Z
Zuo Ci
Guest
Friday January 28, 2011
Red undies all the rage this CNY
By ANN TAN
[email protected]
GEORGE TOWN: Red and purple undergarments are popular among Penangites this Chinese New Year. But do not expect to see images of the rabbit printed on them. Instead, the trend is for lace and gold embroidered underwear. Many Chinese believe wearing red and purple on Chinese New Year would bring them good luck.
Red hot undergarments: Lim Hui Zhen, Sukli Ong and May Seah picking their red undergarments for Chinese New Year at Chowrasta Market yesterday.
Roadside trader Anny Lim, 50, said she has seen more demand for the coloured undergarments that she imports from Thailand. “I brought in 100 sets three times and sales have been very good.
“People also like purple, thanks to a beverage television commercial promoting purple as the extreme red,” she quipped. People are also buying red bras with a tube design that covers their cleavage but is still visible when wearing a low-cut blouse.
At Sunshine Square in Bayan Baru, lingerie department buyer Tan Siew Tuan, 36, said red undergarments, with lace and gold embroidery, are hot items.
“People believe wearing red undergarments at the stroke of midnight to usher the Chinese New Year, coupled with red pyjamas, will bring them good luck and prosperity,” she said.
Even the men are snapping up red underwear for the new year. Sunshine’s business processing department head Nicholas Ong said people wear the colour after listening to feng shui masters.
Sales executive Lim Hui Zhen, 42, said she would always buy red undergarments to bring ong (prosperity in Hokkien).
Feng shui master Lee Cheng Hoe said he did not think wearing red for good luck is true in terms of feng shui. “It is just a belief among the Chinese community. “We tend to confuse belief with culture, custom and religion,” he said.
