Accessories are of paramount importance in our life.There are, where you show your very own, individual, unique, and fashion personality. The accessories can make or break an outfit and complete a look or style. They are there to accentuate the positive of your style and highlight it. Here Tiers at Valentino, compliments of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. Don Ashby.

Vera Wang’s glamorous neck ruff is almost Elizabethan. Jens Mortensen.

Christian Louboutin’s delicate bag can double as a shower puff. Jens Mortensen.

This Fendi bag is girly around the edges. Jens Mortensen.

Put some flounce in your step with Oscar de la Renta’s saucy platform. Jens Mortensen.

This Stella McCartney top is tres St.-Tropez. Don Ashby.

Tokujin Yoshioka’s Bouquet chair for Moroso blooms with petals of folded fabric. Alessandro Paderni.

Piaget’s furbelowed watch is perfectly in sync with the times. Jens Mortensen.

Splitboarding is the best way to ride beyond a resort’s boundaries for those snowboarders without the budget or inclination to use a snowmobile or helicopter. Splitboarding uses snowboards which separate into a pair of mountain touring skis. Every splitboard switched from a snowboard stance to a forward-facing, free-heeled touring-ski operation.

Splitboarding is for people that love to ride fresh snow. You can go anywhere, put your splitboard together, skin up and snowboard all day for free. Such a way of riding has been around since 1980s, but several companies manufacturing splitboard models. Some early participants fabricated their own by cutting old snowboards in half.

However, today splitboarding has caught on. Sales of splitboards doubled over the last two winter seasons to nearly $350,000, according to Snowsports Industries of America. The setup isn’t cheap, or simple, since you need to assemble the elements yourself, the board, mounting kit and bindings, sold separately, start at $1,000; the skins and poles add around $250.

People are getting to the point, that world-class snowboarding is sitting right off the side of the road, and the powder can be ridden nearly every day if you are willing to, of course. It’s amazing how fast you can travel! You can hiking or snowshoeing in deep snow, making it easier to travel long distances in the nature.

You never have to ride at a ski resort if you don’t want to, or you can go to a resort, take one lift up and access all that backcountry.

Splitboarding is such an intimate experience, and so much goes into each run. You mix the endorphin high on the way up with the adrenalin on the way down, and you’ve got one of the best feelings in the world.

The Web site splitboard.com is a good source of information on splitboard products and tips for beginners. The real freedom.

Photos by: Justin L’Heureux

The Caribbean island of Tobago takes it nice and easy. There are no reasons to stir, except for the stirring swimwear worn here at Back Bay beach on the Caribbean side of Tobago. Vitamin AR Signature collection by Amahlia Stevens bathing suit, $246. Go to vitaminaswim.com. Yossi Harari hoop earrings. Robindira Unsworth bangles. Ippolita bangles.

D&G bathing suit top, $210 (sold as a set). Go to dolcegabbana.it. Blank NYC shorts, $68. Go to blanknyc.com. Paul Morelli earrings. Sequin cuff and bangles. Robindira Unsworth bangles. Janis by Janis Savitt bracelets. Ippolita Bangles.

Bulgari B.Zero1 earrings. Go to bulgari.com.

Louis Vuitton shorts, $985. Go to louisvuitton.com. Jacob & Company hoop earrings. Bulgari bracelet. Janis by Janis Savitt bracelet.

Vitamin AR Signature Collection by Amahlia Stevens bathing suit, $246. Go to vitaminaswim.com. Yossi Harari hoop earrings. Sequin bangles. Robindira Unsworth bangles. Ippolita ring.

Fendi bikini, $590. Go to fendi.com. Sequin necklace, cuff and bangles. Robindira Unsworth bangles. Ippolita bangle.

Fashion assistant: Lindsey Gathright. Hair by Miki for Tresemme. Makeup by Polly Osmond for Christian Dior at Art Department. Model: Arlenis Sosa. Photographs by Camilla Akrans.

