 Ri Sol Ju’s glamorous fashion sense. Image: Daily NK |
Attire for women in North Korea is getting
flashier thanks to First Lady Ri Sol Ju’s knack for bold and stylish clothing,
Daily NK has learned. Ri’s noticeable presence in the public eye has presumably
been reason behind the state’s decidedly relaxed attitude toward rapidly
shifting fashion trends among women, previously stringently regulated for their
reflection of “capitalist trends.”
Party-published Rodong Sinmun reported on
April 14th that leader Kim Jong Eun was accompanied by the First Lady to the
Mangyondae Prize Sports Games at Kim Il Sung Stadium, where, unlike last year, she was spotted
wearing a dark green jacket and a skirt with her hair down.
“North Koreans have been referring to Ri
Sol Ju’s attire as modern and unprecedented in style,” a source in Yangkang
Province told Daily NK on Monday. “A lot of fashion shows around the country
have been promoting more modern looks, seemingly following trends started by the Marshal’s wife.”
In the past, she added, business suits had
no visible waistline, and skirts used to fall well below the knees; these days,
however, waistlines lean toward a much slimmer fit and skirts hover just above
the knees. “Before now, people would not have even been able to think of
wearing a shorter skirt or a lower neckline, but maybe because of
the First Lady’s eye-catching outfits more people are making conscious adjustments to their sense of style,” she explained, adding that accessories such as necklaces
and earrings are an increasingly popular trend.
Notably, in footage recently released by
Chosun Central News Agency [KCTV], a number of residents from North Hamkyung
Province’s Hoeryong City appeared sporting stylish earrings and necklaces. This
look drew a great deal of attention due to the glitz and glam it indicates over
the drab, muted fashion representative of most ordinary workers
in North Korea.
According to the source, traveling vendors
who run operations between Hyesan and Pyongyang have said that scores of customers are
requesting necklaces, earrings, and rings from South Korea. Surprisingly,
demand for these goods is not unique to younger women—older housewives are equally eager to glam up their look a bit.
She surmised that the First Lady’s proclivity
for fashionable attire has brought significant changes to the face of North
Korean society, noting that she has not witnessed a state crackdown on clothing
preferences among residents for at least two or three years. “Some say that no
one has actually worn anything that surpasses the glitzy nature of what comrade
Ri Sol Ju has worn, so they can’t really get into trouble,” she pointed out.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
