(Sorry, guys, there'll be no bikini-clad young beauties on this page. This is serious research (please notice tongue-firmly planted-in-cheek) on how creative people can be with a little bit of lycra! Oh, O.K., go take a look at Pictours of Rio! The French may have invented the bikini - believe or not, in July of 1946 - but the Brazilians keep recreating it each summer, coming up with more fabulous designs and hot new styles, as new materials become available. We will be posting more pictures of Brazilian bikinis for the fashion-minded cyberchicks, so keep checking back.)

Salinas has an expanded, beautiful new location in Ipanema.

On a trip to Rio - and what immediately follows, a walk on the beach - anyone with an eye for fashion can't help but be utterly fascinated by the teeny-weeny, colorful, and beautifully-designed beachwear on the golden bodies of the women from Ipanema. There is such a variety of shapes, cuts, gorgeous prints and details, that you ask yourself: how do they do it? How can they keep coming up with something different all the time, when all they have to work with is a few inches of fabric? It helps, of course, to have a source of inspiration in some of the most magnificent scenery on the planet, year-round warm weather and a large consumer base, considering that no woman seems to be too old or too chunky to wear a bikini in Rio. Middle-aged mothers, pregnant young women with swolen bellies, even wrinkled little old ladies, walk and bathe in their small suits right next to some lithesome goddesses, and no one seems to notice; in fact, no one cares. The important thing is to get a tan, exercise, and socialize with your friends and neighbors.

New Salinas style for 1997-1998.

The Brazilian bikini has changed over the years, of course; it has covered more (in the 70's) and less - the tanga and the fio dental (Portuguese for "dental floss", a good example of the wicked sense of humor of Brazilians) in the 80's. As far as present-day sizes are concerned, we did some scientific research - that is, we went to the mall here in the US, armed with a Brazilian bikini and a measuring tape - and found out that, as a rule, Brazilian bikinis are 2-3 inches smaller than their American counterparts in every direction. In any case, even when the American bikini is small, the top or bra will always be considerably bigger, perhaps because American women have larger breasts. The other significant difference is that the bottom part is cut much higher in the back in the American bikini (Brazilian women have the same complaint about panties in the US.)

My favorite style is what Brazilians call a sunkini, a larger version of the bikini that was the hottest thing a few summers ago in Rio and is still available - thank you, thank you! - for the more conservative shopper. So, when shopping for a bikini in Rio, you may want to look at sunkinis first, size M or G (that's Portuguese for L). Then, as your tan deepens, and you embrace the local beach culture, go back and try what THEY call a bikini!

Decisions, decisions...