This retail arm of Craft Victoria showcases the best of handmade crafts, mainly from local Victorian artists. Its range of jewellery, textiles, accessories, glass and ceramics bridges the art/craft divide and makes for some wonderful mementos of Melbourne. There are also a few galleries with changing exhibitions; admission is free.

Somewhere is an apt name for this hard-to-find treasure. It's located at the Little Collins St end of Royal Arcade (look for the Marais sign and take the stairs to level 2). The white-washed warehouse space stocks predominantly Scandinavian labels, as well as local designers, along with leather tote bags, Anne Black ceramic jewellery and a good range of denim.

Sydney retailer Incu has set up store in Melbourne and stocks a range of contemporary designers for menswear, with crisp tailored shirts from Weathered, comfy chinos and great stuff from labels such as Vanishing Elephant and Kloke. Its women's store is in the QV Building.

Where can you get a haircut, a bespoke suit and a pair of shoes or a leather wallet made in the one place? Here. The hard-working folk at spacious and industrial Captains also offer homey breakfasts and lunches, and it turns into a low-key bar on Friday nights.

Located beside the main entrance to Flinders St Station, this is the most convenient place to purchase an iconic Akubra hat, kangaroo-leather sun hat or something a little more unique.

Surprises abound in this 'Wonder Chamber', the strangest of shops: taxidermy, bugs in jars, antique scientific tools, surgical equipment and carnivorous plants, to name a few.

An Aussie icon, even for city slickers, this brand will kit you up with stylish essentials for working the land, including a pair of those famous boots.

Open for 25 years this centrally located gallery has a good relationship with its Indigenous artists across Australia and offers stunning and affordable pieces, all with author profiles.

Art-school cheek abounds in the Australian-made-and-designed labels sold here – Romance was Born, Karla Spetic and Kloke, to name a few. Jewellery sways between the shocking and exquisitely pretty, and its upstairs space hosts regular events and exhibitions.

This gallery shop has a wide range of international design magazines, a kids' section and the usual gallery standards. Also at NGV International.

Pop-up store turned permanent, this is the place to stock up on interesting souvenirs by local designers – from tram tote bags and city-rooftop honey to prints of the city's icons and great books on Melbourne.

It all started with its signature tea-towel designs (now found in MOMA in New York) at this 'museum of art souvenirs'. Third Drawer Down makes life beautifully unusual by stocking absurdist pieces with a sense of humour, as well as high-end art by well-known designers.

You'll find some of the most aesthetically beautiful – as well as functional – porcelain from Australian-designed Mud. Coffee mugs, milk pourers, salad bowls and serving plates come in muted pastel colours with a raw matt finish. Prices start from $20 per piece.

Crumpler’s bike-courier bags, designed by two former couriers looking for a bag they could hold their beer in while cycling home, started it all. Its durable, practical designs now extend to bags for cameras, laptops and iPods, and can be found around the world.

Lisa Gorman makes everyday clothes that are far from ordinary: boyish, but sexy, short shapes are cut from exquisite fabrics, and pretty cardigans are coupled with relaxed, organic tees. You can find other branches in the GPO ( GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9663 0066; www.melbournesgpo.com; cnr Elizabeth St & Bourke St Mall; h10am-6pm Mon-Thu & Sat, to 8pm Fri, 11am-5pm Sun; j19, 57, 59, 86, 96) and elsewhere around town.

Independent record/skate shop with its own Poison City label releasing excellent indie, punk and fuzz-rock Melbourne bands, such as the Nation Blue, White Walls and Smith Street Band.

This home-grown empire specialises in citrus-and-botanical-based aromatic balms, hair masques, scents, cleansers and oils in beautifully simple packaging for both men and women. There are plenty of branches around town (and plenty of opportunity to sample the products in most of Melbourne's cafe bathrooms).

Buy limited-run clothes and accessories, for both adults and kids, from emerging designers. The Convent makes for leisurely outdoor browsing. Check the website for regular stallholder details. To get here, head east down Johnson St, turn right at Clarke St, then left.

Cute little store that stocks wearable art pieces from local designers, as well as decorative items for your wall or shelf.

A potter around this defiantly prospering indie bookshop can occupy an entire afternoon if you’re so inclined. There’s a dangerously loaded (and good-value) specials table, switched-on staff and everyone from Lacan to Charlie & Lola on the shelves. Its exterior housemate-wanted board is legendary. Also in St Kilda ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %03-9525 3852; www.readings.com.au; 112 Acland St; j96) and the city centre ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; State Library, cnr La Trobe & Swanston Sts; dMelbourne Central).

Set up by two enterprising young German girls, this store is a chef's dream with its displays of spices from around the world, including Indigenous Australian blends, flavoured salts and sugars. It has high-quality cooking accessories and gifts, and cooking classes, too. There's a city store inside the Block Arcade ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 282 Collins St; j19, 57, 59).

Fashion-maven territory with a deconstructed Euro-Tokyo edge. The space is itself an attraction: it’s a 19th-century chapel with the owner’s inimitable additions.

Grandma Dot and Grandpa Herb smile down upon this tiny corner boutique from a mural-sized photo, right at home among the vintage floral fabrics and retro style. This is definitely not somewhere to go if you’re looking for chain-store same-same – it’s also a colourful departure from the Melbourne-black dictate.

Your one-stop shop for all your St Kilda hippy apparel, beanies, tie-dye shirts, Indian jewellery etc. Otherwise pop in for a free chai and hang out on the rooftop patio at this funky upstairs Acland St shop. It has a good Afrobeat vinyl collection, too.

A much-loved local, Bookhouse recently relocated from Fitzroy St to this quiet backstreet shop, where you might find a quality copy of a Chomsky, Kerouac or beautiful coffee-table book on the shelves, as well as a great selection of Australiana and Melbourne-specific titles.