Along with coffee snobbery, high culture and terrible weather, Melbourne is also known for two very important things; shopping and festivals. So when these things are combined, Melburnians are treated to at least one fashion festival every season. These week-long festivals help inform us fashion sponges of the latest looks for the upcoming season and subsequently suck our bank accounts dry.

The spring festival of choice in Melbourne this year was Motorola Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. With more parties, frocks, parades and underage models than you could poke a camera at, the city's fashionistas and shopaholics were in their element. The highlight for me was the "future project" parade. Advertised as presenting a new attitude in fashion, I was happily exposed to my very favourite Australian designers – all in one glorious sitting.

I was a fool however to think a fashion parade would be entirely about the clothes walking down the catwalk. Deciding what to wear to the parade was half the problem. My outfit took three days of deep contemplation. Rather than pay homage to the amazing designers on the catwalk, I went the safe option and opted for a vintage dress with killer heels. These killer heels unfortunately lived up to their reputation. They were so high I had a case of vertigo, not to mention blisters so painful I limped for days.

I was especially pleased that I wasn’t the only slave to fashion at the parade. Never in my life have I seen so many well groomed, stylish, and expensively coutured women in the one room together! Who needs a catwalk when spring’s fashion predictions are all sitting amongst the crowd?

Having arrived fashionably late, I was given a very unfashionable standing spot at back, behind the stands. I looked enviously at the front row filling up rapidly with fashion VIPs. I realised that some of these VIPs were the very men and women who work in my favourite clothing stores. Eventually, with my feet on fire, my head spinning (due to the height of my shoes) and much anticipation, the parade started.

First up, Alpha 60 (http://www.alpha60.com.au). So very Melbourne, so very offbeat cool. This brother sister team seem to be going from strength to strength – having recently opened their second store in Prahan. Patterning and pop culture icons continue to be a key feature of the spring/summer 07 range.

Up next was Arabella Ramsay (http://arabellaramsay.com/), followed swiftly by Gorman (http://www.gorman.ws/). Both designers were summer personified with light colours, girlie prints and very sexy bikinis. As much as I hate to say "nautical", this look seems to be enduring with a proliferation of blues, whites and stripes appearing across both collections.

Just when I started to think dressing like a sailor was the only way to achieve fashion cred this summer, on comes Kirrily Johnston's collection (http://www.kirrilyjohnston.com/) Kirrily Johnston somehow manages to take the very fashionable nautical blue, and team it with the most unlikely shade of orange – to devastatingly beautiful effect. Her clothes seem to have the perfect combination of feminine beauty and edgy cool.

The parade ended with the über cool stylings of Mad Cortes (http://www.madcortes.com/) and Obus (http://www.obus.com.au/). Personally, after seeing Kirrily Johnston get it so right, I felt a little let down by these two designers. Mad Cortes I find too complicated and a little fussy for my own personal style. Obus on the other hand is functional but seems to lack a "signature" element such as bright colour, interesting patterning or delicate fabric.

Finally, after being exposed to an hour of extremely thin models decked out in my favourite clothes, I packed up my goody bag (strangely filled with chocolate) and limped to the nearest tram stop. The next day I cursed Melbourne for its fashion, its festivals and for the impact these two things ultimately have on my credit card!