日本傳統男性內衣成女性新寵
Whether you're a g-string girl or prefer granny-style knickers, a Japanese lingerie maker is inviting women to liberate themselves from conventional, body-hugging underwear and don loincloths instead.
Loincloths, called "fundoshi" in Japanese, were worn by adult men in the past, but they are now a rarity.
Kyoto-based lingerie firm Wacoal, however, has brought them back into fashion, this time for women seeking "emancipation" from the tightness of conventional underwear.
"We wanted young women to have a more sense of freedom and release. And as we tried to come up with the ultimate liberation item for women, we thought of a fundoshi," said Tomoka Okamura, merchandise director for Wacoal's Nanafun female loincloths.
The loincloths for women come in seven different colors and two designs -- plain and chequered. Prices are about 1,260 yen ($13).
Wacoal has sold more than 5,000 since December, three times more than it had expected, officials said, and the company now plans to start selling them in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
"It's easy to wear and is quite nice. It's also good for summer. And since it's getting warmer, I figured it would be good for that," said Hiromi Iwamura, a 28-year-old shopper who was buying a patterned loincloth and matching bra.
無論你是愛穿丁字褲的時尚女郎，還是偏愛老式平腳褲的保守女性，日本一家內衣製造商正鼓勵女性將自己從傳統的束身內衣中解放出來，穿上（它們新推出的）一款女士“兜襠褲”。
這款內衣在日語中被稱爲“褌”（fundoshi，中文讀KUN），是過去日本成年男性常穿的一種內衣，但現在已經很少見了。
而位於京都的Wacoal內衣公司則將其重新帶回時尚舞臺，不過這次是爲了欲從束身內衣中尋求“解放”的女性。
Wacoal公司負責Nanafun女士褌銷售的主管Tomoka Okamura說：“我們希望年輕女性能感受到更多的自由和放鬆。當我們想到爲女性設計一款可以徹底解放她們身體的服飾時，我們想到了‘褌’。”
女士褌有七種顏色以及一色和棋盤格兩種款式。每件褌的售價約爲1260日元（13美元）。
據公司官員介紹，從去年12月至今，Wacoal公司已銷售五千多件女士褌，爲其預期銷量的三倍多。目前公司正計劃在香港、臺灣和新加坡開闢市場。
28歲的Hiromi Iwamura買了一條格子款的褌和一件配套的文胸。她說：“這款內衣穿起來很方便，感覺很好，而且適合夏天穿。現在天氣慢慢轉暖，穿起來應該不錯。”
Vocabulary:
body-hugging:束身的；緊身的
