The summer approaches for South America, and everyone has started to think about bikinis, trikinis, bathing suites, and summer clothing.

A good place to buy something great for the summer is in Rosa Chá, where you can find pretty and exclusive bikinis, or beautiful dresses.

The Brazilian brand Maria Bonita was created in 1975. By 1990 they had started a cheaper line, known as Maria Bonita Extra.

Across the two lines of Maria Bonita the aim is to give clients feminine, fresh, creative and quality clothing. These features make this brand one of the most important in Brazilian fashion.

You can find shops in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and all major Brazilian cities, with the name now becoming known in the United States, Portugal, Spain, France and Japan, where shops have started to appear this year. Keep an eye out for it.

If you want to eat out or take a drink in Santiago, you simply must go to Amorío. This is a bar and restaurant that’s part of Centro Mori, a cultural venue, where you can see top theatre performances. Amorió is located in the very cool Bellavista, and the owners are two of the best known actors in Santiago.

In the area surrounding the Fine Arts Museum you should try Opera-Catedral. These two restaurants are in the same building, Opera is on the first floor, and is elegant and serious, but on the top floor is Catedral, which is more relax, full of young people, and with a fantastic terrace.

In the centre of Santiago is Boulevard Lavoud, which is housed in a pretty old building. Also there’s the typical bohemian-resto-bar in Liguria, which is full of artists, musicians and journalists. This is the Providencia district, and you’ll also find good places like De Cangrejo a Conejo, or Santo Remedio.

Finally, in the expensive taste bracket, you have C, Agua, or Zanzíbar, the last one has a magnificent terrace, with a DJ ever present in the summer.

I recommend a stroll along Alonso de Cordova, a fancy avenue where you can spend your hard-earned cash in shops like Hermes, Vuitton, Zegna, Armani, Burberry, or go and see the Chilean art in the many galleries in the area. If you don’t have time to see everything, prioritise the Animal Gallery and La Sala.

These above are classic, and exclusive shops, but personally I prefer shops of local Chilean designers. You should go and visit “Por Que Te Vistes” (in English it means “Why you get dressed?”), a shop just for the ladies, where you can find really unusual items. The shop itself is in a particularly special area, in a street called Gertrudis Echeñique, which is full of restaurants, coffee shops, and pretty buildings.

If you like modern, and sometimes crazy clothing, go to Hall Central, a shop that it is, for me, in the most beautiful and amusing neighborhood in Santiago: Lastarria. It’s a short street, in a cool and bohemian area, near the Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

In Lastarria, you’ll also find ONA, a shop where you can find some really pretty Chilean clothes, many of them handmade.
In another post I’ll tell you where to go out for a drink, or to have lunch, allowing you to enjoy the very best Santiago has to offer.

He’s Argentinean, he’s young, and he designs really beautiful clothes: it’s not just clothing, it’s art.

You can find his creations in his shop called “Tramando“, in the elegant area of La Recoleta, in Buenos Aires. You can also, sometimes, find his clothes in New York and Tokyo.

The capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires has everything, and for fashionable people it is the most important destination in South America.

Foremost is Palermo Viejo, the coolest neighborhood in Buenos Aires, full of hyped-restaurants, coffee bars and trendy shops, and the most stylish people walking around the area. Here are my personal highlights:

For bars and coffee shops: don’t miss Bar Uriarte, where you should take the “té para dos”, it’s what comes with the tea, rather than the tea itself, that will impress you. By night it becomes something really special. The owners also run Gran Bar Danzón, one of the coolest and trendiest places in Buenos Aires, which is in La Recoleta.

For restaurants, try Casa Cruz, probably THE hippest place in the city right now.

For the all-important shopping in Palermo Viejo? Definitely María Cher, Trosman, Cora Groppo, A.Y.Not Dead, Sal si puedes+Condimentos, and you also have Mishka and Josefina Ferroni for some really cool shoes. All this shops are for women. For men I  recommend Félix.

With its leafy cobbled streets, hidden terraces, and friendly people, Palermo Viejo (literally meaning “Old Palermo”) is a must. Let me know how YOUR visit goes!