“To wear, or not to wear bikinis” would probably be one of the hardest questions which troubles your mind when going to the beach for your summer holiday. While most women would think of wearing either one-pieced swimming suits or bikinis, there is an up-and-coming type of swimming suit that grabbed away Korean women’s and even men’s hearts – rash guard.

「穿不穿比基尼」可能是夏天假期去海灘玩的時候最困擾你的一個難題。大多數女性會考慮穿連身泳衣或比基尼，但現在一種新興起的泳裝類型得到了韓國女人甚至男人的心——rash guard（水上運動服）。

Rash Guard was originally popular among those who enjoy extreme water sports, such as scuba diving, windsurfing or kayaking. Also known as rash vest, it is an elastic shirt made of flexible materials such as spandex or polyester that stretches when it’s worn. If you watched the movie Captain America, you can think of the elastic suit the hero wears in a swimming version. Yes, rash guards are generally worn more by men than women.

這種水上運動服最初是進行水上極限運動例如潛水、衝浪或划艇人士的普遍穿著。作為水上運動背心，它由彈性物料例如spandex或polyester製成。如果你看過電影《Captain America》，你可將他身穿的彈性緊身衣理解為泳裝版本。沒錯，這種水上運動服基本上男士穿得比較多。

Rash guard has many advantages other than its stylish look or fashionable design. As it is invented for sports experts, rash guard has numerous practical functions. Firstly, rash guard is effective for the regulation of body temperature as it controls both cooling and heating. As for safety, it protects skin against scratch and other injuries including sun burns. Also, as it covers the whole body, you don’t have to worry about bra pads under the swimming suit falling off in case you put in extra pads. While it hides out the unwanted parts of the body such as love handles, it nicely highlights your curves from the breast to waist.

水上運動服相對時尚的外觀和設計還具備許多優點。因為它原本的對象是運動專家，這種服裝擁有大量實用功能。首先，水上運動服因為能控制冷熱，對身體溫度的調節非常有效。就安全性來說，它保護皮膚不被劃傷和遭受其他傷害包括日曬。還有，因為它包裹住全部身體，你就不必擔心在游泳時額外加入的胸墊會掉下。同時它還能隱藏你的身體缺點例如腹部的肥肉，並很好地將胸部至腰部的曲線顯現出來。

Hf will now introduce you to rash guard styling tips from Korean entertainment; from EXID to Miss Korea Beauty Pageants.

由EXID到Miss Korea佳麗來示範，Hf為你介紹水上運動服的造型技巧：

Sohyun Kim starred in an advertisement in rash guard. Sohyun Kim earned popularity as starring in drama Who Are You: School, The Girl Who Sees Smells and in number of others. After her Pocari Sweat ads were launched, she became the icon of innocence and purity.

Sohyun Kim身穿了水上運動服。Sohyun Kim在《Who Are You: 學校2015》和《看見味道的少女》等劇集獲得不少人氣。在這個廣告推出後，她成為了新生代清純偶像代表。

Among many, the most formidable media production that introduced rash guard nationwide is this year’s Miss Korea Beauty Contest. Traditionally, all candidates wear swimming suits or bikinis, but this year, candidates took profile photographs in rash guards and stole Korean men’s hearts. As for this beauty contest, contestants in rash guards ranked one of the frequently searched items in the popular Korean portal Naver for quite a while.

在所有因素中，利用最強大媒體宣傳將水上運動服推廣至全國的功勞屬於今年韓國小姐選美比賽。傳統上，所有參選佳麗都要穿泳裝或比基尼，但在今年，佳麗們身穿水上運動服的照片就成功擄獲韓國男士的心。就因為這個選美比賽，參賽佳麗水上運動服在韓國門戶網站Naver一時位列熱門搜索榜上。

Famous Korean girl group EXID appeared in rash guards at a photoshoot of a sportswear brand. Though rash guard exposes less pats of the body than bikinis, it still highlights women’s curves and makes them look sexy. When matched with bikini panties, rash guard looks more sporty and fashionable than other types of bathing suits.

知名韓國女團EXID為運動品牌 拍攝時身穿水上運動服。儘管水上運動服展露身體較比基尼少，仍然強調了女性曲線和性感一面。當它比基尼褲搭配時，比起其他泳裝，水上運動衣能同時展現出運動和時尚的魅力。

TEXT: SEONGMIN KIM
CHINESE TRANSLATION: KWAN
DESIGN: CYAN F/HOKK FABRICA

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