Summer is my favorite season. For once, dressing myself is not a problem: the fewer clothes, the better. You just take whatever you wore that day to the beach, add a few accessories and you're ready for the clubs. Here are my picks for this summer's top accessories.

Dark sunglasses are not only a must-have accessory for celebrities and mafia, but also a salvation from the sun's merciless rays. For example, the classical aviator-style sunglasses available at Podium are equipped with wide lenses that enhance your overall protection from ultraviolet rays. This season, the best aviator sunglasses feature lenses with soft tinges.

Flat footwear is in for the third consecutive year. The reason is simple: We have learned to love our feet, which go through so much during dusty city summers. The sandals the ethnic boutique Put k Sebe (Path to yourself) has to offer are very appropriate. First, they have soles made from tropical cane. Second, they feature this season's hot trend: ethnic. Put k Sebe also offers garish Indian summer shoes, not to mention flip-flops, which are also in fashion. Don't miss to the original white Dove Nuotano Gli Squali flip-flops that are available at the Braude boutique. They feature unnaturally bright geometric decorations made of plastic, and you can hardly differentiate between them and evening open-toed sandals.

To protect yourself from sunstroke, you might want to stock up on another necessity - a summer hat. The most original hats can be found in the Garderob boutique, which offers a summer collection from the best hatmaker of our time - U.K. designer Philip Treacy. His principal material is fine straw, and his main decoration is traditional bird feathers. There are many models featuring the hatmaker's favorite "Alice in Wonderland" theme - wide, slanted brims.

A summer bag should be light. The best choices are a nylon Prada Sport bag or a leather-handled beach bag from Dolce & Gabbana, available at Tretyakovsky Passazh. But a woven bag would be the coolest. Macrame is back in vogue after a 20-year break, so take advantage of it. In the Givenchy boutique, you can find woven bags with medium-length rope-like fringes.

Unlike in many European countries, in Russia umbrellas are indispensable not only in the fall, but in the summer as well. Unfortunately, that's what our climate is all about. A summer rainstorm may break out at any moment. Buy the umbrella now, or risk getting soaked. The most durable umbrellas from chic British label Burberry are available at Red Code. The British must know all about rain and how to best protect themselves from it. Checkered Burberry umbrellas in traditional beige or dark red are very durable.

Locations

Kalinka-Stockmann
3/5 Smolenskaya Ploshchad, Smolensky Passazh trading house
Metro: Smolenskaya
Tel: 785-2500

Extra-Extra
25 Ostozhenka Ul.
Metro: Park Kultury
Tel: 201-4121

Verbena
10 Malaya Bronnaya Ul.
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 291-2347

Rivoli
1 Manezh Square, Okhotny Ryad Shopping Center
Metro: Okhotny Ryad
Tel: 737-8500

Podium
9/17 Tverskaya Ul.
Metro: Pushkinskaya
Tel: 229-5035

Givenchy
10 Petrovka Ul. (Petrovsky Passazh, first floor)
Metro: Teatralnaya
Tel: 292-8360

Put k Sebe
10a Leningradsky Prospekt
Metro: Belorusskaya
Tel: 257-3987

Braude
29 Kutuzovsky Prospekt
Metro: Kutuzovskaya
Tel: 242-8892

Garderob
24/1 Bolshaya Nikitskaya
Metro: Okhotny Ryad
Tel: 202-2840

Prada
4 Tretyakovsky Proyezd
(inside Tretyakovsky Passazh)
Metro: Lubyanka
Tel: 933-3382

Dolce & Gabbana
4 Tretyakovsky Proyezd (inside Tretyakovsky Passazh)
Metro: Lubyanka
Tel: 933-3376

Red Code
3 Red Square (GUM, first line, first floor)
Metro: Teatralnaya
Tel: 929-3406