Backstage images always make me so excited. Moreover I would like to express my feelings behind the scene! A model displays a creation of Moschino Cheap and Chic show. Photo by: Christophe Simon

A model poses in front of the mirror backstage before the show of Seduzioni Diamonds Valeria Marini. Photo by: Stefano Rellandini

Models huddle under an umbrella during an outdoor fashion show of designer Norma Kamali. Photo by: Justin Lane

Model poses backstage at Gap Show, Spring 2009.

A model presents a creation from the Mizrahi Spring 2010 collection, while shielded from a sprinkler overhead. Photo by: Eric Thayer

A model is prepped backstage before the Tracy Reese show. Photo by: Louis Lanzano

The photographers pit at the Diane Von Furstenberg show at “The Tent” at Bryant Park. Photo by: Stephen Lovekin

Havaianas Sandals, created in 1962, drew their inspiration from the ‘zori’, traditional Japanese slippers made of rice straw. A product of extremely low cost, for many years they were just rubber flip-flops, a long way from the fashion icon they are today.

This is a store at one of the world’s most expensive addresses (Rua Oscar Freire, in Sao Paulo) and sell products that cost from ‚Ǩ2.30 to ‚Ǩ10.00 ‚Äì and not more than that – was, at one time, the excitement and the joy of the work. This is Havaianas’ first store in Brazil.

The shop has a very informal atmosphere and the outcome is nearly a square – a space fully opened onto the street, practically an extension of the sidewalk, without doors or window displays, with lush greenery and intense natural lighting, only covered by a metal grid alternating glass / wooden closures and openings for ventilation and irrigation.

A transparent cylinder includes the so-called ‘new products’ (bags, socks, towels, etc.); and a high-tech cube tells the story of Havaianas. Amidst all that, a lowered area for customisation services and featuring displays for the children’s product line. At the back of the store, on a half-raised level, there is a small garden for exclusive use by staff; the underground houses offices and storage areas. Amazing store!

Ana Beatriz sometimes looks like a mere mortal: she postponed the photoshoot because of a fever, is distracted and loves to talk. She goes on vacation once in a year, always in August. The destination is what’s not the same with mine or yours. Ana Beatriz Barros is born in May 29, 1982 in Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She is of Portuguese/Spanish ethnicity, and has two siblings, Patricia and Malu (Maria Luisa).

The green-eyed beauty rocks the entire world. She was chosen the sexiest woman in the world by Italian GQ. She’s the Sports Illustrated queen, star of the most important lingerie campaigns and was the first Brazilian woman to be on the Angels’ team of Victoria’s Secret in 1999 (shortly followed by Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima…) and invited by actress Jennifer Lopez to speak for her brand.

Enjoy the amazing photo-session of Anna in the Vogue December Issue 2003, hiking in Rio de Janeiro.

Once she said :

”I want to go back to Brazil, get married, have lots of kids, and just be a couch tomato.”

“Americans are shy about the body. I have to remember that when I go there. “

“I hope people don’t get tired of looking at me.”

“Since I learned English, I’ve become a motormouth!”

The Greek island of Patmos is a place of wonders both natural and divine. The island has drawn solace seekers for nearly 2,000 years – without ever loosing its cool. Patmos doesn’t have an airport. So you take a seven – hour ferry from Athens of fly to a neighboring isle and then catch a catamaran.

ON ASPRONISI, A ROCK ISLAND NEAR PATMOS. VPL BATHING SUIT WITH ATTACHED PARACHUTE, SHOWPIECE ONLY. FOR SIMILAR STYLES, GO TO VPLNYC.COM. FASHION EDITOR: ANNE CHRISTENSEN

A town – Chora on the island was named by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. The monastery, a fortress rising above whitewashed Chora, dominates the island physically and psychologically. Patmos’s 3000 inhabitants feel they live on blessed ground.

WHITE OUT IN CHORA. TOMMY HILFIGER DRESS, $498. GO TO TOMMY.COM.

The photo session was taken at Agriolivado beach, where Kyria Eleni rents out sun loungers, swam in an ample black bathing suit, pearls and gold cross that bobbed in her cleavage.

GRECIAN FORMULA IN CHORA. DIANE VON FURSTENBERG BATHING SUIT, $230. GO TO DVF.COM. TIFFANY & COMPANY BRACELET.

