IndSEO: Carioca fashion

When you first arrive in Rio, you may be a little puzzled by the wardrobe choices of the local residents. Exiting the airport you find yourself dazzled not only by the brilliant sunshine but all those bright colours. What’s wrong with the typical palette of black; grey; white; brown and (for the experimental), blue you wonder?

While Europeans may adhere to colour choices that mirror their urban background and similarly colourless skies, Brazilians adorn themselves with the colours that reflect the vibrant tropical environment they inhabit; black, is strictly for mourning. Just ask luxury travel experts Dehouche, who’ve been based in Rio for several years themselves; black is about as popular in Brazil as Argentine beef.

Needless to say, however little time you spend here, you’ll be sure to find that you too want to dress like a traffic light; but with few recognisable international brands, choosing where to buy your bright new clothes could mean precious hours wasted deliberating in the high street, when you could instead be sporting your colourful new look at ‘Posto 9’ on Ipanema beach. Take a tailor made trip to Brazil with Dehouche however and they’ll provide you a list of all the best addresses worth your valuable time not only do they provide a free concierge service offering help and advice as well as the legwork of bookings and arrangements to all their clients, Dehouche also have a personal shopper on hand to guide you to the up and coming designers studios and help negotiate the best bargains in town.

Once your eyes have adjusted to the light, you may also begin to wonder why women, who seem to take such good care of themselves in every other respect, are wearing what seems at first sight, rather shapeless t-shirts. However, once you feel the 40 degree heat on your back you may begin to understand why. European summer clothes may pass in Rio’s ‘winter’, (which lasts from July to July), but with the arrival of summer, you too will be rushing for the air conditioned shopping centres, in the hope of relief from your sweltering garments.

Though beloved of the Carioca, both as a place to do damage to their credit cards and just generally pass the time, Rio’s shopping centres are by no means the only place to find impossibly small bikinis and shapeless t-shirts. Thanks to their inside knowledge, Dehouche can tell you exactly where to find a bikini that, when you pop out for your morning run along the beach, you won’t see a thousand others wearing too – it’s very important to get these things right!