Kim Jong Il Dead, Iconic Style Remembered (PHOTOS)

Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea for the past 17 years, died tonight from a heart attack. As AP pointed out, the dictator has a taste for cigars, liqueurs and fine foods -- but he also had a fine taste for fashion.

Similar to another recently fallen dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim had a distinct flare for style. He favored a particular shade of murky beige/gray, which in later years blended well with his fading hair. He sported trim zip-up jackets and anoraks, although he sometimes would slip into a jumpsuit. He occasionally got creative with headgear, including a fur hat or two.

But when it comes to fashion, the leader will be remembered for his eyewear. Dark and oblong or silvery and square, Kim always had on a funky pair of specs.

Trendy sunglasses, oversized prescription lenses and more -- we got 'em all. Take a look at the style star that was Kim Jong Il.

RATE IT!   |  

VOTE

CURRENT TOP 5 PICK YOUR OWN TOP 5

USERS WHO VOTED

NEW! CREATE YOUR OWN SLIDESHOW

Comments

[LMPE]

01:35 AM on 12/20/2011

#4 must be one of the only times that Dear Leader got photographed w/o his glasses. So ronery indeed.

PS: http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/

[hueylover]

06:10 PM on 12/19/2011

Yep, the world needs more dumbing down.

[LMPE]

01:36 AM on 12/20/2011

Fixed News will see to that.

[oldgraymare]

05:05 PM on 12/19/2011

Kim Jung Il is now "Kin Jung Dead".

[chris784100]

04:51 PM on 12/19/2011

He looks like the guy that served me beef and broccoli at dinner last night.

[hueylover]

06:11 PM on 12/19/2011

Enough with the substance abuse - that was your wife.

[gen230]

04:49 PM on 12/19/2011

Iconic style?!

[red skull]

01:57 PM on 12/19/2011

You will not be missed.

[coljr]

01:10 PM on 12/19/2011

just one less psycho we're gonna have to deal with........................................
good riddance to bad rubbish!

[Sfumato2]

12:38 PM on 12/19/2011

Wow,, maybe if I unjustly imprison some 200,000 political opponents and starve millions of people and have secretly kill thousands more... I will be spotlighted by HP Style section..

[hueylover]

06:03 PM on 12/19/2011

Yes, I did a double take at seeing this c rap. Just another way to trivialise unbelievable cruelty. Perhaps he'll evolve into a kitsch design icon in the way dear old Mao has. :(

[theestherlee]

12:13 PM on 12/19/2011

Anyone who call this man a "style icon" should take a course in political history, read up on human rights, and smack him/herself in the face. Poor taste and choice of content, HuffPo.

[deluk]

01:40 PM on 12/19/2011

are you for real?

[hueylover]

06:07 PM on 12/19/2011

Yes, they're for real, as are the many others who have made similar comments.

[littlepuffycloud]

12:04 PM on 12/19/2011

It would be nice if his successor stopped starving the North Koreans, but it will take decades to undo all the brain washing those poor people have undergone for 50 years.

[Malarcus]

11:26 AM on 12/19/2011

This "man" caused the untold misery and suffering of millions of people for decades. He's kept his own citizens living in the dark while he lived a life in luxury. The blood of tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of his own countrymen, plus South Koreans, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and who knows who else, forever stains his memory. He was an insane little monster willingly firing off a nuclear weapon test or threatening warfare everytime the world looked to other troubles. With all that in mind, let us hope that an article exploring his "iconic fashion sense" be the most inane, if most offensive, memorial written today.

[BassguyGG]

11:19 AM on 12/19/2011

If anything Kim Jong-Il presided over a lifetime of Fashion "Don't's!" The problem is that when you are Supreme Ruler. rich as Midas and your word is law, there aren't too many people who are going to be willing to call you out on it. Kind of like Donald Trump and his hair!

[DanielaFearless]

11:05 AM on 12/19/2011

This is one absurd post. I don't even know what to say to it.

[chris784100]

04:56 PM on 12/19/2011

No he had iconic style evidently. According to HP anyway. Idiots. This guy was a mass murderer why does anyone want to remember him? Why not Hitler remembered at least he was a snappy dresser.

[lefty81]

11:05 AM on 12/19/2011

Seriously? An article about a self-centered, dictator who spent his people's money on said "style"?

[deluk]

11:07 AM on 12/19/2011

Did you look at the photo's?...I don't think he spent much money "on said style".

[lefty81]

11:41 AM on 12/19/2011

It's not particularly about style, but it's about the fact that he spent the money on himself, and let his people starve. I hope you were being sarcastic..........

[MikeyJaii]

11:25 AM on 12/19/2011

STYLE? LMAO WHAT STYLE.

[deluk]

11:05 AM on 12/19/2011

The simplicity, elegance, ease of wear and sheer humility of The Great Leaders elasticated trouser suit at first glance belies the fact that he was a creative dynamo, take another look and the brilliance of his artistry and the clarity of his utopian vision become gloriously evident.

Not for nothing was he admiringly known as The Coco Chanel Of Pyongyang, by less extravagantly gifted beings......and the parka is to die for!!