At the town's Color de Hormiga (Colour of Ants) restaurant, I put squeamishness to one side and ordered their signature dish: filet mignon in an ant salsa.

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Using the offcuts of fabric donated by the concentration of clothing factories in the neighborhood, the Retalhos Cariocas girls produce a range of sandals, bags and accessories with a uniquely Rio spirit of tropical color and joie de vivre.

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Color has been central to Ms. de Taillac's delicate jewelry since she launched her label in 1996.

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"They were dots of color on white paper, " said Ms. de Taillac, now 48, sitting in her shop on Paris's Left Bank.

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While colorful pants aren't de rigueur, "there is nothing preppy about wearing the color black, " he says.

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Ms. Van de Velde helped handle much of the furniture and finishes, choosing to go all white with splashes of color, such as a circular purple chair, a purple-and-gray rug with a tiled pattern and hot pink-and-royal blue wallpaper.

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