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Samuel Pepys' Fashion Prints Reveal His Guilty Pleasure: Fancy French Clothes
Samuel Pepys, the renowned English diarist and naval administrator, is well-known for his detailed accounts of life in the 17th century. While his diary entries from 1660 to 1669 provide rich insights into his everyday experiences, little is known about the latter part of his life. New research from the University of Cambridge has uncovered fascinating aspects of Pepys’ later years through his private collection of French fashion prints. These prints reveal Pepys’ ongoing fascination with fashion, particularly French styles, and his internal conflict over adopting these foreign trends.
A Glimpse into Pepys’ Private Collection
A University of Cambridge press release explains how most of what we know about Samuel Pepys comes from the diary that he kept from 1660–69. He wrote about everything from women to parmesan cheese, and the Great Fire of London, but he also wrote a lot about clothes. However, Pepys lived for another 34 years and while surviving letters offer clues, we know less about the second, more privileged half of his life.
Marlo Avidon, a PhD researcher at Christ’s College, Cambridge, has delved into Pepys’ private collection of fashion prints housed in the Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge. The library holds one of the largest collections of 17th-century French fashion prints in the world, including volumes titled Habits de France and Modes de Paris. These volumes that contain over a hundred illustrations from 1670 to 1696, provide a unique glimpse into the fashion sensibilities of the time and Pepys’ personal tastes.
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