On 13 April 1990, in Chiba, Japan, Madonna opened her Blond Ambition tour by rising on an open lift to the top of the stage in a double-breasted pinstripe suit. The jacket had slits cut into it, and through them you could see a flash of pink satin. Underneath was a corset with two conical cups, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. She was not the first person to wear a cone bra, but the shape has belonged to him ever since.

Jean Paul Gaultier is a house that always liked a joke told with a straight face. He founded it in 1982, earned the nickname enfant terrible of French fashion, and liked to say there is no frontier between good taste and bad taste. He retired from the label after its fiftieth anniversary couture show in January 2020. What is left is two businesses under one name, and the one most of us can actually carry home is the fragrance side. Puig took over that license in 2016, after Shiseido had held it since 1991.

The trick with a line this big is to start where the story starts. Classique came first, in 1993, from perfumer Jacques Cavallier, and its torso-shaped bottle is the cone bra's little cousin. The two current pillars both wear that shape. Gaultier Divine arrived in 2023 from perfumer Quentin Bisch, a floral gourmand marine scent with meringue and musk in the base and Yara Shahidi as its face. Start with the Eau de Parfum with Salt and White Florals, then look at Divine Couture, Divine Le Parfum and the Divine Elixir Parfum for the same idea in stronger concentrations.

La Belle came in 2019 from Bisch and Sonia Constant, with pear and bergamot on top, leather in the heart and vanilla and vetiver underneath. The Paradise Garden edition with blue water lily and vanilla, Rosea, the original La Belle Eau de Parfum and Le Parfum Intense are your way in.

Start with the Variety 4-Piece Mini Set. A line this deep is a bad place to guess, and four small bottles let you wear each one for an afternoon before you commit to any of them.

Scandal is the one to know. It launched in June 2017, the first pillar built under Puig, and three perfumers made it: Daphné Bugey, Fabrice Pellegrin and Christophe Raynaud. Blood orange up top, then honey, gardenia and patchouli, with caramel and licorice underneath. That is a lot of sweetness, so the Scandal Eau de Parfum is where I would begin. Scandal Le Parfum and Scandal Intense turn the same idea up, and Scandal Absolu Parfum Concentré is the one for people who already know they like it. The Scandal By Night travel spray is the small one that lives in a bag.

Classique is the quiet elder of the shelf, from 1993, still sold as an Eau de Toilette. Its notes run from orange blossom and star anise to vanilla and amber. The Classique Body Lotion is a nice way to wear it more softly, because lotion gives you scent that sits close to the skin and does not need topping up.

A pairing I like: the body lotion in the morning, and a single spray of Classique at the pulse points after lunch.

What I would skip: starting with the Concentré. Smell the Eau de Parfum first, and move up only if you find yourself wishing it lasted longer.

One rule for prints this loud: let one piece carry the joke and keep everything around it plain. The ready-to-wear side of the house has been in its guest-designer era since Gaultier stepped back in 2020, but the tricks are the old ones, the sailor stripe above all.

The Mesh Printed Marinière Grape Long Sleeve Tee and its matching Long Skirt turn that stripe into sheer mesh instead of cotton. Worn together they are a full statement, and worn apart they are easier to place. The tee under a plain black blazer is the version I would actually wear. The Cotton Pique Printed Mariniere Grape Short Dress does the same stripe in a sturdier fabric, which makes it the friendlier of the two.

The Mesh High Neck Printed Python Short Dress and the Flower Body Morphing Mariniere Long Dress are the print experiments. The python one is short and graphic, and the long one is the softer of the two. The Mesh Patchwork Long Skirt is the quiet member of the group, and I would build an outfit around it with a plain tank.

Then the underwear-as-outerwear jokes: the Trompe L'oeil Lingerie Short Sleeve Top and Mini Skirt, printed to look like the lingerie they are not. It is a visual gag that suits a house nicknamed the enfant terrible.

What I would skip: wearing two sheer pieces at once unless the event calls for it. One layer of mesh over a plain base is plenty.

Start with the cone bra, since it is the reason any of us know the name. The Conic Cup Bra Top has cups pointed the same way as the glass on the bottles in the first grid, and it is a fun piece to layer under an open shirt or a blazer.

Here is how I would wear the corsets. The Topstitching Corset Top and the Denim Corset Top are built to stand on their own, so treat them as the main event. Then borrow the trick from that 1990 tour, where the corset went with pinstripes: the Pinstripe Tailored Trouser with either corset is the pairing I like best. Tailored on the bottom, dramatic on top, and neither of them fights.

The Bustier Jumpsuit takes the corset idea into one piece, which is easier if you dislike deciding what goes with what. The Tailoring Wool Basque Jacket is the structured side of the same shape, the one you would wear to a meeting and feel slightly undercover in. The Tailoring Pinstripe Short Dress is the sharpest small dress of the group. The Backless Tailored Vest is tailored in front and bare at the back, a good surprise for anyone who likes to be understated from the front.

What I would skip: the corset and the jacket on the same day when it is hot. Pick one strong structure and let the rest be soft.

I think Gaultier works best when you treat the two halves as one joke told twice. Buy one bottle for the story, Divine if you want the newest idea and La Belle if you want leather and vetiver, and buy one piece of clothing for the shape, the cone bra or a striped mesh top.

If you only want one thing, start with the mini set from the second grid and let your nose choose. Madonna had a stage, a lift and a pinstripe suit. You have a Tuesday and a bottle of Divine, and that is plenty of drama. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Expensive Perfume and My Way Perfume, or How Armani Learned to Refill.