There’s more than one way to conquer the world.  The flabby, charismatic “Sun King,” Louis XIV, knew that he could impress the French people with his insanely lavish royal lifestyle, but he also wanted to make his mark on Europe.  Throughout his 55 year rule in the 17th Century, he campaigned vigorously to establish Paris as the continent’s capital of style, promoting its gourmet food and wine, haute couture, cutting-edge  perfumes, opulent furnishings and exquisite jewelry.  Every new innovation required Louis’ personal imprimatur, making him the world’s first fashion dictator.  Author Joan DeJean claimed in “The Essence of Style” that Louis’ devotion to elegance has shaped the culture of indulgence today – “Without the Sun King’s program for defining France as the land of luxury in glamour, there would never have been a Stork Club, a Bergdorf Goodman, a Chez Panisse or a Christophe of Beverly Hills.”  The 700-room Palace of Versailles, which Louis built 10 miles from Paris, became the command center for this unique fashion experiment – a prototype for the Playboy Mansion, where courtiers could exist in a netherworld of art and pleasure (all at considerable expense, of course).  While France slowly descended into bankruptcy, Louis played hide and seek with mistresses, frolicked in tree houses and held resplendent soirees in the Hall of Mirrors, lit with thousands of candles.  And his every taste became law – it was Louis’ passion for diamonds, for example, that first privileged them above all other gems.  The flip side of all this was that Louis became corrupted by flattery.  According to one disgruntled noble, crowds of admirers would gather around the king to help him bathe and dress, even vying for the honor of assisting with royal grooming tasks.  Versailles became a byword for shameless excess in the face of poverty.  For one famous ball in 1696, the boutiques of Paris were stripped bare by invitees; socialites spent 10,000 livres on gowns (roughly $500,000 today) and one couple kidnapped a famous couturiere so he could not design for other guests.  In short, Versailles represented everything that French revolutionaries would soon come to hate about the monarchy.