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Boy’s Ensemble: Pants, Jacket, Vest, Overjacket, and Coat

c. 1980-1990s
Choi Bok-hee (Korean, 1930–2007)

The basic form of traditional Korean dress (hanbok) has remained more or less unchanged for centuries, even up to the present day. This full ensemble—a reproduction of a nineteenth-century outfit—would have been worn on special occasions by an upper-class boy. It is a smaller version of a man’s suit of clothes, made in the same style but with brighter colors. Other modifications include a vest-shaped suspender attached to the pants and an open bottom for a quick diaper change.

This hanbok was created by master seamstress Choi Bok-hee, whose contemporary versions of royal costumes are based on textiles in the collections of various museums in Korea. About fifty of the artist’s reproductions are now housed in the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul.

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