Mon, Oct 28, 2019 page9

• Found photos show scenes from 1970s Kaohsiung 四十六年前貴婦逛百貨公司照片曝光…最愛迷你裙

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  What did upper class women wear when they went to the department store 46 years ago? At the time the mini-skirt was all the rage.

  Lugang photographer Chung Ching-hsi was tidying up old negatives that had been kept in dust covers for many years, and was surprised to find some black-and-white negatives that he had taken in Kaohsiung 46 years ago. Among them were photos of well-to-do women outside a department store, with an endless stream of pedestrians crossing the road.

  Chung says that at the time he was doing his military service in Kaohsiung, and on weekends he would grab his camera and go out on the streets to take photos. In 1973, the Far Eastern Department Store had just opened, and the fashionable thing to do would be to go shopping at the department store on the junction of Dajhih Road and Wufu Fourth Road.

  

  A photo showing a 1973 scene of the Kaohsiung Far Eastern Department Store on Retrocession Day, with the national flag and US flag flying and the streets full of pedestrians with wealthy women and young girls wearing mini-skirts. 一九七三年的高雄遠東百貨迎接光復節，高掛國旗與美國國旗，街道上滿滿逛街人潮，貴婦少女都穿迷你裙。

  Photo courtesy of Chung Ching-hsi
  照片：鐘清溪提供

  According to Chung, he would have taken the photos around Oct. 25, when Taiwan, still under martial law, would celebrate Retrocession Day and would hang up national flags around town, including at department stores.

  From the photos of the Far Eastern Department Store you can see that the upper class women and young girls at the time were all wearing mini-skirts, and Western-style dresses with the skirt above the knee were the most fashionable. People would put on their best clothes and go shopping; even the children would be well dressed. There were very few mopeds or cars on the roads, and at most there were a few bicycles.

  Taiwan celebrated Retrocession Day on Oct. 25 and then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s birthday was on Oct. 31: you can see in the photo that in 1973 the Far Eastern Department Store had a placard over the entrance saying “Happy President’s Birthday and Retrocession Day.” There would be celebrations every year on Chiang’s birthday after he came over to Taiwan, but two years after this, in 1975, he passed away, so these days would become the anniversary of the president’s birth; the day would also be marked by a national holiday.

  

  A photo showing a 1973 scene of the just-opened Kaohsiung Far Eastern Department Store, with wealthy women and young girls wearing Western dresses and mini-skirts. 一九七三年的高雄遠東百貨剛開幕，逛街貴婦都穿著迷你裙洋裝。

  Photo courtesy of Chung Ching-hsi
  照片：鐘清溪提供

  In 1973, the US had yet to break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and so on Taiwan Retrocession Day the Far Eastern Department Store would fly not only the national flag but the US flag, too.

  (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  四十六年前貴婦逛百貨公司穿什麼？就是當時最流行的迷你裙。

  鹿港攝影工作者鐘清溪近年著手整理塵封多時的老底片，意外發現四十六年前他在高雄所拍的黑白老照片，其中有貴婦逛百貨公司的畫面，百貨公司前光是過馬路的人潮，就川流不息。

  鐘清溪說，當年他在高雄當兵，碰到假日就拿著相機出門拍照，一九七三年高雄遠東百貨公司剛開幕，就位於大智路、五福四路的三角窗地段，民眾都以逛百貨公司為時髦。

  鐘清溪說，他所拍的照片是在十月二十五日左右，當年戒嚴中的台灣，都會歡慶台灣光復節，還會掛起國旗，連百貨公司都是旗海飄揚。

  而從四十六年前的高雄遠百老照片發現，當時逛街的貴婦、少女，全都是穿著迷你短裙，尤其是一件式膝上洋裝最為風行，人人都精心打扮去逛百貨公司，連孩童也不例外，當時的機車、汽車都很少，街上頂多是腳踏車而已。

  由於台灣光復節在十月二十五日，而故總統蔣中正就出生在十月三十一日，因此，在老照片當中就可以看到，一九七三年高雄遠東百貨建物立面高掛寫著「恭祝 總統華誕暨光復節」文字的看板。蔣中正來台的每年生日都有慶祝活動，後來一九七五過世後，就變成蔣公誕辰紀念日，還曾經是全民放假的紀念日。

  台灣在一九七三年尚未跟美國斷交，因此，高雄遠百歡慶台灣光復節不只是掛國旗，還同時掛上美國的國旗。

  (自由時報)
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