"It's Okay To Not Be Okay" brings quite a wholesome story about two people who gradually heal each other from their emotional wounds.
The story revolves around Moon Kang Tae (Kim Soo Hyun), as a health worker at a psychiatric hospital. He meets the famous children's book author Go Moon Young (Seo Ye Ji), who has an anti-personality disorder.
Together with the amazing storyline are several outfits worn by the characters in the drama that viewers can't take their eyes away from. The details and the colors make the series a lot more alive and interesting.
According to the Costume Director, Jo Sang Gyeong, each outfit worn by the characters shares a story. She definitely pulled off the costume designs! She said that, with the vibrant and detailed costumes, she intended to create "default looks" for each of the characters to show their personalities and tendencies in the story.
For Kim Soo Hyun's character, Moon Kang Tae, Jo Sang Gyeong created costumes with the concept of devotion. Moon Kang Tae's character has an older brother, Moon Sang Tae (Oh Jung Se), who has ASD.
Starting at a very young age, he was trained by his mother to take care of Moon Sang Tae, which led Moon Kang Tae to believe that taking care of his brother is his only purpose in the world. His plain and simple clothes imply how he doesn't have a lot of time spared to take care of himself. Costume director Jo Sang Gyeong even said that she intentionally washed his clothes multiple times to create a worn-out and slightly weathered texture.
Many viewers will notice that Moon Sang Tae's character wears a lot of striped shirts. This is due to a researched-based fact about people that are on the spectrum. Research tells that people with ASD often use repeated patterns in their work. Moon Sang Tae wearing stripes conveys his diagnosis.
On the other hand, many viewers would die to own every single fit worn by Go Moon Young in the drama. Jo Sang Gyeong said she intended to create outfits that are fierce, eccentric, and flashy for Go Moon Young's character to portray her toughness and ability to defend herself. Her full-on black outfits portray her dark personality when it comes to the stories that she writes. The costume director added that all of her outfits are to contradict her vulnerable side.
Nam Ju Ri, portrayed by Park Gyu Young, portrays warmth and kindness through her clothes. Her clothes are more cozy than flashy, representing her soft and naive personality. In addition, to soften the ambiance of the psychiatric hospital, the staff are given pastel-colored uniforms. It emphasizes healing and a safe atmosphere.
The costume director adds that as Go Moon Young and Moon Kang Tae develop and grow as the drama goes on, their styles will change as well. Go Moon Young will start to wear more comfortable clothes, while Moon Kang Tae will wear more clothes with color.
Get a glimpse of these creative and well-thought-out outfits in the drama "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" and catch their style development in the future episodes!
