If Paris 2004 Fall/Winter Ready to Wear collections are anything to go by, next Fall, we're all going to look like 1940's movie stars. The Parisiens took a very specific direction for fur coats this season with designers clearly reviving an era of unabashed Hollywood luxury.

Starting with Valentino, his elegant bolero style jackets with fur trim and fur cuffs were easily the most GORGEOUS evening shrugs shown. In a season where shrugs have appeared everywhere on this season's runways, these stylish jackets had movie star written all over them. His other standouts included a spectacular fur collared tuxedo jacket, a fur bomber and a big fur wrap that would work perfectly with an Oscar dress. Think platinum blonde Marlene Dietrich on the red carpet!
Sonia Rykiel also did big drooping fabulous furs also reminiscent of forties starlets. Her bright blue, orange fur stoles looked stunning with slinky sweaters and her usual chic black hose. Tres smart in that bookish elegance style of Julia Roberts in her recent film, Mona Lisa's Smile. At Hermes Jean Paul Gaultier went for a similar uppercrust horsey elegance with his suede jodhpur skirst and discreet gray cashmere cardigans with detachable fur collars and luxe fringed scarves that draped to become coats.

Alber Elbaz showed Lanvin's vision of glamorous with simple dresses with fur edging along the bottom of the dress and worn under voluminous, tufty gray tipped fox coats. It was remarkable how designers across the board interpreted a similar aesthetic all nodding to movie star style of days past.

Both Givenchy and Celine honored 50's icon Audrey Hepburn. Julien Macdonald and celebrated her understated chic with furs and dresses in the original style that Givenchy created for her in the fifties. In Michael Kors last collection for Celine, he also used luxe palettes of beige, camels, browns, grays and showed fifties full skirts and Donegal tweeds trimmed in fur all in honor of Audrey. Movie star inspiration from the 40's and 50's was so prevalent in fact, that even bad-boy Alexander MacQueen showed that full skirted swinging 50's style. In particular, his ivory swing-skirted shearling and frosted Mongolian-lamb hooded jackets combined the new with the nostalgic.

But as with everything Hollywood there has to be a big finish and a happy endings. Tom Ford arrived for his last show for YSL Rive Gauche in a perfectly suave leading-man red velvet smoking jacket. His last collection worked chinoiserie subtley with fur shaved in patters of dragons' scales. Also his smoking jackets for women were deeply luxurious and his furs understated but incredibly decadent. And what a finale sequined slink gowns down the runway in all their Hollywood glory. A very fitting ending especially since the fashion Prince leaves for Hollywood immediately.