Pretty self-explanatory this one. Do you want to look like a glamorous screen siren or a pop star with a chequered past and a fondness for glittery shoulder-pads? If you answered the former, channel Balenciaga; if you'd prefer the latter then hit Balmain and get your O2 Arena dates booked for the summer Photograph: catwalking.com
Camel was the sleek, expensive looking neutral of the boom years. Tobacco is its darker, grittier cousin: perfect for 2009. The right shade is the colour of club armchairs in smoky rooms, of brown paper bags and wartime uniforms. After debuting at Prada in Milan, tobacco reappeared at Viktor & Rolf and at Dries Van Noten, where we discovered the season's most brilliantly unlikely colour combination - tobacco and shrimp Photograph: catwalking.com
Remember when sleeves had to be billowing or have something complicated going on at the cuff ? Now, all the action in a sleeve should take place at the top. A fierce shoulder-pad should lead into a stovepipe sleeve: all the better for accentuating a skinny arm. This look was best seen at Givenchy, where dresses often came with just the one, ultra-slim sleeve Photograph: catwalking.com
There was a 1940s feel to the shapes at Dries Van Noten and Lanvin, a nod to the 80s at YSL, and a discernible hybrid of the two decades at Balenciaga. The era that followed one financial depression meeting the era of economic excess; fashion-economistas might have their theories as to why, but a mashup of these two decades will be hot come autumn Photograph: catwalking.com
Kirby grips and Elnett will be in demand come autumn - the bun dominated the Paris catwalks. It was swept back delicately and knotted at Giambattista Valli to complement the aristocratic feel of the collection, tortured into a scary topknot at YSL to match the clean lines, and messily kooky with satin bows at Louis Vuitton. Which all goes to show how versatile the humble bun really is Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
Swags of heavy silk, shaped curtain-like into clothes. Doesn't sound great, but it looked gorgeous at Balenciaga and at the more leftfield label Viktor & Rolf. The only downside is that draping draws attention to lumps and bumps in much the same way as contour lines do on a map. Nonetheless, this is a look that Warehouse, Zara et al will already be working on Photograph: catwalking.com
You may want to stock up on talc: invaluable for getting in and out of these Yves Saint Laurent dungarees, non? Designer Stefano Pilati said, "I love the leather, black leather - and it is so French." Balmain, meanwhile, featured the biker jacket complete with signature - and much copied - pointy shoulders. If ripped jeans are this season's go-to for an instant rock-chick hit, leather trousers are next season's equivalent Photograph: catwalking.com
Stella McCartney is the boy blazer hero. She wears them - she took her end-of-show bow in a black tux-style version - and she puts them on her catwalk. Having trained on Savile Row, McCartney knows how to cut a jacket. For autumn, hers are a little longer: you could almost turn them into mini-dresses. This slow-burning trend has been adopted by the British fashion editors: the Tatler crew are particularly keen. Photograph: catwalking.com
Thigh-high on the catwalk, crotch-high in real life. Mrs Prada started it with waders in Milan, but by the time the trend made it to Paris it had gone sexy at Halston, and leather-look and skin-tight at Stella McCartney. Antonio Berardi helpfully made his with handle inserts cut into the top - all the better for hoiking them up. Photograph: catwalking.com
Paris fashion week is as much about what's being worn by the audience as what's on the catwalk. Look to the French Vogue editors for coming trends. This week, Emmanuelle Alt - chief lieutenant to Carine Roitfeld - was spotted in a leopard print coat. So by the time Claudia Schiffer turned up in a monochrome leopard print jacket to the Yves Saint Laurent show, the deal was sealed Photograph: Eric Ryan/Getty Images
