What is this (Korean-inspired?) chef's or workman's-style shirt/jacket?

June 20, 2018 7:33 AM

TraditionalKoreanFashionFilter: the barista at a Seoul "traditional+modern" cafe (I didn't get the name) was wearing a shirt/jacket that was stunning. Our translator informed me that it was an updated, modern, more wearable version of a traditional Korean jacket. What is it, and how can I search for things like it?

Photos here. It looked like a cross between chef's whites, a workman's jacket, and a seersucker shirt, but it had an almost lightly-padded effect. The arm pocket! The soft hem! The fabric-covered buttons! The asymmetrical closure! The pleats! Please help me figure out what to even google to find something like it. Thanks!

posted by alycoop to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Response by poster: Hold up—here's the signage in case it helps anyone.
posted by alycoop at 7:35 AM on June 20, 2018

At most, it looks to me like a very modern, contemporary sillhouette of something like this. Most Korean traditional clothing tops are a "wrap" style. It's usually secured with two strips of fabric that are tied together to form a bow but I guess the use of the buttons makes it more practical for a kitchen setting. Same for the clever pocket details. I would guess that it was probably custom made for the establishment or procured through a restaurant trade b2b company.

The collar style and the buttons remind me more of Chinese style jackets though. It doesn't look particularly "Korean" to me but that's just based on years of watching Korean historical dramas my parents forced me to watch.
posted by like_neon at 8:09 AM on June 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Perhaps the translator meant that it's a modern take on the traditional chef's jacket and not necessarily Korean? I think it looks more like a stylish version of a chef's jacket. For fun, I found this roundup of chefs in K-dramas and this shirt looks more in common with what they are wearing than traditional Korean clothes.
posted by like_neon at 8:15 AM on June 20, 2018

Not a direct lead on the shirt, but here's the cafe so you can contact them and ask:

아라리오브네 (Arari Ovene)
Address: 서울특별시 마포구 연남동 487-375 (487-375 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul) - though the address on the building itself says '3-3 Seongmisan-ro 16-gil'
Phone: [phone]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arari_ovene/
Naver: https://blog.naver.com/arari_arari

To find them, I searched for the term 'arariovene_koara' as indicated in tiny letters at the top of one of your images of the signage/menu on Instagram, got the Hangul (아라리오브네 is Arari Ovene, 연남점 is Yeonnam, the area, plus 'jeom', which means 'branch'/'shop') from the location tag of some similar looking images, plugged that into Google Maps and found it here, in Mapo-gu near Hongdae/Hongik University. A search on Naver found the same address.

I wonder if the best way to ask about the shirt would be to message them in English on Instagram? They seem quite active and posted on the evening of June 20 - just five hours ago! Many young Koreans speak fantastic English and if you send the imgur links they'll have a little visual context too, but if their English isn't great, printed text might be more easy to deal with than a phone call.

Good luck! The cakes look incredible - I have added the cafe to my itinerary for my next trip to Seoul!
posted by mdonley at 9:22 AM on June 20, 2018 [3 favorites]

If you find the answer can you let us know? I would be interested in trying to purchase one as well, they look fantastic.
posted by permiechickie at 10:51 AM on June 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

The modern hanbok designers have been playing around with the traditional jeogori (jacket) but I haven't seen anything like that (with buttons instead of ties and with pockets!). Seconding messaging them on Instagram!
posted by spamandkimchi at 3:02 PM on June 20, 2018

This site doesn't have anything that quite ticks all of your boxes, but Leesle is a nice shop that sells modernized Korean clothing.
Cropped women's jacket with button closure
Men's striped jacket
posted by Rora at 4:57 PM on June 20, 2018

Here's something similar in black.
Here's one in denim.

I've been googling women's chef coat with snaps. Here are some more.
posted by purple_bird at 11:35 AM on June 21, 2018