From K-Beauty Standout to Everyday Icon: How Jiyeon Styles New Balance Like a Pro

Park Jiyeon debuted in 2009 with girl group T-ara when she was a teenager and earned the title of group center during their Roly-Poly era. Her dance skills were so sharp that choreographer Bae Yun-jeong would cite her as one of the best K-pop dancers. But the real power move? A 2012 idol survey voted her the #1 most beautiful group member in real life and owner of the most enviable face. Her own bandmates agreed—they all picked her as the prettiest when they first met.

Unlike her glittery stage moments, Jiyeon's street style is shockingly minimal. Recent Instagram shots show her squatting on pavement for selfies in sneakers, lounging on golf carts, and rocking gray New Balance shoes like they're going out of style. Spoiler alert: they're not. New Balance is currently the most-searched sneaker among women in their 20s and 30s. So let's break down five real-life looks and decode the New Balance styling formula.

**Check Shirt + Wide Denim: Rolled Edges Matter**

Gray New Balance sneakers are now a daily-wear foundation piece, and Jiyeon is the poster child for why. Pair them with a brown-toned check flannel shirt and dark indigo wide-leg jeans, and suddenly every other piece clicks into place. Gray works because it's neutral without being heavy like black, and it doesn't scream for attention like white does. When it sits next to any pair of trousers, there's zero visual clash. Jiyeon's styling trick? She rolled up the denim at the ankle—just enough to let the shoe be visible and crisp. Overbites on top and bottom can feel sloppy unless you nail the proportions, but gray kicks anchor the whole look and draw the eye downward.

**Oversized Check Shirt: The Campus Vibe**

Same outfit from above, different angle—slouched sitting-down pose that shows how oversized flannel actually drapes. Check shirts live or die by fit. Wear one that matches your frame too closely and you'll feel suffocated. Go one or two sizes up and you unlock that effortless, I-just-threw-this-on-vibe. Jiyeon's shirt shoulders sit halfway down her forearms, sleeves cover the back of her hands, and her only hair accessory is a single silver pin pushed back from her forehead. This is pure college-campus realness—the kind of outfit you could literally wear straight from your dorm to the dining hall.

**Black Square-Neck Mini Dress: Shoulders On Display**

Total wardrobe 180. A sleek black mini dress with a square neckline instead of the flannel-and-denim combo. Square necklines hit different because they expose your collarbones and shoulders in a straight line—not the gentle curve of a round neck or the drama of a V-neck. People with narrow shoulders and long necks absolutely own this look. The dress is fitted on top and breaks into a full ruffle hem, which naturally makes your waist look smaller because that's where your eye stops. Her hem sits well above the knee, a simple silver watch peeks from her wrist, and the minimalism feels runway-ready. This is what Jiyeon looks like when the stage calls.

**White Oversized Tee + Wash Denim: Summer Street Energy**

Palm trees in the background, white oversized short-sleeve tee, faded wash denim, sunglasses pushed up on her head. White tees are the most basic and the most brutal—it all comes down to fit. Jiyeon's tee is relaxed at the shoulder and sleeves, but she French-tucks just the front hem to hint at a waistline. It's a tiny move that shifts the visual weight and makes her legs look longer. Pair that with the loose tee, chunky hoops, and hair thrown into a casual knot, and you've got the no-thought-required summer-travel outfit everyone pretends to have.

**Golf Course Look: Pastel Blue + White Pleats**

Final photo: Jiyeon sprawled across a golf cart in pastel blue polo shirt, white pleated mini skirt, white visor, arm sleeves. Golf wear is usually decided by the top—get that wrong and the whole thing falls apart. She went soft blue on top and white on bottom to pull the eye upward. The collar has tiny ruching detail that plays up the lower face, white accessories echo the bottom piece, and the vertical pleats on the skirt naturally slim the legs. White socks peeking out at the ankle plus white sneakers seal the summery, polished-without-trying vibe.

**The Jiyeon Playbook**

Look at all five photos together and one thing repeats: the shoes. Always something you can actually walk in—New Balance, white sneaks, doesn't matter. Above that, plain stuff piles on. Oversized flannels, white tees, wide denim. The only moment she actually committed to impact was that black mini dress, and that was it. Most of this lives in a regular closet already. There's a famous story about her junior high self returning to her agency with a manager's 300,000-won (roughly 225 USD) allowance after buying only 5,000-won (roughly 4 USD) worth of tangerines. That frugal spirit? It never left. After 24 years in the industry, her wardrobe still whispers instead of shouts.