After joining NCT in 2020, Shotaro has gone on to show various sides of himself. Whether it be through his dancing, through content uploaded on the group’s YouTube channel, or through his personal Instagram account, Shotaro doesn’t fail to bring people in, and his Instagram feed has quickly become my favorite out of all the NCT members.

From His Feed

Shotaro’s personal instagram opened up in April 2021, making him one out of 17 members (among 23 members) of NCT with an active Instagram account. When scrolling down his feed, try not to be jumpscared by his Jigsaw Halloween costume that he wore for SMTOWN's annual Halloween party. 

Outfit Highlights: AJOBYAJO varsity jacket with a hoodie underneath. This is a signature Shotaro outfit, because one thing about Shotaro is that if he isn’t wearing a hat, he will most likely have his hood up.

Outfit Highlights: AMIRI argyle plaid pattern sweater. The zipper on the back of the leather pants, which Xiaojun liked to tease him about, are quite unique. This is my personal favorite outfit from NCT U’s “Universe (Let’s Play Ball)” stage outfit.

Outfit Highlights: Studded loafers, joggers, fleece underneath his long trench coat, and topped off with Gentle Monster glasses, making a very smart, casual look. A collab between Gentle Monster and Shotaro would be very interesting to see, and it certainly wouldn’t be their first time collaborating with an Idol. They first worked with BLACKPINK’s Jennie, their Brand Ambassador, in 2020 with her Jentle Home collection– which will have another release later this year.

Between the time of NCT’s 2020 Resonance promotions and their 2021 Universe promotions, Shotaro had a lot of time to delve into different aspects of his life that he could enjoy. Within those months, Shotaro was invited to do a feature with the Vogue Korea August 2021 magazine, even getting to shoot a dance video for them on Vogue Korea’s YouTube channel.

One of the outfits that stood out the most from this shoot was the Alexander McQueen Graffiti Hybrid Coat. As Shotaro just began living in Korea and was able to score himself a Vogue Korea shoot, it would be cool to see him venture into doing apparel or shoe collaborations, like G-DRAGON’s peaceminusone collection.

Outfits of Taro’s Week

On October 2, 2021, fans were gifted with ✳︎ OOTW ✳︎ Outfits of Taro’s Week, a one-time segment where Shotaro got to show off his favorite items and show fans his styling tips! Within the video, Shotaro assigns each day to an outfit with a theme or a plan. He goes on to style looks for a variety of plans ranging from dance practices to eccentric party looks. By doing so, he was able to show different sides of himself. Some of his favorite items included:

Perfume:

• Jo Malone - Wood Sage & Sea Salt

• Chanel - Bleu De Chanel + Biarritz

• Coach - Coach Man EDT

• Loewe - 001 Man

Shotaro shared that the Loewe perfume was gifted by fellow-member Taeyong on his birthday. “It was on my birthday last year (2020) when Taeyong suddenly said, ‘Shotaro come here,’ and gave it to me. I remember feeling very happy at that time and still to this day I use it.”

Accessories and Hats:

• Necklaces to layer.

• Silver and gold jewelry.

• He wears baseball caps the most when practicing.

• Bucket Hats. He said he feels very comfortable wearing them outside and he likes the slight hip-hop feeling to them. He said bucket hats are his favorite hats, so he’s collecting them slowly.

Each person has their go-to jewelry type when it comes to what they wear on the daily, and silver seems to be Shotaro’s, although he did decide to pair gold jewelry for one of his fancier looks. Comfort is the main thing Shotaro goes for when choosing his outfits, and with his sense of style, he makes all his looks suit each individual occasion. Overall he likes to dress comfortably and is one to pay attention to the small details in his clothing, whether it be details of the design or the jewelry he decides to pair with it. After many NCTzens showed love toward this video, it would be great for SMTOWN to make Outfits of Taro’s Week a recurring segment!

Get Shotaro’s Look

A consistent theme on Shotaro's feed is headwear, hats, and headphones. Both wired and wireless headphones have come back in trend as we’re seeing less and less of the in-ear designs. Among wired headphones, Koss Porta Pros have become the newest essential amongst Gen-Z, popularized by YouTuber Enya Umanzor. Wireless headphones have become timeless as they effortlessly help bring an outfit together or disrupt an already put-together fit. Sony has a variety of them, but their noise-canceling WH-1000XM4 pair have been in many people’s baskets.

Shotaro’s vibe suits well with the brand Happy99, but more specifically, as he’s an owner of a variety of hats, Happy99’s REM ST☆R Trucker Hat and their ThreadTek Camo Beanie would be the perfect addition to his ever-growing collection.

Final Verdict

All in all, Shotaro makes it a point for his fashion to be one of these three C’s: Casual, Cool, and Comfortable. If he's not wearing an oversized shirt, he'll be in a hoodie, and if you're going to catch him in any footwear, it's most likely going to be a pair of Jordans. 

With April fast approaching, Shotaro’s Instagram will be one year old and we will have spent a full year getting to know him that much more. Hopefully within this next year, Shotaro will get to explore his individual fashion sense more and be able to share that side with us through his Instagram.