Teresa Giacomi

Cairns wears heart on its sleeve

Bikinis can be seen further from the city`s magnificent man-made saltwater pool, the Cairns Esplanade lagoon, than would be proper in any other first-world tourist centre. 

THE Australian city of Cairns definitely has its own style, a style that is a reflection of both its laid-back lifestyle and true-blue sense of integrity.

The tourist mecca may be famous for its reef and rainforest but, when it comes to dress standards, Cairns wears the relaxed mantle with an easy pride.

After all, this is a place where one of the city`s only personal shoppers dresses her children at "Target and op-shops" because "it`s probably the only time in their life they can wear lime green and pink together".

For a beautifully dressed young woman in the personal shopping business to declare that "children should be able to wear whatever they like" is, most certainly, a product of the get-your-priorities-right attitude of Cairns residents.

And then there's the weather.

The Cairns climate is so relentlessly hot, clothing optional is often the most sensible sartorial choice, indoors only of course, because of the region's beating sun.

Hades knows some of the locals` dress comes scantily close to clothing optional.

Bikinis can be seen further from the city`s magnificent man-made saltwater pool, the Cairns Esplanade lagoon, than would be proper in any other first-world tourist centre. 

This is the place where a local shopping centre copped criticism for asking a young male patron to put a shirt on while shopping for big name brands at the city`s only factory clothing outlet centre.

With Cairns so hot and humid, the term dressing for the weather takes on new meaning, and dressing for the occasion almost no meaning whatsoever.

A well-known international sports star (cricketer Andrew Symonds) visited the city for the funeral of a local cricket identity wearing cargo shorts, an open-necked short-sleeved cotton shirt and thongs. Yes, Aussies call them that and they are not referring to articles of clothing worn on or in the bottom.

Admittedly, Symonds' outfit sparked some outrage among the locals but, refreshingly, there was overwhelming support for his having concentrated on the important things, like holding babies, stacking umbrellas for members of the congregation (Cairns was in the grip of the famous wet season that keeps the city a permanent shade of green), and putting a supportive hand on the arm of the dead man's son, ex-state cricket captain and local golden boy Jimmy Maher, who broke down while acting as a pall bearer.

In fact, anything other than uber casual can illicit suspicion in this great holiday destination.

Back to our Cairns personal shopper, the Gold Coast bred Cairns convert, Gerlinda Aras.

"I had one client who wanted to buy a lawn mower, and the people at the store wouldn't serve them. They didn't think the customer was dressed as they thought Cairns people should dress so they only showed them the cheapest mower. These people were quite well-to-do so they went to another mower store and bought the one they wanted, which was much more expensive."

Suffice to say, when walking through the Cairns CBD, tourists would do well to dress themselves in shorts, T-shirts and thongs all year round.

- Teresa Giacomi

Article Tags: Cairns Wears

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