A few years back, illustrator Joanna Neborsky brought to life a list of the Madame Bovary author’s things, catalogued shortly after his death. One of the inventors of the modern novel, Flaubert could be a bit outlandish in his dress; after a trip to Turkey he wore striped culottes and a tunic. Said his contemporary Emile Zola: “He claimed that it was for comfort, but
I’m inclined to believe that this attire derived from romantic
fashions, for I also saw him in checkered pants, frock coats pleated at
the waist, and wide-brimmed fedoras, cocked over one ear.” He was also known to carry two gold coins in his pocket to give him a “sense of weight.”
h/t Paris Review‘s Daily.