Franklin was a fashion icon in France

Franklin was dispatched to France by the Continental Congress in 1776 to look for military support for the uprising. The 70-year-old was already well-known throughout the world for his lighting experiments—the French even referred to their electrical experimenters as "Franklinistes''—but after moving to Paris, his notoriety reached entirely new heights. Franklin took advantage of the French perception of Americans as rugged frontiersmen by dressing simply and donning a fur hat, which quickly became his signature and was shown in numerous medallions and paintings throughout France. Women also started wearing large wigs in a look known as "coiffure a la Franklin'' to mimic the cap.

When Franklin later swapped the fur cap for a white hat for the signing of the 1778 treaty between France and the United States, white-colored headgear quickly gained popularity among the men of Paris. In order to stay warm, Benjamin Franklin wore a fur cap when he landed in France in December 1776. Franklin was especially adored by the French nobility who welcomed him because they saw in him the embodiment of the stereotype of the "rugged American frontiersman" they so revered. Franklin actually ordered a sizable number of fur hats from America due to the popularity of his picture, which he wore nonstop while in Paris.