UC Riverside Undergraduate Research Journal

At the time of the American Revolution, French culture developed a fas- cination with America. This trend was expressed in many forms, including fashion, artwork, and architecture, all con-tributing to French narratives about the United States and the American Revolution. The fore-most of these nar- ratives were the portrayals of America as a neoclassical, republican idyll and as a rustic, pastoral return to the romantic concept of nature. French figures who donned the “American” style played a large and often conscious role in crafting such cultural narratives. From 1776 to 1789, the “American” style in France took on a variety of contradictory meanings in French culture and politics. French figures like the Marquis de Lafayette, the Duchesse de la Tour du Pin, and the Marquis de Condorcet took on a French-American identity and styled themselves as “Americans” to express different political views.

By analyzing these individuals’ political views and sartorial styling, this essay examines the impact of French “American” style on the French perception of America. The essay utilizes contemporary publications such as newspa- pers and fashion magazines, as well as the memoirs and correspondence of French fig-ures. Through these sources, I examine the narratives surrounding “American” style and identi-ty in France. This reveals the complex relation- ship between French style and politics, contrib-uting to the ongoing historical discourse on the cultural lead-up to the Revolution of 1789.