Written by Mel (Mel-Bell (@Th3MelThatFell) / X)

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Oh boy, it has been a while!

We’ve certainly had some wonderful releases these last few weeks, both musically and within the fashion realm. Now that we’ve gotten the drop of Hongjoong’s collaboration with Odetari for “SMB” as an absolute bop to help tide us over as European ATINY prepare for the “Toward The Light” tour set to begin this weekend, rumors of Seonghwa attending the SONGZIO FW Show for Paris Fashion Week, and all of the wonderful airport stylings that have been flooding various outlets, it’s hard to not be excited for all the news coming forward from ATEEZ.

And with that, I felt that Jongho’s outfit for “Ice On My Teeth” was going to be next on the list. While simpler than some of the other looks of the group, it still provides an understated elegance reflective of not only his role as the incognito assassin, but of his own display within his fashion. The innocuous combination fits with Jongho’s supposed role within more of the rebellious activities in recent ATEEZ MVs like “Crazy Form”, “HALAZIA”, and “Bouncy” as more of an infiltrating force; unassuming, yet ultimately fatal in the context of the story.

As with each Fit Fix article, my guidelines are as follow:

1. This is more about identifying the pieces of an outfit or costume and providing suggestions for items based on that and that alone. It’s neither an endorsement nor condemnation for brands, styles, or pieces.
2. Your purchased outfit is just as valid as a thrifted or DIY outfit and vice versa, regardless of price.
3. You’re obviously not obligated to dress up for any concert, including ATEEZ. You can come as you are and have just as much fun!

Now, let’s fix-in! 

Much like Yunho’s fit for the MV, Jongho has a variation of the classic grey suit. Rather than a 3-piece like what Yunho was clearly sporting, Jongho appears to have replaced the waistcoat with a cumberbund and swapped the traditional tuxedo jacket with a dress tailcoat, which creates a new look altogether. The major differences come in the form of the suit overcoat as well as the tie. As such, we can narrow down the parts of the outfit to the suit jacket and pants, white button-up, cumberbund, black dress shoes, and black tie accent. However, since the past several articles revolving around the IOMT MVs have included various dress shoes and there aren’t great photos of the pair that Jongho would be wearing, I will be omitting them for this article specifically.

Suits at large have been the formal wear for men for as long as four centuries, with early iterations having connections to King Louis XIV via the writings of King Charles II following attendance to the former’s court in Versailles. At the time, the ensemble included a coat, waistcoat, wig, knee breeches, a cravat, and a hat. Since the inception, the core components have been simplified down to a coat, waistcoat, pants, and a tie as the main staples that come together to piece the modern suit. And from there, variations have popped up throughout fashion history as a means to express common cultures and counter-cultures across various societal movements. Whether worn in its entirety as a symbol of elegance and refinement or boiled down to a commodity within various modernist movements, suits bear a striking visual impact upon its wearer.

When we dissected the styling that Jongho sported, it’s a fairly spot-on take on the traditional suit, deep in tone and, unlike the other members and their flashier stylings, it’s more reserved and arguably more refined. However, rather than a standard suit jacket like Yunho had, Jongho has a tailcoat, which creates a strikingly regal and dramatic silhouette when compared to other tuxedo stylings without becoming ostentatious. As with the prior article on Yunho’s suit, you could honestly get away with either renting/purchasing from a men’s suit warehouse for moderate prices rather than splurging on something highly customized or otherwise lavish. If you are wanting to save on costs for getting the entire piece in one place, you can get something like the Charcoal Tailcoat 3-piece set through DHGate for $106.25, which would include the pants, tailcoat, and waistcoat. However, these types of coats can be hard to come by without them looking somewhat costumey. There are options to commission a custom piece through Etsy, though that itself can be pricey and time-consuming to create. If keeping to the original style isn’t something that you can reasonably do, keeping to a traditional styling would work as well. Examples of this would be the Wilke Rodriguez Slim FIt Suit in Charcoal, with the full set being on sale at $99.99 vs purchasing the jacket and pants separately at $139.99 and $60 respectively, or the Andrew Marc Men’s Modern-Fit Suit in Charcoal Solid at $158 for the jacket and pants together. The main trait to try to see if you can procure would be the graphite-toned, likely 2-button suit and pant combo with minimal detailing.

