The curious case of the bizarre facekini strikes again! In case you don’t remember, it’s a nylon mask that covers the entire head, leaving holes only for the eyes, nostrils and mouth. The Chinese invention is meant to be used as beachwear, protecting wearers (mostly women) from sunburns and jellyfish stings. It first made an appearance in 2006, and the present “fourth-generation”avatar has managed to enter new levels of weirdness!
碉堡的“臉基尼”又來了！要是你忘了那是什么，先來科普一下：臉基尼是一種把頭部全包起來的尼龍面罩，只在眼睛、鼻孔、嘴巴處留幾個小洞。這種中國發(fā)明旨在用于沙灘穿戴，防止戴面罩者（大多數(shù)是女性）被太陽曬傷或被海蜇刺傷。它于2006年問世，如今推出“第四代”產(chǎn)品，終于又怪出了新境界！

Although it has been around for almost a decade, the facekini gained popularity in the past few years, especially among middle-aged Chinese women. Fair skin is highly coveted in China: they even have an old saying that translates as “white skin covers up a hundred flaws”. Women apparently follow elaborate beauty routines to ensure that their skin does not get tanned, so their obsession with the facekini is rather understandable. Some women even go as far as wearing full-body swimsuits and use parasols while walking outdoors.
盡管臉基尼已經(jīng)有近十年歷史，過去幾年它還是相當流行，尤其為中國大媽所愛。白皙的皮膚在中國備受推崇：他們甚至有句俗語“一白遮百丑”。女人們會遵循詳盡的美容程序以確保皮膚不會曬黑，所以她們?nèi)绱嗣詰倌樆嵋簿筒蛔銥槠媪?。有的女人甚至會穿全身泳衣，在戶外行走時還會打太陽傘。

The latest version of the beach accessory was released by designer Zhang Shifan at the 13th International Marine Fair and Boat Show in Shandong province last week. She explained that the craftsmanship of the first-generation facekini was rather rough and did not fit the face too well. The second version fit better, while the third generation had a triangle design at the top to make it more comfortable. The current facekini has been created by optimising the design of Beijing Opera masks, giving it a ‘Chinese-style’flare and fine triangle-tailoring.
上個星期，臉基尼設計師張式范在山東青島第十三屆國際航海博覽會上發(fā)布了這款最新版海灘配飾。她解釋說第一代臉基尼做工比較粗糙，貼合性不好；第二代貼合性好一些；第三代采用了頭頂三角形剪裁，穿戴起來更舒適；現(xiàn)在的臉基尼則優(yōu)化了京劇臉譜設計，融入了“中國風”元素，并運用了細致的三角剪裁。

According to Zhang, the latest, greatest facekini is in its trial run, and will be mass produced in July. Would you like to try one?
張式范說，最新一代也是最好的一代臉基尼目前還在試用階段，將于七月批量生產(chǎn)。你想不想來一副呢？

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