Go Youn-jung Is Wearing the Jacket Taking Over Korea This Fall

Forget the trench coat. This fall, work jackets are taking over Korea’s fashion scene, with celebrities like Son Na-eun, Kim Na-young, Go Youn-jung and Cha Jung-won already putting their own spin on the trend.

Once designed for factory floors and farm work, the boxy jackets are now becoming an everyday fashion staple. On 29CM, sales of products searched under “work jacket” jumped 316 percent year-over-year in September, while searches for the term on Musinsa rose 216 percent from the previous month.

Son Na-eun recently paired a red work jacket with a long black skirt, while Kim Na-young went for a washed-blue French work jacket with white pants before switching to a soft yellow version. Go Youn-jung used a beige work jacket to break up an all-black look, and Cha Jung-won styled a dark denim-toned version with a mini skirt.

The appeal comes from the jacket’s roomy fit, oversized pockets and sturdy fabric, but Korean fashion lovers are giving the utilitarian piece a softer twist. Instead of sticking to jeans and cotton pants, they are pairing work jackets with skirts, slacks and other more feminine pieces.

Bold colors are also changing the mood. Alongside classic blue and navy, red, yellow and beige are making work jackets feel less like something you would wear on the job and more like the statement piece of an outfit.

With Korea’s unpredictable fall weather, the timing could not be better. Light enough to layer over a T-shirt but roomy enough for knitwear, the work jacket is quickly becoming the in-between-season piece Korean fashion lovers don't want to miss.

What started as practical workwear has officially found a new job, being one of Korea’s hottest fall fashion pieces.