The 17th century court of Versailles was undoubtedly a significant site of increasingly codified etiquette and of developments in luxury fashion (e.g. Louis XIV's famous red-heeled shoes); and 'Monsieur' the duc d'Orléans a key figure in those changes alongside his brother. However, neither the notion of etiquette nor the development of colour trends have their origin there.

As far as colours go, there are records of different colours falling in and out of fashion in the early 16th century. Yellow, for example, was in favour throughout central Europe for several years during the 1510s, originally a high-status colour which trickled down to the 'common people'. The Spanish Habsburg court, which adopted black for formal garments due to its expensiveness and the difficulty of achieving a true black dye, sparked a fashion for black among wealthy and aspirational Europeans which persisted through the late 16th and early 17th century, particularly in areas where the Spanish held cultural sway, such as the Spanish Netherlands.

Likewise, the idea of etiquette, or a formalised code of correct behaviour, predates Versailles - although it's fair to say that Louis XIV perfected the idea of etiquette as a system of consolidating, representing and codifying royal power. (The classic history text on Versailles etiquette is Norbert Elias' 1969 The Court Society). But there are systems of courtly behaviour which predate this time and place, particularly the idea of sprezzatura, conceptualised by the Italian courtier Baldessare Castiglione. Castiglione was a diplomat at the ducal court of Urbino, one of the most sophisticated courts of Renaissance Italy. He turned his courtly observations into a system, published as The Book of the Courtier in 1528, which prioritised the appearance of effortlessness while at the same time valuing excellence in oratory, athleticism, physical grace and bearing, knowledge of the arts and of literature, and a pleasing voice.

Where Versailles is important, then, is in taking these earlier models of fashion and ideal behaviour, and developing them into a highly formalised, artificial system in which all pretence of effortlessness is abandoned. The obviousness of Versailles etiquette and fashion was the source of its value, for it clearly delineated the rank and relative status of an individual through his or her behaviour, speech, dress, and physical proximity to the source of power (i.e. the king). Versailles became the aesthetic and organisational model for numerous smaller courts throughout Europe, particularly in the various German duchies, principalities and electorates of the 17th and 18th century Holy Roman Empire.