In North Korea there is huge pressure to maintain an appearance that represents an ideal standard of how citizens should represent themseleves. That means structured, tidy and nothing that appears ''too different'' or ''too trendy''.

Article 41 of North Korea's Youth Education Guarantee Act forbids young people from "wearing clothes or grooming themselves in strange ways that are un-Korean." North Korea has emphasized the need for youth education and intensified crackdowns based on this law, yet young North Koreans' desire to express themselves through foreign-influenced clothing and hairstyles continues to grow.

Authorities in North Korea have since intensified crackdowns on young peoples clothing and choice of hairstyles since enacting the ''Youth Education Gaurentee Act,'' but North Korea's youth - slightly more accustomed to outside culture than their elders - continue seeking change despite state restrictions.

Young people wearing various clothing styles can easily be spotted on city streets - especially this summer, when the number of young women wearing colorful one-piece dresses or skirts has noticeably increased.

According to a Daily NK source, short-sleeved, above-the-knee one-piece dresses are trendy this summer. Particularly popular are low-cut ones with especially short sleeves.

These kinds of one-piece dresses slowly became trendy about two or three years ago, and now everyone wears them," the source said. "They used to cost 500 to 1,500 Chinese yuan at first, but this year they're much cheaper at 200 to 300 yuan."

"People think you'll get in trouble for wearing a low-cut dress, but young people nowadays actually prefer them," the source said. "They also look for short skirts, thinking that long dresses - even if low-cut - are tacky, and they think nothing of wearing sleeveless dresses."

Among young men, black shirts made in China, which cost around 200 yuan, are reportedly popular. "Black shirts with russet details slightly visible inside the collar are popular among men, who think they look cool," the source said. "Nowadays, people express their personality through their clothes."