chadchad on NYLON TV KOREA

click here for more videos from Nylon TV Korea: http://bit.ly/elnQX4 

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chadchad is 'Factory Guy' in NYLON Guys Korea!

Chad Burton, featured in last month's Nylon, has sent a reform guide to Nylon Guys.
translation by Burger Kim


We met Chad Burton at his place near Itaewon where we could see his unique taste in things. A stuffed pheasant was standing guard on the A/C and his closet and bedroom were filled with clothes and accessories he had reformed himself. This tall modelesque guy from Canada first came to South Korea to teach English almost 4 years ago. Quite unexpectedly he started modelling, blogging, taking street fashion snaps and sometimes styling and now he is a man of many fashion talents. So it's only natural he met Nylon. Not so long ago his blog thexoxokids.com was featured in Nylon USA and Nylon first met him during last Seoul Fashion Week. Since then he was shown in Nylon's fashion column wearing clothes he reformed and we thought it'd be a shame to leave his reforming talent with just a snap, so we decided to feature him in Nylon Guys as a factory boy.

Chad started styling with reformed clothes to have an original party look. Now his reformed items are popular among not only his friends, but others. He started selling a few of his reformed items at a flea market he goes to and said a lot of people are now coming to the market to buy his pieces. He said "I used to sell just vintage clothes at the market, but I started adding decorations on a few of them as an experiment and they sold better. I think people are attracted to them because they are unique. A lot of Korean people dress very similar to each other, but I'm glad more and more people are looking for something original and unique."

When asked what's his favourite party look, he answered "A friend of mine (CORY!) hosted a Reform School themed party, so I added sharpened pencils on shoulders and put calculators on my shoes to complete a 'stationary look'. It was so awesome."  (here is a link to that party called X-Rated: http://bit.ly/ea4cEd )

His favourite items to reform are denim jackets. He usually buys them at Dongmyo market for a couple of bucks, then rips off the sleeves and add tassels, fringe or feathers to make a cool denim vest. So with no hesitation he picked a denim jacket as his subject for this project with Nylon Guys.  This is how he makes a denim vest. To add to the vintage feel, cut a small hole in the arm hole and rip the sleeves off by hand then sew ivory fringe, easily found in Dongdaemun fabric market, on to the vest. After piercing through the jacket with an awl and screwing in the studs with a driver, you have a denim vest Chad Burton style. 

As we were leaving he added "I always get my inspiration from flea markets and Dongdaemun fabric market because what someone throws out can be useful to me.  This discarded toy dinosaur turned into a great necklace. I just try. There's no harm in trying something new and interesting." Each day is filled with confidence and challenges for him and we think he is a real Nylon guy.


/ find Nylon Guys on newstands in Korea, sold together with Nylon.

ps. scan the QR code to see me on Nylon TV soon!

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chadchad of the day 2.4

sleeveless denim shirt with tassels / reformed vintage
black fedora / H&M
'Go Stop' necklace / handmade
black denim / no brand
sneakers / Converse


Last Sunday Nylon TV & Nylon Guys Korea came to my house to shoot a segment called 'Factory Boy' and this is the outfit I wore. 'Factory Boy' will be a section in Nylon Guys where they highlight guys who like DIY & reforming their own clothing. They filmed me reforming a denim shirt like the one I'm wearing step by step, but instead of the red tassel I added to this shirt, I used ivory suede tassel & a few studs on the shoulders. I'll upload the video as soon as its posted on the Nylon Korea website.


I made this necklace out of a pack of Korean cards called Hwatu / 화투 which are used to play a game called Go Stop / 고스톱, usually played by older Korean men. The predominantly red, black & white illustrations contain various flora & fauna found in Korea and are very eye catching.  I've wanted to create something with these cards forever & I'm way psyched about the outcome.

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chadchad & friends in NYLON Korea!

hello nylon, hello korea!
This isn't about introducing you the typical foreigners in Korea who say they love Kimchi Jjigae and Korea. The foreigners we met are Korean-fashion-loving hipsters who shop at Dongdaemun and Dongmyo vintage market.

NYLON Korea recently contacted me about introducing some of my fashionable foreign friends living in Seoul. They met us each separately about two weeks ago for a quick street fashion photoshoot & a short interview about what we think about fashion in Korea.

My friend Burger Kim kindly translated the title page & my own interview. Unfortunately the original interview was done mostly in English and was translated poorly into Korean. They put a few words into my mouth (the word 'hipster' never came up once in my conversation with the fashion editor) & they didn't quite fully understand some of my answers, but overall it's a cute article.  (I added corrections to my interview in brackets).


Where are you from?  I'm from Saskatchewan, western Canada.

How long have you been in Korea?  It's been about 4 years. I'm now taking an advanced level class (intermediate conversation level) in Korean and I understand most Korean language (I wish!) except the difficult stuff in the news.

What do you do in Korea?  I run a fashion blog, thexoxokids.com and i'm also a Korean correspondent for a street fashion site called 'Streetpeeper' (never actually said that part -  Street Peeper hasn't used my photographs for months!), so I usually go out to take street snaps at trendy spots during the week and on the weekend I go to flea markets or attend parties.

Has your style changed since you've been in Korea? Yes. A definite improvement. I think it's because I learned to enjoy occasionally mismatched styles rather than be embarrassed about them. (I've learned to mix & match my clothing well). So sometimes the very item I thought was a mistake would turn out to be just what I need to complete an interesting look.  (I think it's okay to make the occasional fashion mistakes as long as you are creative & learn from them). I used to stand out too much as I was dressed in vintage clothing from head to toe (never said that), but after countless mistakes I became a better hipster through mixing and matching designer pieces (haha wtf? - I so would not use the word hipster to describe myself & I don't know anyone who would).  Thanks to that I get interviews like this and modelling jobs. (ew, I never said that either).

What do you think of Korean fashion?  As I always say, to me Korean men's fashion is more successful and interesting than women's, not only on the runways, but on the streets as well. I think that's why fashion capitals of the world such as London, Paris and New York are showing interest in many Korean men's wear designers. (I totally said all that).

Where's your favourite place to shop?  I love Dongmyo flea market. Especially in the early morning (early afternoon, it opens at noon on weekends & 2pm on weekdays) that place is piled up with great vintage clothing and items. Finding a unique piece that you love in the midst of heaps of old stuff is like treasure hunting.  And as I'm a foreigner, it's easier for me to bargain. (nope - lots of times it's the opposite).

You mentioned reforming is your hobby. What's your most recent reformed piece?  Not long ago, I bought a cheap pair of student slippers (plimsolls) in London. I reformed them with a marker and they turn out very cute, so I wear them daily (I've worn them once).  It says 'right' on the right shoe and 'left' on the left one.  








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