This is my fourth fashion week in Joburg and I have come to realise I'm a people-watcher. It's terrible — I know — but I love to watch, and what a better place to watch than from the front row of Sanlam Fashion Week?

What troubles me though is that I've become a more fervent watcher of people than of what's on the ramps this season.

Louise Carver's outfits have been eye-catching, but I think it's more her new-found love and enthusiasm that's catching everyone's eye. And, of course, there are other mini-celebs to scrutinise like Dion Chang, Claudia Henkel, Elana Afrika...

I actually find the fashion editors' outfits most fascinating to peer at — they always know just how to mix and match, although I think that much of the stuff they are wearing isn't designer, but carefully selected from back-alley shops.

One big jumble sale?

Call me a pessimist, a snob, or even untutored in the art of fashion, but so far I have been relatively uninspired by most of the shows at Sanlam Fashion Week Spring/Summer '08.

In fact, I think I was more enthused by another fashion writer's R25 purchase at the Hospice than I was by anything else (actually I'm wondering where the hell the Hospice is, so I can get myself a cheap one-of-a kind adornment).

Many of the designers' rails in the Sanlam exhibition space have at least one must-have article (mostly from many of the younger designers), but when it comes to the catwalk in general, I'm still a little shocked and disappointed at how ghastly, simply arbitrary, or cliched these items being paraded are.

Pastel pinks, blacks and shocking reds in the same sentence, light-blue chiffon see-through Aladdin pants for men... This all allows for general disagreement of what's hot this season. Or is this exactly what's hot — a jumble sale of colours and styles?

Hmmm... what to buy?

As a consumer first and foremost, I'm a little confused as to whether I should invest in a black silk jumpsuit with red racing stripes for the Cape summer or Voortrekker-inspired lacy dresses in pink and blue… Then again, perhaps it is this choice which is in essence so appealing?

I'm still not sure…

What colours are acceptable this season? It seems all of them. This all leaves me a little hungover in a way, like when you mix too many drinks.

Don't get me wrong, there have been some positives of course. The cotton-lace detail on Abigail Betz's dresses was gorgeous, but there was no 'it' item of the collection that made me want to part with my hard-earned moola...

Amanda Laird Cherry produced some noteworthy pieces — starch-white shirts with Dutch print for men and light summer pants, as well as shorts and jackets for the ladies... Still, much of the collection was wasted on me...

Malcolm Kluk and Christian Gabriel du Toit put together a blow-away show, simply beautiful and fanciful, but let's face it — this is not conventional every day 'ready-to-wear' fashion — it's dress-up.

Thursday was also jam-packed with loads of 'African' designers, and there was some promising stuff — Diamond Face Couture and Mother Africa being two of them. Then there are the cringe-worthy's showing off the standard, and so last season, brown suits so typical of this market. I spotted at least three...

For me in South Africa we should be focused on selling and on creating clear and concise brands, and shoot me down, but I just don't see a lot of this stuff making the grade — especially not abroad.

Maybe this mixed palette of fashion is a step in the right direction, and I just don't see it, but honestly aren't buyers looking for coherent sellable collections?

I'll be watching again and hoping that I find something of value to write home about... although I think it might be more about what the fashion ed's are wearing than what's on the ramp.