ON ASPRONISI. MICHAEL KORS BIKINI, $270. GO TO SAKSFIFTHAVENUE.COM. IN CHORA. MAX AZRIA BLACK BATHING SUIT, $260. GO TO MAXAZRIA.COM. CARTIER RING AND CUFF.

ON ASPRONISI. HERVÉ LÉGER BY MAX AZRIA GRAY BIKINI, $750. GO TO HERVELEGER.COM. FASHION ASSISTANT: COURTNEY A. WEINBLATT. HAIR BY WARD FOR LIVINGPROOF. MAKEUP BY ROMY SOLEIMANI AT MANAGEMENT ARTISTS FOR NARS COSMETICS. LOCATION SCOUT: EMANUELE MASCIONI. MODEL: TIIU KUIK.

SWIM GODDESS IN THE TOWN OF CHORA, A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE ON PATMOS. ERES BIKINI TOP, $215, AND BOTTOM, $380. GO TO ERES.FR. CAROLEE BRACELET.

Photographs by Camilla Akrans

Fresh from the Paris Haute Couture: designers’ most spectacular flights of fantasy, grounded by a street-smart attitude.

Versace Atelier Silk faille ball gown with fitted bodice and open back. Model’s own boots (worn throughout).

Givenchy Haute Couture “Euphrosyne” dress of asymmetrically draped silk crepon, embroidered with bands of silver metal sequins, beads and crystals.

Christian Lacroix Haute Couture Long draped-chiffon dress with fur sleeves.

Christian Dior Haute Couture by John Galliano Taffeta Botticelli gown.

Chanel Haute Couture Embroidered silk dress and gloves.

Chanel Haute Couture Embroidered silk dress and gloves.; Armani Privé bustier dress with multilayered damask jacquard skirt and hat.

The recession has cast a shadow on Miami Beach. But it is not a long enough shadow to have darkened the spirits of many heat-seeking visitors, who still descend on South Beach in search of escape. The gossip social history of Miami Beach spans the decades-long transformation of what the author calls “the little sand bar across the bay” into a fast-and-louche Eden, where corruption, street crime and profligate spending were as integral to the landscape as sand and swaying palms.

Lulled by the languid air and the pastel-tinted backdrop of Art Deco hotels, many are still intent on indulging a hedonistic streak.

Many visitors are embracing Miami Beach during high season this winter as the ultimate escape hatch, a place to shrug off the inhibitions – fiscal or otherwise – that restrain them at home. At left, the nightclub Set.

The force behind flashy clubs like Set, Mansion, Privé and the trendy Louis Bar, at left, which is inside the eight-month-old Gansevoort South hotel.

The picture shows club goers at Louis Bar, located inside the Gansevoort hotel.

The usual streams of visitors from New York, Latin America and Europe have been joined by some deep-pocketed Russians, who tend to contribute unstintingly to the city’s economy. At left, restaurants on the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach.

Salinas is a wonderful Brazilian brand, a synonym of comfortable and casual creations. The strong identity of the brand is based on the disco bright colors, simplicity and freshness of its products. They are all reflecting Rio de Janeiro and Brazilian summer climate.

Twenty six years ago, when Salinas was created, the quality of its products captivating a large female range in search of comfortable and well-finished bikinis and swimsuits. The result is amazing product top leading the fashion around Rio de Janeiro and other famous Brazilian and worldwide beaches.

Many Brazilian top models are shown in Victoria’s Secret catalog pages wearing Salinas garments’ which also can be found in North America and Europe.

With about 500 employees, 10 own stores and 13 franchises, besides 400 multi-brands in the country, Salinas is also very popular in the international market where many North-American customers prefer Brazilian beaches-style, even pop star Madonna declared sympathy of Jacqueline De Baise’s creations.

Besides North American clientele, Salinas products are also explored to France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Portugal, Spain and Greece.

As well as the brand Salinas can be found in the best swim boutiques and finest department stores in the world such as Saks 5th. Ave., Bloomandales, Neiman Marcus, Urban Outfitters, Birjenkof, Selfridges, Top Shop, Henri Bendei, El corte Ingles.

Spring/Summer Collection 2009
More information and tasty models on www.salinas-rio.com.br