Painted soon after his accession, this portrait shows James II wearing the fashionable style of knee-length coat introduced by his brother Charles II some years earlier, although by this date large-scale pattern repeats like these were relatively unusual. Bright blue stockings contrast with the warm colours of the coat. James II also wears a long curling periwig instead of his natural hair. The sitter was an early adopter of the style and was evidently an influential tastemaker at court. His decision to adopt a wig prompts the diarist Samuel Pepys to do the same – after some months of uncertainty. In November 1663 Pepys takes the bold step of shaving off his natural hair and purchases a wig at a cost of £3 (approximately £230 today).