A sleek white blouse and a combo of black pants and boots captures the essential aesthetic of Hyeryoung Rhee, Instructor in History. Embodying the sharp yet comfortable elegance of business casual attire, the young teacher incorporates styling tips from K-pop idols and accessories from her expansive earring collection to strategically balance out her proportions.
“I try not to go too much with the trend, because I know that low rise is the trend these days, but that makes me look shorter. I always prefer high rise, because I know that I’m petite…I [also] normally wear the same colored shoes as whatever bottoms I’m wearing, because if my shoes are white when they’re very black pants, it makes me look shorter,” said Rhee.
While in high school, Rhee’s T-shirt collection was largely dominated by her multi-colored uniform tops—as a result, she felt her creative expression was limited to only jackets or the lower half of her body. Yet over the years, Rhee feels she has gained more agency in using fashion as a way to properly convey an image of herself, which ranges from professional work clothes to casual attire.
“I’ve learned more how to use fashion as a tool to…give off the image that [I] want to give off. Whether that’s giving off a more professional image at work or, as the year goes on, I also tend to dress more comfortably because I know… my students already,” said Rhee.
One of Rhee’s major fashion inspirations is K-Pop singer IU, otherwise known as Lee Ji Eun, who often dresses in sleek monochrome and looser silhouettes. Rhee admires how IU utlizes fashion to make herself look taller and stylish despite standing at 162 cm; as such, she hopes to emulate the singer’s fashion sense and presence.
“I really liked this artist, IU, because she’s a really good singer, but she’s also very petite. But she dresses really well…[I like IU] because I think especially because so many of my students are all have always been a lot taller than me…She dresses in a way where she looks very elegant and tall, even though she’s only a little bit taller than me,” said Rhee.
When choosing her clothing for the day, while Rhee acknowledges the standard factors of weather and comfort, she particularly focuses on her shoes as the centerpiece of her outfit. Specifically, Rhee noted that she pays attention to how her chosen footwear portrays her height.
“Shoes matter a lot to me. Partly because of height and partly because of comfort. Which is interesting because I always wear high heels, but here I am talking about comfort,” said Rhee.
Overall, Rhee finds it fun to put together outfits, and feels it can function as a form of stress relief. She also appreciates her students’ diverse fashion styles in class.
“It’s really fun for me, first of all, to put together my outfits. When I’m traveling, for example, it’s always fun to look at what I have…[It’s] kind of [like] shopping in my own closet…I think fashion is the outlet for me to still like, exercise creative juice a little bit. Because it is an art,” said Rhee.
