what seemed to be an entire middle school field trip showed up in rented clothes. The boys were hanging out in packs, the girls were in other packs, with not much in the way of co-ed groups, but not all the clothes within the packs were gendered in that way.
And because I have whims, I went on a bus and into the museum of traditional Korean music dressed as in days of old, rather than just swanning around in a palace.
In March of 2023, I posted this.
https://lauradi7dw.dreamwidth.org/730755.html
I said I wasn't going to buy the giclee print because I don't like images of people smoking, but then I saw what may have been an inspiration and am considering it again.
Chun Kyungja (1944)
Also helpful - on very draggy #22 airport bus this afternoon, the woman sitting next to me was wearing a shirt that said You Are Enough (no reference to Ken). I thanked her. She was glad.
https://www.theseoulguide.com/huwon-secret-garden/
I think what they actually meant was that it was good to see something looking traditional rather than the lacy and sparkly outfits some women in their teens and twenties pick. But I had a clear idea of what I wanted and picked carefully. I thought that garment-wise, it did look good.
There is gender-non-conformity too, though. Some young men were wearing clothes that were traditionally (and are currently) for female people. Some frilly, some plain, but at more than one palace. We also have seen female looking folks in male style clothes, but that's a fairly common trope in historical dramas, at least more so than the other way.
We were at a place where what seemed to be an entire middle school field trip showed up in rented clothes. The boys were hanging out in packs, the girls were in other packs, with not much in the way of co-ed groups, but not all the clothes within the packs were gendered in that way.
And because I have whims, I went on a bus and into the museum of traditional Korean music dressed as in days of old, rather than just swanning around in a palace.
In March of 2023, I posted this.
https://lauradi7dw.dreamwidth.org/730755.html
I said I wasn't going to buy the giclee print because I don't like images of people smoking, but then I saw what may have been an inspiration and am considering it again.
Chun Kyungja (1944)
Also helpful - on very draggy #22 airport bus this afternoon, the woman sitting next to me was wearing a shirt that said You Are Enough (no reference to Ken). I thanked her. She was glad.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-20 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-06-21 01:07 am (UTC)Fabric, fit, non-itchiness*, lots of things go into comfort, and comfortable clothes are one aspect of happiness, especially if one doesn't worry too much about what other people think. Happiness shows.
Hanbok rental is a big business, to the extent that the palaces offer free admission to people wearing it. (Do they get a kick-back from the rental shops? I don't know the financial model). In my case some things were free anyway due to my age, but it was fun to go through the palace gate and have the ticket taker happily say "Hanbok free! Hanbok free!" to me before I could pull out an ID with my birthdate. A thoughtful online discussion once said that in this case it's probably not cultural appropriation for foreigners to be wearing hanbok since it's encouraged, but me walking into the H mart or the local kimchi festival like that might get a degree of side-eye. I bought a Folkwear pattern but haven't made it. Maybe I will, and just wear it around the house when watching a historical drama.
* A standard part of the rental is a crinoline to go under the skirt to make it poof out. I asked if I could decline, because I expected it to itch. The person helping me said she didn't think it would itch, but checked with the manager, who OK'd my request. I suspect the hem got dirtier than it would have if the poofiness had raised it higher from the ground, but I was definitely more comfortable.
no subject
Date: 2024-06-21 09:33 pm (UTC)