Although hidden in many of the shots in the MV to the point I only noticed very recently, we would want to get a charcoal cumberbund to help complete the piece. The cumberbund was assimilated into formal men’s wear by the British military at first, having seen sepoys wearing them during the British occupation of India and incorporating it into their uniforms. However, the form stuck throughout the ages and is now solely an ornamental piece in its contemporary stylings. The one sported by Jongho is pleated, which historically was used to hold tickets for formal outings. This particular clothing item isn’t particularly hard to find, but it would be easier to coordinate the piece by getting it with the pants and jacket. However, if that isn’t possible or not how you acquired the other pieces, you can get away with plenty of inexpensive alternatives, including the Jacob Alexander Cumberbund retailing at $19.95.

Based on the limited images of the outfit, the white button-up isn’t a particularly rare piece of clothing, but rather the thickness of the material is what sets it apart. While the top coat isn’t taken off to give any specifics about the material other than it being a stiff cotton. However, rather than the collar being the traditional Kent collar we’re familiar with in Oxford button-ups, we see Jongho sporting a Wing collar. As the name suggests, this style presses the tips of the collar out more horizontally, almost like a bird’s wings in flight. It’s usually most at home at formal events of both black and white tie varieties, though it’s also been worn by legal counsel in countries like Canada, India, and the UK. There are certainly fewer options for shirts that naturally have a collar like this compared to the more common types, but that’s not to say that they’re impossible to find. For instance, you can get the REXIUD Men’s Tuxedo Suit for $32 in addition to some of the pricier options, like the Egyptian White 60’s Poplin Wingtip Collar Shirt that runs about $75. If you are looking to cut down on costs and already have a white button-up with a more traditional collar like a Kent collar, you can potentially look at ironing and starching the collar to get that specific shaping without having to purchase a whole new shirt.

And to wrap up the specific pieces of the outfit is the tie. Jongho is outfitted with a continental tie (aka the cross-over tie for pretty obvious reasons) rather than a more traditional Windsor tie or a bowtie. This particular style of tie came into the mainstream around the 1960s with it accentuating the well-tailored lines of the minimalist suits that were en vogue during the time period. Since then, the look has continued to hold a space within the fashion sphere: both as a red carpet staple for men, but also as a common tie for women in different branches of the military, though I don’t think this particular facet is relevant to the styling as a whole. It does also seem like the cross is right over left, which is indicative of the idea that someone else dressed him. While this isn’t really something that impacts the way to style the outfit, as it’s very likely difficult to notice with a black tie. As such, you can get away with most continental ties that you can purchase, such as the BOGZON Adjustable Criss-Cross Bowtie for just under $8 or the Classic Black Polyester Crossover Tie from TrendHim at $27. However, you can do something similar with a black ribbon that’s affixed in the front if you have the available materials for a bit more of a feminine interpretation of the look.

I think based on the lore that’s been presented to us so far with the IOMT MV, the styling that they use for Jongho really makes a striking show of minimalistic implicit pieces to help make up the outfit. Even outside of the MVs, Jongho is known for having the most traditional stylings in terms of masculine fabrics, silhouettes, and outfit structure. He is quite at-home in these types of clothes, both with the combination of immaculate tailoring and a quiet confidence that Jongho has really gotten to grow into as his own talent is more widely recognized. The more that I’ve compared his look to those of other stages and videos, the more I’ve noticed that while his stylings tend to fall into fewer categories that some of the other members, the fact that he allows his talented vocals to shine past whatever he’s wearing is the ultimate show of understanding and confidence in his singing capacity. He’s always been a powerhouse with his vocals, yet he also doesn’t feel at home in some of the more avant garde stylings, almost as if he sort of understands that he doesn’t need trendy, flashy, or attention-grabbing fashion to make himself known. As if he gets to be that incognito assassin he portrays in all these videos.

Like always, until next time ATINY!