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'Taike' chic meets Hawaiian style on the beach

By Jules Quartly
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Jul 27, 2006, Page 13

Kenting loves Hawaii and there are plenty of accessories, shorts and shirts that prove it. PHOTOS: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

Taike (台客) chic rules the beach, and Hawaiian style is in down south this summer.

While the sun is shining, hordes of youngsters head to Kenting (墾丁), Pingtung County (屏東縣), for a taste of the beach bum lifestyle.

They hit the sands in nearby Nanwan (南灣) or Jialeshui (佳樂水), hang out in the high street restaurants or check out the night market and later party in the town's hip-hop clubs.

Kenting and its national park has long been a favored destination for Taiwanese, but in recent years there's been an explosion in the number of visitors.

Many of these tourists are attracted by events like Spring Scream (春天吶喊) festival, the annual electronic music parties that accompany it, and a trend toward a more relaxed lifestyle.

Some of the city slickers who make it to Kenting check out the surfer-dude vibe, get addicted and then move down south permanently.

A-lang (阿郎), who owns a surf shop on Kenting's main street, said these migrants don't mind earning less as they have a better quality of life.

The marijuana symbol on this tote bag is a common nod to counterculture.

Fresh air, plenty of sun, a thriving community and the opportunity to make money doing what they love were among the attractions, he said.

As for a local style, A-Lang was cautious about calling it “taike chic on the beach,” but said this was one element.

Taike is characterized by rappers like MC HotDog who promote casual wear such as faded and ripped jeans, baseball caps, colorful shirts and low-slung pants and shorts, dyed hair and tattoos.

This can be loosely characterized as “gangster” for guys and a sexy, less-is-more look for the girls, with plenty of cute accessories. Fakes rather than the real deal are favored and LV patterns are most popular.

Ripped jeans and big sunglasses are de rigueur for the girls.

“I think there can be a negative connotation to taike, which I don't like, but the positive side is that it's an expression of a local style that is unique to Taiwan,” A-lang said.

“But the fashion here is international, too, as there's the surfer style that's very natural and has been brought in from the US, Australia and Bali.”

Local beach boys are chiseled and tanned, while city dwellers buff up at the gym.

Flip-flops are de rigueur, with fake diamante studs, bows and flowers for the ladies, or in bright colors for the guys.

Beach babes are leaving their whitening creams at home and getting a tan, overturning the conventional Chinese saying, “White hides three ugly bits” (一白遮三醜).

As for the accessories, there are nods to the marijuana leaf as a counterculture symbol on tote bags and “wife beater” T-shirts.

The aloha shirt, which originated in Hawaii when Japanese immigrants donned kimono fabrics in the late 1930s, is the dominant pattern for shirts and shorts.

On the main beach of Nanwan, masses of guys wear identical swimming shorts with aloha patterns bought from local shops and stands.

One of the main reasons for the success of the Hawaiian look in Kenting — according to A-lang and others — is the influence of Jon Parrish, who's known locally as “Duggar.”

Born in California but raised in Hawaii, Duggar has been living here since 1993 and has a Taiwanese wife and son.

“We love Hawaii, but the cost of living there's so high. That's why we're here ... . Taiwan's the same latitude, there's the beautiful mountains and the same ocean as Hawaii,” he said.

After working at a local hotel, he opened his store Duggar Hawaii in 2002 (www.hawaiithings.com). Every March he returns to the US and imports the latest Hawaiian merchandise.

“Our selling point is we have stuff [that] Taiwan doesn't usually have. A lot of the Hawaii items you see around are actually made in Bali, Thailand and Indonesia. We have the real deal.”

Duggar said youngsters are dressing casually but also more adventurously.

“Girls will wear flowers in their hair, or behind their ears, bikinis are worn more often and the feel is getting more relaxed, but there's still a long way to go,” Duggar said.

“I just feel that cities in Taiwan are pretty big and the stress is on youngsters to get an education and make money.

“The lifestyle part of what's happening down here is a window to say, ‘This isn't the only thing.’ You've gotta find a balance. I think that's what happening to the younger people.

“They come here, relax, open up a bit, do an activity, unwind and have fun. It's kind of more like Hawaiian culture and the aloha spirit — Taiwanese style.”
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