ABSTRACT
French clothes, textiles and furnishings were admired by Charles II, James II, and much of their immediate, Francophile circle. This chapter considers the influence of Louis fashion by focusing on Charles II and James II, Louis XIV's English cousins. Charles II came to the throne in 1660, after an extensive period of exile in Europe. The chapter also considers the wider appeal of La Mode to assess the extent to which French style permeated London society. English tailors and craftsmen copied and adapted French styles to suit the taste of their London-based clientele. Individuals such as Samuel Pepys could evidently separate fashionable 'Frenchness' of their clothes from Louis XIV and his policies. This resulted in demand for imported French fabrics, as well as French-style materials made in England by local and migrant weavers. The demand for French goods was given a boost by growing numbers of French weavers coming to England, and making French-style silks and half silks.
