New Study Uncovers Samuel Pepys' Passion for French Fashion

Research reveals the diarist's complex relationship with fashionable attire and its social implications.

Samuel Pepys collected one of the largest sets of 17th-century French fashion prints, housed at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Pepys' fashion choices often reflected his social anxieties and ambitions, balancing admiration and fear of excess.
Historian Marlo Avidon's research highlights Pepys' struggle with the moral and social dilemmas of French fashion.
The prints in Pepys' collection also served as a sentimental homage to his late wife, Elizabeth.
Pepys' later life and continued interest in fashion are illuminated through these newly published prints.