Picture Balmain  fall 09 from www.style.com 

Although it feels like we haven’t had much of a  summer yet, autumn isn’t far away. I really enjoy a new season and all the exciting new clothes and trends that it brings with it. This autumn and winter, there are plenty of trends to look forward to, with the recession causing designers to include key classic clothes that are real investments and also lots of colour to cheer everyone up. Here are some of the key trends:

Feature shoulders - the most notable and coveted shoulders for AW09 are from Balmain. But they also featured in plenty of shows including Balenciaga, Herve Leger, Roksanda Ilncic, Stella McCartney and Zac Posen. Rounded, pointed, wide or puffed, it doen’t really matter as long as your shoulders are a feature.

Draping - this trend has been rumbling on for a few seasons now, for sutumn winter 09, it is absolutely every where from Lanvin to Donna Karen. Some of the most notable draped dresses of the season are from Peter Pilotto.

Colourful prints - what better way to cheer up a cold and dreary winters day than with some gorgeously colourful prints. Rich colours are definitely the way to go when it comes to prints with Erdem, Peter Pilotto and Marios Schwab all having their own very covetable versions.

Chunky and patterned knits - winter is a great time for wrapping up in warm knits, this year they are all about volume, pattern and texture. Obviously the cold British winters are a big incentive for British designers to include some great knitwear in their collections. This season Paul Smith, Matthew Williamson and Vivienne Westwood, all had some great options. 

Grey and dogstooth - Another trends that just seemed to be everywhere, dogstoooth and black and white tweed were seen at Gucci, Burberry Prorsum, Alexander McQueen, Luella, Stella McCartney and many more.

A great version of next seasons draping is this Precis Petite Draped cardigan.