If the Devil wears Prada, he most certainly goes shopping in the Fashion District.

What are we talking about? Take a map of Milan and draw a line along Via Montenapoleone, following it to the crossroads with Via Manzoni.

Turn into Via della Spiga and take Corso Venezia until you reach where you started from. Now, the outline you have just drawn is no other than "The" quadrilateral of fashion, a concentration of luxury, boutiques and top of the range jewellery that have made this network of streets one of the most desirable and world famous corners of the city.

Within this perimeter are other "byways" not to be missed by shopaholics: Via Borgospesso, Via Santo Spirito, Via Gesù, Via Sant'Andrea, Via Bagutta, to mention just a few. Killer heels, matching shopper – and a full purse – to hand, get ready to stroll among the designer items.

But it is not always easy to keep up with the constant new openings, restylings and location changes that make the Quadrilateral so lively and dynamic.

So let's start with certainties. Like Palazzo Cartier, in Via Montenapoleone 16, Damiani, at number 10, Bulgari, no. 6, Tiffany, in Via della Spiga 19 and Chopard, at number 14… because we all know a diamond is forever and there are lots of them sparkling in these shop windows.

To set off our jewellery we need an impeccable outfit - so we could update our wardrobe at Gucci, in Via Monte Napoleone 5-7, at Bottega Veneta, just a stone's throw from number 5 or in Via Sant'Andrea, at Saint Laurent, in Via Gesù 4, or at Prada, in Corso Venezia 3. Shoes are bought at Fratelli Rossetti, in Monte Napoleone 1, at Giuseppe Zanotti, no. 22, freshly restyled, or – if you are looking for a more eccentric touch – at René Caovilla, in Sant'Andrea 1.

There would be lots of other stylists to mention. Just to list them all or see them packed into this scrap of the city sets your head whirling.

So to restore our strength, let's take a break at the historic Pasticceria Cova, pampering ourselves with a coffee and special sweet, or have lunch at Bagutta, an institution, not just a restaurant, visited over the years by literary names such as Gadda, Calvino, Levi and Soldati.

Then on with the tour, shopping for design objects for the home – the Quadrilateral has a few surprises in this sector too. Starting with Gessi, whose siren song lures us into their showroom in Via Manzoni 16.

Refined glassware from Murano, revisited in modern mode, can be found at Spazio Venini, in Via Montenapoleone 9, while the luxury collections of Frette can be admired in the store in Via della Spiga 31.