I’m planning on arriving in Taipei in August, and considering how hot it’s going to be, imagined I should bring alot of white to beat the heat.
However, I’ve been reading up on the air pollution in Taipei, and it seems that it’s so bad that the black grime from the air gets onto one’s clothes, in which case white is not the ideal color to be wearing.
Can I expect my clothes to get dirty just from the air??
Most of your time will be spent indoors, where there is A/C. Dress accordingly, and don’t worry about the color.
If you have to attend a funeral bring some white stuff.
I frequently wear white during the summer. Air pollution is not much worse than any other city in the Europe or the USA that has 2.1 million downtown and another 3-5 million in the surrounding areas.
Most of the stinking polluting factories have moved to Communist China.
One thing to note is the humidity. For example in California it gets hot, but it is NOT humid. This humidity can make things unbearable, so a lot of people treat Taiwan summers like some people treat winters Canada. You go from your climate controlled house, to your climate controlled car to a climate controlled office and so on, never spending too much time outside.
The humidity is so bad here and the temperatures so high, it doesn’t matter what color you wear or what materials yur clothes are made of, you are going to be uncomfortable in June, July and August even if you go naked. Stay indoors where there is AC.
…and bring a jacket! Cause people here tend to turn their aircon down to 16 degrees. It’s pretty cold indoors compared to outdoors and as for me, I usually get the summer flu because of that…=(
If I wear a white shirt, it gets all smelly and dirty after about three or four days.
Etheorial,
The weather in Taiwan is a lot like Florida. Hot and humid in the summer. The city pollution is like one big construction area. There is a lot of smog and dust in Taipei city.
I would recommend light colors and easy to care for clothing. Remember to hang you clothes in direct sunlight to kill the mildew.
You should hand wash or at least soak your shirt in water at night after you’ve taken it off to get the sweat out. Otherwise, when you get to your wash at the end of the week you’ll find that your white may be now yellow. Collars tend to get dirty, from sweat and city grime, and should be lightly scrubbed with a stain remover. Regular washing just won’t get rid of the stains.
Oddly, though natural fibers are best for this kind of weather they are harder to maintain, get dirtier easier, and wear out veyr fast. Unless you take good care, your shirts won’t last more than a season.
ac-dropout. Don’t hang natural fabric clothing in the direct sunlight. The sun here will bleach your colors. I had a few linen shirts ruined my first summer in Taiwan this way.
Mucha Man,
Linen that seems a little warm for Taiwan. I always wear a man-made fiber/natural fiber blend shirts to wick the sweat off faster in Taiwan during the summer. Wool suits are a killer in the summer time. If Taiwan would adopt the Burmuda shorts for business. 
Don’t leave it outside all day. Just an 1/2 an hour or so. Mildew stinks.