Fashionistas - and tourists interested in fashion = can wander around Johannesburg's Fashion District, located on the city's eastern side, and enjoy hunting for unique finds.
Comprising 20 blocks within the parameters of Market, End, Kerk and Von Weilligh streets, Rees Mann, a fashion entrepreneur and owner of @109 Fashion District Wholesalers on Pritchard Street, comes from a family that has been involved in the clothing industry on this street since the 1940s.
"This side of town used to be the garment industry in the 1940s," said Mann, who describes himself as a fashionado. Excited about today's fashion, he said it was more individualistic than before with "people expressing themselves freely, and with a more Afrocentric feel".
"What I like about this district is that it is in central town, has a different vibe and people from everywhere come here," said Majali Ndevu, a 19-year-old fashion design student at the nearby SewAfrica Centre. "Visitors can come to SewAfrica to learn how to become a designer."
Open since 1994, Mann's store is painted a bold red and stocks everything you will need for sewing - from buttons, ribbons and a variety of fabrics different from the usual run-of-the-mill, to beautifully printed seshweshwe fabrics designed by local designer Bongiwe Walaza. Mann said a few well-known designers, apart from Walaza, who shopped in the district included Clive Rundle and Ephriam.
Opposite the wholesaler is the yet-to-be-opened, vibrantly painted Fashion Kapitol which, said Mann, "will boast the world's first outdoor covered fashion ramp, 30 designer boutiques and an exhibition space".
With more than 100 micro-sewing design businesses operating in the district, there are several speciality stores. Mann said one could find outfits for weddings, society gatherings, church, choirs as well as street and designer wear, and a store that sold sewing machines in the area.
One of the fashion district's main attractions, said Mann, was that "it is all about the 'find' - finding that special something meant just for you - like a treasure hunt". People, Mann said, "love the variety, uniqueness and abundance of different shops".
Explore the Fashion District and find that quirky item you've been searching for to take home as a souvenir.